Irene Marinakis and Katrina D’Amore both A&S ’06 practice CPR in preparation for their exam.

After nearly 140 hours of preparation, 53 Boston College students took the test to become certified Emergency Medical Technicians in the state of Massachusetts. The course, offered by the student-run Eagle EMS organization, began in January and required students to meet twice a week for four hours a night, in addition to every other Sunday for eight hours. Taking into consideration the assigned homework and exams, the amount of time put in by these EMT hopefuls was equivalent to taking an additional five academic courses.

These BC students did all of this despite the fact that those that pass will not be able to put their knowledge to good use when they return to campus next fall, following the BC Police Department's suspension of the group until the fall of 2004.

"I was really looking forward to working on campus," said Joe Mayerle, A&S '05. "It would have been a great way to fulfill the hours of experience requirement. I'm disappointed not to have the opportunity to use the information I learned here on campus, but all the same it's
good information to have."

For Brian Benecke, A&S '05, the possibility of assisting members of the BC community was one of the catalysts in his decision to take the course.

"Eagle EMS's suspension is horribly frustrating. I went into this looking forward to working with an ambulance on campus," he said. "It was a factor in my decision to take this course; not the only reason, but it's still upsetting to see seemingly petty differences would prevent students from helping other students."

Eagle EMS Captain Mark Switaj, Heights editor and CSOM '05, said before last Saturday's exam the number of students he believes will pass should have a huge impact on the organization.

He said that the organization currently has between 15 to 20 EMTs, and that if all 43 students (not including members of the class of 2003) were to pass the certification exam, Eagle EMS could grow to as large as 60 EMTs on campus.

"If someday we got an ambulance, with these numbers [of newly certified EMTs] we would be able to staff it 24 hours a day," said Switaj. "Eagle EMS isn't just about response though, it's so much more. If we can't respond, we will focus on education."

Continued...

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