SDSU Students React to a new study about the 5 Second Rule

Whether it’s an old wives’ tale or there is any validity to the 5-second rule has been the subject of many a lunch room debate. But the safety of eating a piece of dropped food or re-using a baby bottle as long as it’s within five seconds has been challenged by scientists at San Diego State University in a study funded by The Clorox Company.

And while the findings are not terribly surprising – affirming that germs do, in fact, attach in less than five seconds – we went out on campus to see what SDSU students think of the 5-second rule.

Airlift to Haiti Day 6 – Jacmel and a new US Citizen

Rich Pickett is SDSU’s CIO and a licensed pilot for 32 years. He is volunteering his time to fly relief flights to earthquake ravaged Haiti and will be sharing his experiences here as often as he is able …

Two large generators, 3 people, and equipment needed to reach Port au Prince.  One of our passengers was James (Diems – his birth name), who is Haitian and trying to help his mother in Port Au Prince. She was living in the yard of the city’s mayor, himself with a damaged house and no way to obtain supplies for the people in his yard.

We loaded the equipment and tried to obtain a landing slot into the airport.  After many attempts, it just wasn’t going to work.  We couldn’t obtain the slot we needed.  All of the equipment (1000 lbs) was off loaded with everyone’s help, and I decided to utilize Plan B.  I didn’t want to see the plane idle.

We saw 2 large pallets of supplies for an orphanage and church in the warehouse labeled for Jacmel, so the plane was loaded again.  My only requirement for the cargo, was it had to include a tent for our friend Pierre!  We didn’t have any tents, so we brought a canopy frame and several plastic tarps.

James helping unload in Jacmel - Day 6

I proceeded to plan the flight, entered the required information for Homeland Security and reviewed the weather.  We were disappointed that we couldn’t get James home to Port au Prince.  We came up with the idea of at least flying him to Jacmel, a 5 hour ride over 120 kilometers of rough roads.  We brought along Brad Barker so he would do some aerial survey work, and Sueanne Campion who is co-owner of Banyan Air Service at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.  Banyan has been incredibly gracious to us, and the other volunteer pilots.  Generosity that was a key to our success.  I wanted her to see the areas that were recipients of their contributions of time and money.

Helping the Haitian Weather Briefers with their PC

We landed at Jacmel  and offloaded all of our cargo.  Dr. Steve Heicklan, who we had met on an earlier trip was there to greet us.  He had 4 children in critical condition to transport to Philadelphia for immediate treatment.  Without treatment they would not make it to the weekend.  I offered to take them to Florida since he had arranged the use of a jet from there to Philadelphia.  A few minutes later, he found out that the jet wasn’t available.  A serious Nor’easter was heading for Philly on Wednesday.  I promised to review the weather and see if I might be able to take them for treatment.  He was unable to find any other hospitals willing to accept the patients and the costs of their care.  Hopefully the forecast won’t be correct and we will be able to find transportation.

Just before heading for home, we had a call from Dr. Rick Bonnell, the same physician who had received the C-arm X-ray machine from us a few days ago.   He had just adopted an orphan girl, whose parents had died prior to the earthquake, and was trying to find a way to bring her home to Texas.  We hadn’t anticipated that we would be flying in Port Au Prince, however we would now be able to take James home and pick up Dr. Bonnell and his daughter. We departed Jacmel and headed to Port Au Prince.

Little girl with new toy at Jacmel

Rick’s new daughter is a sweetie!  She is 18 months old and had lost her mother a few months after her birth and her father had died in a rock quarry, with no one to take care of her.  She was an orphan prior to the earthquake, which eased the process.  We all vied to hold her and she was great on her first plane trip.  We touch down at 11 p.m. and Laney had a new home.

David Martz Rich and Todd Macaluso at Jacmel Airport

Airlift to Haiti – Day 5 – 6 flights, 10 flight hours, 19 hour day

Rich Pickett is SDSU’s CIO and a licensed pilot for 32 years. He is volunteering his time to fly relief flights to earthquake ravaged Haiti and will be sharing his experiences here as often as he is able …

We loaded up the plane early today for our first flight of the day. We needed to take tents, medical supplies, food and of course toys to Les Cayes  and Port Au Prince.  We were put in contact with Navy personnel, through Professor Eric Frost at SDSU, who needed to 300 pounds of emergency communication gear to be moved to Port au Prince since their other transportation plans didn’t materialize.  Glen Berndt, who is volunteering his own time, brought an amazing amount of sophisticated equipment on board.

Grey Hobbins and Brandon Campbell Loading the Plane for Les Cayes

Our first stop was Les Cayes where we distributed a large amount of medical supplies to a local clinic and distributed tarps, food and the items we purchased the night before.  We ran out of tents in the warehouse, however we had canopy frames without covers.  We took as many tarps as we could so the folks could at least have some shelter.  The kids loved the toys, and we were able to talk with Dr. Legar and his colleagues about their clinic.

Distributing donations from Providenciales at Jacmel

We departed to Port Au Prince to deliver Glen and the equipment.  After landing and unloading the communications equipment we distributed the remaining tarps, canopy frame and toys to Stacy.  We wish that we had thousands of tarps and tents, since many people are without shelter.  On a previous flight we provided Stacy and Dr. Bonnell with toys for the kids.  Stacey mentioned that she distributed balls and other toys in one of the refugee camps. She noticed that a boy dropped the ball.  She turned to look and discovered that he dropped it because both of his lower arms were amputated.  He dropped the ball and started juggling it with his feet. We hugged and talked about how resilient the Haitian people are!  I told her we will bring more soccer balls, so other children and adults can play, with or without their arms.

We learned that 6 doctors from Harvard, and Brad Barker of the Halo Corp who works with SDSU’s Dr. Eric Frost on several disasters, needed a ride back to the States. Just before loading everyone into the plane, an Army officer approached me and asked if we could take a soldier home.  With everyone on board it was back to Florida, navigating around the thunderstorms and landing back in Florida at 12 a.m.  Due to Superbowl we had to clear US Customs at Palm Beach, then load everyone back in the plane and head for Fort Lauderdale Executive.

Airlift to Haiti – Day 4 – Jacmel and Les Cayes

Rich Pickett is SDSU’s CIO and a licensed pilot for 32 years. He is volunteering his time to fly relief flights to earthquake ravaged Haiti and will be sharing his experiences here as often as he is able …

All of our team was in Providenciales, so we decided to complete the delivery of supplies to Jacmel and Les Cayes that we could not do the other night.  We found out that the people of Providenciales had  a large amount of supplies for Haiti and needed a way to take them over.  Since we always like to fill the plane, we immediately offered to take them.

After an hour flight, we were back in Jacmel.  Many Haitians that we met earlier were there, along with the Canadian Disaster Relief team.  One of our goals was to distribute some tents and food to our recent friends.  Since we had many items not assigned, we started our own distribution to the people who have helped us and desperately needed help.  We distributed clothes, tarps, tents, food  and some medical supplies.  One gentlemen approached me after noticing we had feminine hygiene products and asked if we could spare some for his young daughter.  We had several boxes, so I gave him many of them and promised to bring more on our next trip.  Such simple products that we take for granted, have such a profound impact for these people in need.

Flying from Providenciales to Ft Lauderdale to pick up more supplies

We were sad that we couldn’t meet everyone’s needs on this trip.  Our friends offered to take us back into town again, which is accepted.  We were still looking for one of our friends, Pierre, and I was determined not to leave without seeing him.  We didn’t know his last name, and none of us knew French, however we went into town in the hopes of finding him.  We all were thrilled when we found Pierre!  All of the people we met have been special, however Pierre always made sure that the needs of others were met first.  We didn’t have the tent we promised for his family on this trip, however we gave him tarps, diapers, clothes from the people of Providenciales and anything else we could spare, and of course we distributed the rest of our toys!

Distributing supplies at Jacmel Day 4

When we met the people on the firs trip, they were understandably careful with talking with us.  Today we invited them to tell us what they needed for themselves, their families and neighbors.  We collected their names and what would be important to them, our new shopping list!

While in Jacmal, we met Tom Weppers, a Canadian missionary that needed a ride home.  Of course our answer was yes, as long as he didn’t mind joining us on a short trip to Les Cayes.  An American doctor, Steve, helping in Jacmel as a volunteer,  approached us asking to take a medical team  and patient to Port Au Prince. We offered them the same ride, however the found out they needed additional paperwork.  As we were talking, I mentioned  to him that we had heard about a serious need for antibiotics, and other specialized medical supplies. We told him that if he could find the supplies, we would try to deliver them.

Todd Flying into Les Cayes Day 4

Todd had been talking with various doctors about the need for  heart monitors for infants. Tom called back to Greg, who is supporting us in Fort Lauderdale and  asked Greg to purchase as many infant heart monitors as possible so we could take them on the next trip.

We had found a few boxes in the Banyan Air Service hanger in Fort Lauderdale (who is providing incredible support for this airlift)  for a hospital in Les Cayes the previous day and since no one had offered to help deliver these, we had put them in the plane.  With our work in Jacmel done for this trip, we closed the door and headed to Les Cayes.

Finding Pierre in Jacmel Day 4

The airport in Les Cayes is not in our GPS database, so we flew along the coast until reaching the town.  We landed in this beautiful town, which had not been directly within the earthquake damage zone however had large number of refuges in the area.  We only had a name of  a doctor, Dr. Robert Leger, and no way to reach him. After a few attempts, Dr. Leger arrived and was surprise to receive the supplies.  After we transferred the supplies to Dr. Leger, we talked about his clinic and the growing needs of so many people.  He mentioned many items of need and we added them to our shopping list.

We had headwinds on the way back to Florida, so the trip was substantially longer.  After dodging a few weather cells, we landed at Fort Lauderdale Executive airport.  We had changed our plans from earlier in the day, and I was unable to update the required Department of Homeland Security paperwork as required before flight.  We also had picked up a new passenger, Tom, along the way.  The Customs personnel were helpful and allowed us to proceed due to the nature of our flights.

After clearing Customs we taxied immediately to the Banyan Air Service hanger to load the plane for tomorrow’s flight.  While Brandon, Greg, and were loading the plane we noticed that we needed more food, toys, and other items for Haiti.   We found a Walmart open all night and at midnight Brandon and I were purchasing cooking oil, spaghetti, beans, rice, snack bars for the kids we meet, and of course more toys!

We were short of tents and didn’t know when we would get more so we decided to buy a large one for Calle.  We had met this quiet lady in Jacmel on Thursday.  Pierre had mentioned to me that she had lost her home, many relatives, and her family needed shelter.  I hugged her and told her that we would help.  While we knew that we couldn’t help everyone, we wanted to help her now. At the checkout stand our cart made a curious site.  Here were too guys after midnight with a cart full of stuffed toys, cars, 40 bags of beans, rice, a tent, and who knows what else.  We struck up a conversation with the other shoppers about our cause.  I mentioned to Brandon that we forgot to purchase a pocket knife to help us open boxes.  A Walmart employee standing nearby, took his pocket knife out and told us we needed it more than him.  When the time came to pay for our purchases, another shopper came up to us and offered her discount card to help reduce our costs.   Brandon and I had never had so much fun shopping!

Children in Jacmel

During the evening, I also received an e-mail from Eric Frost, one of our SDSU professors heavily involved with disaster preparedness and response.  Eric and I have worked on several projects and he had introduced me to a Navy team that was unable to get 400 lbs of critical communications gear and a specialist to Haiti.  Tomorrow (actually today in a few hours) we will try to take them to Haiti, of course they have to join us on our delivery route to Les Cayes, Jacmel, and then Port Au Prince.

Our Guide Pierre's Family Home in the Tent City in Jacmel

Since we leave in a few hours, I need to get some sleep.  Todd Macaluso and several other members of our team are going home tomorrow. Todd thought it was so important to continue using his plane for a few more days, that he is flying home commercially and leaving the plane with me so that Brandon, Greg and I can continue flying a few more days.

We know that we can’t do everything, for everyone, however maybe over the next few days we can improve the lives of a few, see some children smile when they play with the toys, provide some doctors with medicines and supplies, feed a few more hungry people, shield a family from rain, help a father with his daughter’s needs, clothe some folks, provide diapers and formula for babies, and of course our biggest reward is the smile we receive at the end of a day in Haiti before closing the door and heading back to our temporary home.

Collapsed Homes in Jacmel

Airlift to Haiti – Day 3 in Port Au Prince

Rich Pickett is SDSU’s CIO and a licensed pilot for 32 years. He is volunteering his time to fly relief flights to earthquake ravaged Haiti and will be sharing his experiences here as often as he is able …

Brandon and I  almost didn’t make it to Port Au Prince.  Due to the disaster they have instituted a reservation slot process.  Without an arrival slot, which you have to make within certain time limits, you can’t land at Port au Prince (airport code MTPP).  No slots were available after many attempts, so I told the medical workers that I would deliver the equipment and ask for forgiveness later.  You are not even allowed to leave Florida without a reservation.  Just before departure I met a doctor who was returning and he said he could have helped many people if the equipment had been there earlier.   Just before starting the engine, Rhonda (one of the relief workers) called and said we could have a slot reserved for someone else, however we had to be there in 2 hours.  The flight takes 3 hours, however I hoped to increase the power and squeeze in.  It was wishful thinking, however sometimes it is the thought that counts!

One of the two largest tent cities in Port Au Prince

A fast moving weather system with thunderstorms and lightning was approaching the airport, with several rain cells in our path. After departure I asked every Air Traffic Control (ATC) controller for shortcuts, telling them the equipment I had on board.  Everyone was great and we shaved a few minutes off the time. The route was getting familiar so after leveling off at 27,000 I started planning the rest of the flight. We arrived an hour late over one of the fixes on the outside of the MTPP airspace.  I called the controllers and apologized for my tardiness and explained my cargo.  It was almost dark and Port Au Prince is the only airport in Haiti with lights, so our options were limited within Haiti.  Todd’s airplane had 7 hours of endurance, so I could fly to another country if necessary.  They were gracious and cleared me to land.

Makeshift Airport Control at Jacmel

After shutting down the engines, Brandon and I quickly tried to contact the doctor, Rick Bonnell, who would receive the C-Arm X-Ray machine.  Communications isn’t great in Haiti and it did take some time using our satellite phone, then all of a sudden a truck and forklift appeared.  The medical staff were thrilled.  A large business jet was originally scheduled, however it didn’t have a large enough door for the use of a forklift.

With all of us watching, the forklift operator successfully removed it from the airplane without even a scratch.  Brandon and I had also brought supplies provided by Bahamas Habitat as well as the toys we purchased and other items.  While the machine was great, Dr. Bonnell was pleasantly surprised we brought toys for the patients and and after he told me he utilizes a peanut butter diet for some patients, we dropped off a case to him as well as other supplies.  He wanted us to save some supplies for Jacmel, which he thought was in even worse shape.

Cooking a corn soup to feed a family

We always meet new friends during our visits and this was no different.  We met a Stacy, who’s mom was a faculty member at SDSU.  A young friend of her’s had just died of a fever.  We comforted her and asked if she had any needs for our next trip, just a few items for the clinics.  We also ran into Sam Bloch of Burners without Borders , whom we had be

en in contact with earlier in another city.  He needed portable canopies for the doctors in the field.  I knew where we could get my hands on a dozen, so we planned to bring them later.  One of the airport workers tentatively approached me and said he had a one-month old baby and asked if we had any formula.  We checked and didn’t think it was in our cargo.  I gave the father $40 in the hopes he could buy some for his baby and we also provided him with some food for his family.

It was dark now and it was clear that it would not be a good idea to navigate the valleys to Jacmel, so we kept the supplies for them inside, closed the cargo door and decided to head to Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos, to refuel and stay over night.  Jet-A fuel is $10/gallon in Port Au Prince, and since we burn 350 gallons on a roundtrip, it would save save money for another trip.

We hadn’t planned on stopping in the Turks and Caicos, so we didn’t have a flight plan or a change of clothes.

Everybody was accommodating of our situation and helped us, including the people at the Providenciales airport who took us to a hotel to meet our other team members, who stayed on the island for the day and provided more space in the plane for the X-Ray machine, and provided discounted fuel.

On the way out of Port Au Prince, we hear several other airplanes navigating the ocean on voluntary relief flights.  The shear number of private, and corporate, aircraft and their pilots in support of Haiti is amazing.  Virtually all of these individuals and companies are supporting all of the costs.  Without this aerial armada of volunteers the lives of many thousands of Haitians would would be severely impacted.   Todd’s generous offer of the use of his plane, time, and  most of the fuel has made our trip possible.

The rest of our team provided  excellent support for various phases of our flights.

Airlift to Haiti – Photos help tell the story

Rich Pickett is SDSU’s CIO and a licensed pilot for 32 years. He is volunteering his time to fly relief flights to earthquake ravaged Haiti and will be sharing his experiences here as often as he is able …

Jacmel - On some of the homes they paint the names of people who died within them

Brandon Campbell (a SDSU student who is finishing his business degree ) is loading the plane in Ft. Lauderdale yesterday before our flight to Port Au Prince

Pierre, who lives in Jacmel, and his daughter with Rich

Pierre, who lives in Jacmel walked with us around the town and on our way back, I saw this tent city and asked if we could stop.  As we were leaving, Pierre asked us to stay and meet his family (those who survived).  His daughter came up and hugged me and their ‘home’ is the 6 x 8 area with dirt and cardboard floor with plastic sheeting.  I have a tent for him, that I hope to deliver today.

Just landed in Jacmel with another loaf of supplies

Airlift to Haiti – day 3 on the way to Port Au Prince

Airlift to Haiti – End of Day 2

Airlift to Haiti – Day 2

Airlift to Haiti – Day 1

Aztec Nights – Murder, Lasers, and Snow, oh my!

Last fall SDSU students dodged their way to breaking a world record in the largest game of dodgeball ever played! And it took place right here on campus.

It was all part of Aztec Nights, a program started in the fall of 2008 that provides entertaining nighttime activities in a safe environment. This spring, Aztec Nights has been up and running once again with one of the most enticing lineups yet.

Although rain postponed some of the activities in the first week of the semester, it didn’t hinder students from taking full advantage of four nights of on-campus events.

Murder Mystery Dinner

First up was a murder mystery dinner that encouraged students to “forget a date– bring an alibi.” The fun-filled evening included a sit down Italian meal and mock murder that left everyone under suspicion.

Welcome Back Madness

Next up was Welcome Back Madness that was held directly after one of SDSU’s infamous basketball games. The excitement of the game carried over to Peterson Gym, where students enjoyed music, pizza, photo booths, and even a mechanical bull.

Vortex Laser Tag

Possibly the coolest new event to hit Aztec Nights was Vortex Laser Tag. A grass field was transformed into a laser tag course that offered adventure and excitement for students. Techno music set the backdrop for this high energy night.

Winter Wonderland

Two students sled down Scripps Lawn during Winter Wonderland.

The final installment of Aztec Nights opening week activities was the Winter Wonderland created near Scripps Cottage. A snow machine created 24 tons of real snow that allowed students to sled, throw snowballs, and of course, create a few snowmen. The event was packed with students who didn’t want to leave the snowy hill when the event ended at 1 a.m.

Coming Up…

Despite all these events, Aztec Nights isn’t over just yet. The next activity is all about giving into the 7 deadly sins and includes taking out some of your wrath, a gluttonous chocolate fountain, and lots of Aztec pride. All you need to do is follow the search lights to find these fun and free activities on campus.

Keep up with Aztec Nights via their Web site, Facebook, and Twitter to see what’s in store!

~ Desiree Roughton, Communications Student Assistant, Enrollment Services