Jon Haber’s Weblog

So there I was at USC, sitting in my writing class Thursday morning. The time passed slowly, as usual. I gave my presentation on my blog entry, and I watched my other classmates give their presentations as well. The class began at 9:30 a.m. and was set to end at 10:50. Luckily, we got out early and I had enough time to eat before my next class. I had survived another early morning writing class that had been as uneventful as the Thursday before. But the thing is, it shouldn’t have been the same writing class of old.

When I walked into the classroom that morning, I was a little curious as to see what my teacher would say.After all, it wasn’t just any Thursday. It was Thursday, Nov. 13. While that date may not have any historical significance, it was a day that was supposed to be special in 2008. At 10 a.m. millions of

ShakeOut.org

Californians were supposed to participate in the the Great Southern California ShakeOut Drill, “the largest earthquake preparedness activity in U.S. history” according to shakeout.org. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) organized the statewide event that was created to practice earthquake safety for schools, institutions and businesses in California. Participants were told to act as though a magnitude 7.8 earthquake was occuring at 10 a.m. sharp and to drop, duck and cover themselves. Additionally, participants were expected to follow other drill instructions before heading outside. ShakeOut’s Web site provided some videos for participants to practice before the drill as well.

“The planned emergency drill [was] underpinned by the most comprehensive analysis ever of what a major Southern California earthquake would mean on the ground,” said Dr. Lucile Jones, chief scientist and organizer of USGS’s earthquake demonstration, according to usgs.gov. “We know this science will help state and local agencies develop comprehensive emergency-response plans that will help us avoid the worst impacts of a major quake.”

The drill was pushed into action with the help of a group of scientists that concluded a major earthquake on the San Andreas Fault was due to hit Southern California within the next 30 years. While thay may be a long time span, organizers argued it is never to early to start preparing for safety.

Because broadcast and print news had devoted a significant amount of coverage to the event, I didn’t know what to expect when my writing class began that Thursday morning. Immediately when my professor came in, he had a smile on his face. He informed my class that we wouldn’t be participating in the drill, and he considered it quite silly for adults to even consider it. The more I thought about it, the more I tended to side with him. Ducking under my desk for no apparent reason did seem pretty foolish. I had been in earthquake drills and even made it through the major 1994 Northridge earthquake. I knew what to expect.

So fine, my class didn’t participate in the drill. I was sure other classes were involved. However, when my next class began, students and our professor began joking about the drill. “I mean come on,” my teacher said. “It wasn’t realistic for us to do anything.” As my Thursday continued, I spoke to more people about the drill. By the end of the day I was left with one glaring fact: No one I talked to had participated. In fact, until this very day I haven’t spoken to anyone who participated in the classroom. No one took the drill seriously.

Outside of USC, people working at companies and institutions shared the same feelings. Ryann Russell, manager of branded integration at Sony Pictures in Culver City, said her office did not participate in the drill, despite an article on the company’s internal home page about the event. “I feel it was unnecessary,” she wrote in an e-mail. “I didn’t understand how it would help me if and when there is a big earthquake in Southern California.”

Additionally, Bob Levey, a life insurance agent in the San Fernando Valley, also did not participate in the drill. While he said he wouldn’t call the drill “a joke,” he did say people probably didn’t participate because he sees it as “an exercise in futility. I mean if the house falls in, or our building collapses, what are we going to do? The drill can’t stop that.”

While the general adult population did not feel the need to drop and cover, many children in elementary schools did practice in the event. Our Lady of Grace in Encino held a school-wide drill at 10 a.m. that Thursday morning. But according to computer teacher Kristen Thorner, “It wasn’t differen’t from any other normal drills we do. We already hold fire drills, so it’s nothing new.”

While the drill may have gotten young people’s attention, was the flop really worth it for Californians? The state invested over money and time in setting up ShakeOut on Nov. 13, but organizers failed to realize a lot of adults would find it silly to pretend that an earthquake was occurring. After all, adults are not 5-year-old children. Playtime ended years ago.

Rather than having the state invest money and time into an earthquake drill for something that may or may not happen in the next 30 years, the government should be focusing more on bigger issues, like state and national economy. In February 2008, the Los Angeles Times reported that California’s state budget deficit had reached $16 billion, an incredibly large amount to make up for any state. With the national and local economies in such a dire state, throwing money at the ShakeOut Drill seemed unnecessary, especially after the resulting adult participation rate.

Despite the low turnout, officials still see the drill as a success. “A lot did get done,” said Steve Goldfarb, a

Some members of the USC community participated in the ShakeOut Drill Nov. 13 on Cromwell Field. Christianna Kyriacou, Daily Trojan.

fire and emergency specialst at USC’s Fire Safety and Emergency Planning department. “A lot of people did do it, and we’ve done surveys to determine what they felt. It was worth it and we should do it more often. It’s definitely not a lost cause.”

And while no one inside USC classrooms I spoke to participated Nov. 13, close to 500 students and faculty participated in an event outside on Cromwell Field consisting of fake bloody victims scattered across the field for the Campus Emergency Response Team to find and help. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, USC did a fine job in executing a drill that could help in the future.

“They planned a very good drill with a lot of different people involved,” said LAFD Capt. John Pecel. “Usually when you have a lot of people like that, it’s a challenge. The places we saw were very impressive.”

While officials viewed the Cromwell incident as a success, my classmates and I saw it as another foolish move by organizers. It was way over the top and even comical to see others doused in red and being saved from absolutely nothing. The event just wasn’t fit for an adult audience.

I’m all for the state and other experts trying to get together and find solutions to problems. But next time, I hope they devote time to the right issues, like the economy or education, and not a fake earthquake. Otherwise, maybe it would be time for them to stop and drop out of their jobs.