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canada’s only Daily Student Newspaper • founded 1906
Friday, March 22, 2013
Volume 106, Issue 89
Charity Ball donation tripled from 2012 Cam Smith News Editor
Courtesy of Amber Garratt
Charity Ball really got rolling this year, collecting $17,956—almost three times as much money as they earned last year. “Charity Ball’s totals have been falling in past years, last year’s donation was around $7,000, and before that it was around $12,000,” Victoria Stone, Charity Ball coordinator, explained. “So, this year our donation is quite a bit higher than what we’ve seen in the last couple of years.” Stone credits the immense success of this year’s event to a potent and diverse marketing campaign, targeting groups not normally associated with Charity Ball. “People’s view of Charity Ball in the past is that it’s just a party for sophs. That’s not very sustainable. You can’t have an event at a place
that holds 2,500 if you’re only going to market at a group of about 800. We really encouraged all students to be able to come this year,” she said. “One thing our committee really focused on was the marketing section that I think had been neglected.” According to Stone, the charity this year’s ball supported, the Wait List Clinic, is quite modest, with an operating budget of only $60,000. This means the donation will represent a huge financial boon to the small charity, which provides support to students who have to endure an extended wait period before they can receive counselling. “It’s a division of the Canadian Mental Health Association, so it’s an opportunity for students to find a volunteer opportunity with them. They become volunteer counsellors for people who are on the waiting
list for counselling services,” she explained. “Here in London, the wait time is nine months. We chose this organization because it’s an opportunity for students to really get involved and make a difference in London’s community.” “This cheque is going to make a big difference for this little organization.” Not only was the money raised extremely high relative to past years, but the attendance at this year’s Charity Ball received a marked increase as well. “This year we were able to welcome the highest attendance record in the past three years,” Erin Uberig, vice-president student events for the University Students’ Council, said. “The USC is extremely proud of the work [Victoria] Stone and the Charity Ball Committee put into this year’s event.”
Hazardous suicides pose risk to first responders Aaron Zaltzman News Editor Amid one tragedy there could lurk another—an unfortunate lesson many emergency responders must learn when encountering a victim of suicide by toxic gas. With a pair of simple household items, like detergent, individuals can create highly toxic, and highly lethal, hydrogen sulfide. While the gas is deadly to the maker, it begs extra concern because of the danger it poses to both first responders and bystanders. “It can be very dangerous to other people,” Steve Van Valkenburg, deputy chief of operations for the Middlesex-London EMS, explained. “In many cases, it’s done in vehicles and is very clearly labelled as poisonous to warn first responders. The amount of gas produced can be very lethal, and kill one within seconds.” The technique, found in high
levels in Japan, has made a select number of appearances in North America. In March 2010, a Florida police officer was hospitalized after inhaling gas from a suicide scene, demonstrating the danger of the method. “This is a new phenomenon for us,” Van Valkenburg explained. “It really hasn’t taken hold here and there’s very few calls.” Indeed, it is hardly a pattern in London, with only a single confirmed case in 2010. However, there is a possibility the Western student who was found dead in his car Monday afternoon, may have utilized a similar method. While the LPS declined to provide details of the death, the police report indicated a hazardous substance was found in the car, and that the London Fire Department had been called in. “If we ever encounter a situation where it is believed a dangerous
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substance has been used, we would back off, contain the area and make sure nobody else gets exposed,” Ken Steeves, media relations officer for the London Police, explained. “We request the fire department for their HazMat team to assist, as well as our disposal unit.” EMTs are also trained to assess the dangers of every situation they’re called to, according to Van Valkenburg. “If the area is labelled as hazardous [by the individual] very clearly, then the EMT knows, but the danger is when somebody does something like this and doesn’t label it.” While caution is definitely the main advice of London’s emergency response, Steeves said the emphasis is on prevention. “We need to be aware of what to do if and when there’s an exposure risk,” Steeves said. “But prior to that, we want to prevent it from occurring in the first place.”
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