With the addition of the new Emergency Response Team club on campus, Public Safety will have some company the next time a student calls for help.
The Emergency Response Team on campus, known as the ERT club, will ride along with Public Safety officers on a nightly basis, and provide on-site medical assistance at Fairfield Prep sporting events and possibly club sports’ games and matches.
The club is headed by Calin Calabrese ’10 and is advised by Public Safety officer Rebecca Lasky.
The club includes approximately 20 members hailing mainly from the freshman and sophomore classes.
“The club’s main goal is education,” said Calabrese. “We hope to get all of our members a basic EMT certification, as well as some possible hazardous materials training. No monetary reimbursement will be paid to any of our members. Everything is done on a volunteer basis.”
Calabrese said another important club goal is campus awareness.
“Most people don’t realize the maturity of some students and, in turn, they get a bad name. This club hopes to change that and allow students to give back to each other,” said Calabrese.
“The values and motives of the club go along with the Ignatian values of helping others,” he added.
Lasky said she hopes the new club will aid Public Safety in helping students on campus get the medical attention they need.
“If kids are being aided by other kids, then we hope that they will begin to police themselves,” said Lasky.
She added that the club members will be on a strict ride-along basis only.
Many students agreed that the ERT club is a positive addition to the clubs on campus and supported the idea of dealing with their peers instead of adults – even if they are only mediators.
“Getting a response from a Public Safety officer who was accompanied by a kid will definitely be less intimidating and more comforting than just adults,” said Eric San George ’10.
“I think it’s a good idea. My good friends were part of OVAC and that led a lot of my friends to be doctors,” said Alison McNeill ’10.
“I think it’s a good idea; whether or not if I would join would depend on the time that it requires,” said Loni Cruz ’10.
“I think it’s a great idea because I wouldn’t want to live everything up to Public Safety,” said Dan Raymond ’08. “It’s also a great way to get students more involved in on-campus activities.”
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