2008 Woodie Awards
Campus Prepares to Avert Safety Concerns During a Crisis
Diana Petras
Issue date: 4/13/07 Section: News
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Although most people walk around with a a sense of security, the recent fire outbreaks that occurred on campus in the last few months have inflicted a feeling of concern among students and faculty over how safe the school would be in a disaster.
Fires are one out of many possible disasters that could occur on campus. However, Southern California is known as "Earthquake Country" because it is the most common natural disaster that hits the region.
According to the Southern California Earthquake Data Center (SCEDC), the Los Angeles metropolitan area contains every kind of fault type that can be found.
The rude awakening Northridge earthquake in 1994 was caused by a blind thrust fault that "produced the strongest ground motions ever instrumentally recorded in an urban setting in North America. Damage was wide-spread, sections of major freeways collapsed, parking structures and office buildings collapsed, and numerous apartment buildings suffered irreparable damage," the SCEDC said.
Director of Business Services Bill Taylor has been working at GCC for 32 years and said that the college did not sustain much damage from the Northridge earthquake. "[The buildings] sustained some surface cracks, but no structural damage," he said. "We did not have to close any buildings down due to the earthquake."
"All the building exceeds the codes in terms of structural integrity for things like earthquakes," said Taylor. "They are required to be designed to meet the codes in terms of the construction of building them. I feel confident that our buildings would be safe."
Nevertheless, first time GCC pharmaceutical student Nicole Beard said that she is unsure if the school is prepared if a disaster like the 1994 earthquake were to strike on campus. "I never thought of that before," she said.
"I don't see any earthquake or fire emergency kits or anything for students [or faculty] to use in an emergency," said Beard. "If there were first aid kits in each classroom, I think that would
Fires are one out of many possible disasters that could occur on campus. However, Southern California is known as "Earthquake Country" because it is the most common natural disaster that hits the region.
According to the Southern California Earthquake Data Center (SCEDC), the Los Angeles metropolitan area contains every kind of fault type that can be found.
The rude awakening Northridge earthquake in 1994 was caused by a blind thrust fault that "produced the strongest ground motions ever instrumentally recorded in an urban setting in North America. Damage was wide-spread, sections of major freeways collapsed, parking structures and office buildings collapsed, and numerous apartment buildings suffered irreparable damage," the SCEDC said.
Director of Business Services Bill Taylor has been working at GCC for 32 years and said that the college did not sustain much damage from the Northridge earthquake. "[The buildings] sustained some surface cracks, but no structural damage," he said. "We did not have to close any buildings down due to the earthquake."
"All the building exceeds the codes in terms of structural integrity for things like earthquakes," said Taylor. "They are required to be designed to meet the codes in terms of the construction of building them. I feel confident that our buildings would be safe."
Nevertheless, first time GCC pharmaceutical student Nicole Beard said that she is unsure if the school is prepared if a disaster like the 1994 earthquake were to strike on campus. "I never thought of that before," she said.
"I don't see any earthquake or fire emergency kits or anything for students [or faculty] to use in an emergency," said Beard. "If there were first aid kits in each classroom, I think that would
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