Neither the rain nor the cold weather stopped CSUN students from coming to the CPR workshop held by the University Student Union in the Lake View Terrace room in the USU, Saturday, Sept. 22. The workshop, which ran from 9-5 p.m., was sponsored by the USU and the University Program Council and required that students pay only $25.00 for the CPR certification.
“CSUN students are in a variety of settings,” said Farrah Mirzaee, graduate assistant of general programs Ddpartment in the USU. “Some students need it for classes [here at school], teaching, or for lifeguards.”
The workshop, which usually runs about $100.00, included lunch, and covered CPR for infants, adults, pregnant women, the obese and even how to perform it on yourself.
“Last semester we had self-defense training,” Mirzaee said, “But CPR was something more CSUN students needed.”
Ben Elisondo, manager of safety and training at the Physical Plant Management, was the instructor at Saturday’s workshop and has been training other CSUN staff, faculty and police for the last 13 years.
Elisondo, like Mirzaee, agrees that it is important for students to have the CPR certification, as many departments, like the Health and Science and Credential department, require it. Elisondo, a CSUN alumnus himself, says he also does a lot of occupational safety training for the university.
Through hands-on training using dummies and following manuals of the American Red Cross, students learn the techniques required for CPR and even the proper way to administer an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), to shock someone that is unconscious or in cardiac arrest.
Students that do not properly administer CPR to the dummies, visible by observing whether the chest rises, can’t be certified and will have to repeat the course. The next CPR workshop will be held in November but there is a maximum enrollment of 15 students per class.
“Students are aware of situations that require this life skill,” Mirzaee said “That is why CSUN promotes this certification.”
“We try to get the word out at the beginning of the semester to get publicity,” Mirzaee said, adding that CSUN has been doing this for several years. The certification offered through Saturday’s CPR training is valid for up to one year, after that a student must renew it by taking a similar course or going through the American Red Cross.
Mark Mayfield, senior liberal studies major, said he attended Saturday’s workshop because he needed to get certified for his credential. Mayfield is working on an Elementary Education degree that requires he be certified before working with children.
“It’s my first,” Mayfield said about the CPR workshop, “but it’s going to be a valuable tool for me. Not just for school but in my life.”
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