Summer Olympics volunteers honored

Twenty-four Cal State Long Beach students were honored Monday for their volunteer work at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.

The students were part of a summer criminal justice class taught by Harv Morley. They worked side-by-side with the military and police officers as security for the Games.

Criminal justice major Cory Gonsowski said that he and the others got more out of the program than three units' credit; but more importantly, they got hands-on training in law enforcement.

"The experience we received in Atlanta isn't matched by anything we could learn in a classroom," Gonsowski said.

Monday's luncheon was hosted by CSULB President Bob Maxson. He told the students to be proud of their work and thanked them for the great representation they gave not only CSULB, but the city of Long Beach as well.

Morley's class traveled the farthest of any college to participate at the Games. Seven other schools were invited by the Olympic Organizing Committee.

"I don't think any other university had 100 percent representation throughout the games," Morley said.

The students paid for the trip out of their own pockets. Room and board was provided to them although it wasn't what they expected.

"We stayed in a high school classroom," said Jill Heyman, the only non-criminal justice major to participate in the class project.

Heyman, a speech communications major, said her experience with the trip was different from that of other students.

"I learned a lot about public and international relations," she said. "I dealt with . . . a lot of people from other countries not only as security but also (as a guide)."

Morley said some of his students were working within 185 yards of the Olympic Village when the bomb went off.

"We also had three of our people that were off (duty) that evening at the Olympic Village . . . leave no more than ten minutes before the bomb went off," Morley said. None of the students were hurt.

Some members of the group said the bombing did not affect their morale although "we were more cautious," Heyman said.

The students were trained by the Long Beach chapter of the American Red Cross in first aid before their trip. Their Red Cross instructor, Karl Tidemann, was on hand at the luncheon. He urged the students to look into the Red Cross for more hands-on experience through their disaster relief programs.

President Maxson presented each student with a limited edition Olympic pin set and official Olympic watch. Maxson also presented criminal justice department chairman Ron Vogel with a proclamation from Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill.

The proclamation honored the group for the positive representation of Long Beach they gave to the world.