Cop Shop is one of The Signal’s most popular columns.
As much as The Signal staff is unwilling to admit it, many people only read The Signal for Cop Shop. Besides the occasional funny moment (“We’re smoking pot” and the clown loose in Eickhoff Hall come to mind), the incidents reported in Cop Shop are serious and occasionally dangerous or lifethreatening. Clowns and pot smokers may be mentioned every once in a while, but who’s mentioned every single week?
Lions’ EMS.
Lions’ EMS is constantly saving someone in Cop Shop,
and are always the first on the scene in medical emergencies. They help students who have had too much to drink. They may even come help you if you get a bad paper cut because that’s their job — to help College students.
Lion’s EMS has become a staple on this campus and we
all rely on them. They are one of the few organizations on Campus that potentially reaches every single person. We never know when we may need them, but if we do, they’ll be there. Except they may not be very soon.
Because they switched to funding from the College as opposed to funding from the Student Finance Board, Lions’ EMS need a supervisor instead of an adviser. According to the story on this issue’s front page, “the responsibilities of a supervisor transcend the role of adviser, requiring that the individual be an EMT.”
So, because the supervisor needs to be an EMT, the squad is having a hard time finding someone to fill the position. And if no one fills the position, Lions’ EMS will cease to exist. I can’t even begin to stress what a loss this would be to the College.
Holly Heller, the current adviser to Lions’ EMS, said that the state of the College’s budget is to blame for the difficulty in finding a replacement for Heller. Lions’ EMS itself is doing everything they can, including a proposal and letter submitted to the vice president of Student Affairs.
But we can help. If the College community comes together to show the administration how much Lions’ EMS means to us, we could really make a difference. So write to the vice president of Student Affairs. Shoot an e-mail to President Gitenstein. Call every administrator that could even help a little.
If Lions’ EMS is disbanded, their response time of two to four minutes will stretch to the 15 minutes it will take off campus EMS organizations to get to here (like Ewing EMS). That 15 minutes can make a world of difference.
“I think students will be adversely affected,” Michael Delatore, Lions’ EMS Logistics Captain and senior criminology major, said of the possible disbandment. “We’re on campus, we’re able to respond quicker.”
We will be adversely affected if Lions’ EMS ceases to exist. So make it known that you want the group of people who heals this Campus’s hurts to keep answering those calls. And to keep appearing in Cop Shop. Imagine how much worse the reports might be without them.
— Caroline Russomanno
Managing Editor
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This is rediculous. My friends at other NJ public colleges (Ramapo, Montclair, Rowan, Rutgers) all have campus EMS people. They are clearly a useful service to TCNJ; shutting them down not only puts residents at risk but also pulls an ambulance from Ewing for the bad paper cuts and other non-life threatening issues whe someone could be having a heart attack across town. Hopefully no one gets hurt as a result of delayed care and they are reinstated ASAP.
Ok yeah, that’s stupid. I’m sorry, but the safety of everyone on campus really outweighs almost everything else. In fact, I can’t think of any group whose lose would hurt us as much.
Cut anything but EMS.
Okay, so we’re going to continue to pour money into our piss-poor, division 6 sports while a program that actually does a great service the campus community dies? This is absurd. Save EMS!
The implications of shutting down LEMS are far more serious than anyone even realizes. LEMS provides quick response that saves Pennington Road EMS the time and the resources, allowing them to serve the rest of Ewing Township and the surrounding areas. Taking LEMS away takes away a big chunk of service to the residents of Ewing Township, including those students off campus.
Beyond that, Pennington Road EMS are having problems of their own. A new chief that is barely commanding the respect of the volunteers means a decline in active participation down the road at Station 32. There are nights where Pennington Road EMS doesn’t have a crew on standby because they don’t have the volunteers for it. That leads to hospital crews from towns even further covering their original areas, in addition to Ewing Township, TCNJ, and even possibly ANOTHER township if they don’t have their crew. It HAS happened and it will continue to happen. The College doesn’t realize the disservice they’re doing if they allow LEMS to disband. The ripple doesn’t stop at students, but even extends to residents throughout the area.
Lion’s EMS will not be shut down. I have it from a top source that there is no way in hell it would be shut down, the cost-benefit is just way too great. Proposals for funding have no reached the people they need to reach yet, so no need to panic.
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