UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
TUESDAY
The Student Voice Since 1903
SEPTEMBER 14, 1999
Student OD's in dorm By Celie Rabalais
StidiMita UCO student overdosed Wednesday nd was rushed to Edmond Regional Hospital. Michael Cawyer collapsed at 6 p.m. in the East Hall Dormitory. Paramedics treating him reportedly said Cawyer had taken a combination of muscle relaxants and Valium, said Michael Walker, a witness on the scene. Cawyer yelled and struggled with paramedics while being moved by stretcher to the ambulance, Walker said. Cawyer was taken to Edmond Regional Hospital for overnight observation, said DPS Captain Chris Wooldridge. An unidentified school official said the ruling on the overdose is accidental. The official police report could not be obtained to
verify the ruling. "In an accidental overdose, the school's first concern is for the student," said Jarrod Noftsger, assistant to vice-president for student services. The case will be investigated to see how the overdose took place, if it involved prescription drugs or illegal drugs and if the student was taking the medication as prescribed, Noftsger said. A follow-up on the student will be conducted on an individual level, through the health center and through dorm services, to keep track for future accidents, said Noftsger. "I don't think we will approach this from a punitive standpoint," Nosftsger said. "Illegal narcotics is a different story," he said. Cawyer did not want to discuss Photo by Michael Walker his ordeal when contacted Monday Michael Cawyer is loaded into an EMSA vehicle after overdosing on drugs in East Hall on morning in his dorm room. Wednesday. He was taken to Edmond Regional Hospital for overnight observation. —
Journalism department receives $25,000 grant, new technology By T. Dehan
Staffieriter
T
—Photo by Shauna Hardway The Vista received new computers with the $25,000 grant.
he journalism department is facing a year full of changes that are exciting and revolutionary, according to the Chairman of the Journalism Department, Dr. Terry Clark. The department received nearly $25,000 from the Dart Foundation at Michigan State University and the State Ethics in Excellence Foundation. The money was designated for the training of journalists and state journalism students for interviewing and better reporting on victims of violent disasters. The grant also provides for instructors to travel statewide to small town papers and hold workshops for reporting on the victims of violent disasters. The workshops will be taught by journalists and members of the
media who have first-hand experience in disaster interviewing. Along with the statewide training there will be a day long workshop at UCO on the same topic. The grant puts UCO as one of only four universities in the country that offers such programs. Enrollment in the journalism department has seen a significant rise this semester. There are over 200 students in basic photography and introduction to advertising and 100 students in the introduction to mass communication and principles of public relations classes. The basic photography enrollment increase coincides with the remodeling of the dark room which is expected to be completed by the spring semester. UCO has the only four year
photography degree in the state. The Vista, the student newspaper, has seen and continues to go through several advances. The paper received 12 new iMac computers and for the first time, The Vista has a full time Director of Student Publications, Dr. John DeSanto. DeSanto is responsible for the operations of The Vista and The Bronze Book and is available to assist the staff. The Vista office is being renovated with cubicles for each writer and computer. The advertising department and editor's offices are both being redesigned for more efficient workspace and technology. "This year has been a revolutionary one in the journalism department, one in which faculty will change the way we help impact students," Clark said.