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	Vol.7, No 42, November 10, 1999
	Journalism class alarms faculty By Daniel Oliveira Daily Forty-Niner A journalism class exercise involving a staged crime scene frightened faculty members Tuesday morning outside the Social Science/Public Affairs Building. To teach breaking news reporting, journalism lecturer Julio Laboy asked his students to cover a mock crime situation, in which a man pretended to hold a woman hostage inside the building. Playing a police officer, Laboy placed his students behind a police line near the building's entrance. He then asked them to interview him about the situation. Suddenly, the man and woman involved in the staged crime -- Daily Forty-Niner Editor in Chief Ana Tintocalis and Photo Editor Mark Blackburn -- appeared on the second floor and screamed loudly. The screaming alerted faculty members working in the building. "I was in extreme fear," said Norma Chinchilla, sociology and women studies professor. "It really sounded as if a woman was being attacked." Leslie Nanasy, staff member of the political science department, said she felt the same. "When I heard a female screaming, I thought somebody was getting hurt," Nanasy said. Political science professor Kenneth Graham, also a U.S. Marine Corps officer, said he was about to grab Blackburn because he thought the situation represented "clear and present danger." "As a marine officer, I'm trained to respond to crisis," Graham said. "What I saw was a guy trying to toss this girl over the rail." When Blackburn explained it was a staged situation, Graham yelled at Laboy, saying he should not have used this teaching procedure. Two other faculty members approached the rail and said similar things. University Police arrived after receiving approximately 10 phone calls from faculty members. Officers talked to Laboy and the class was moved back into the building. University Police Chief Jack Pearson said he was not upset with the calls because he understood it was just a class. "I don't see any problem," he said. "We have a lot of classes on campus that simulate different scenarios. It's part of the educational process." But he said Laboy should have notified the campus police in advance. Despite the consequences, Laboy said he does not regret his teaching procedure because it was aimed at helping students cover a real life situation. "Why would running a realistic journalistic scenario to journalism students be irresponsible?" he asked. Graham said he thinks Laboy used poor judgment. "You cannot yell 'fire' in a crowded theater," he said. "I thought it was in very poor taste on the part of the instructor. Whoever his boss is needs to know." Lee Brown, chairman of the journalism department, said Laboy's teaching technique is interesting and useful to students. But he said people in the building should have been notified in advance.		Teacher addresses school crowding   Journalism class alarms faculty   Fliers on buildings removed   Children learn from Carpenter Center artists   TV won't teach reading   Religious favoritism in Congress   Community service helps career goals   Singer creates average attempt   Club Hockey team Clubbed in Colorado   Pac-10 football has mixed reviews Fall 99 ISSUES  DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications,  Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach  ©1999 All rights reserved.