1987-10-15, Samford Crimson

SAMFORD CRIMSON . ■ \ — Inside News digest ......... 3 Charley's Aunt . 5 Homecoming Queen ...9 Persian Gulf . 11 News Editor Construction on the south end of Samford Hall was put on hold for six weeks during the summer after asbestos was found in materials inside the area being renovated for admissions and financial aid offices. “It was determined the chilled water pipes could have been insulated with material containing asbestos,”Rick Stephens, director of physical plant, said. Asbestos is a fiberous material that is potentially harmful to the human body when inhaled. It is not known however, how widespread the problem of asbestos is in the buildings at Samford. Stephens, who is responsible for new construction and renovation, said “an alarm went off” when a university employee, Patrick Noble, saw the manufacturer’s name on the outside of the insulation. Asbestos is incombustible and chemical-resistant and is used for ffre-proofing, electrical insulation and building materials. Stepens said it is widely known that this manufac¬ turer produced insulation containing asbestos. Noble recognized the brand and informed Stephens. When the asbestos was found, workers from the Joe F. Crowson Construction Co., who is doing the reconstruction work, were told to stop all renovation until the asbestos was removed. “We enlisted the aid of an engineering firm (Law Engineer¬ ing and Testing Co.) and asbestos testing was one of its specialties,” Stephens said. Darral Kirby, the project manager for the Law Co. on the Samford Hall job, said his firm made an initial “guesstiraa- tion" on how much asbestos was in the material. “We took air samples and ran а ТЕМ (Transmission Elec¬ tron Microscopy), which is an in-depth way of seeing if the asbestos is present,” he said. Kirby said the tests found asbestos only in the pipe fittings. He said there was about one to 10 percent found in the material and none was found in the air. “Everything else was okay,” he said, but where asbestos is concerned “it’s never all-right.” He said he did not know why the asbestos was concentrated only in the fittings. He said all of the water pipes could have been done with that material and the insulation wrapping the pipps probably had been re-done at a later date. According to Stephens, the Law Co. developed a plan with specifications on correcting the problem. A Tuscaloosa firm. Arc Refractory Construction, Inc. did the removal of the materials containing the asbestos. After this was done, ARC took more airborne samples as follow-up tests and found everything to be clear. The work resumed in mid-August and Stephens said the reconstruction of the financial aid and ad¬ missions offices should be completed by Thanksgiving. Stephens said he did not believe anyone has been exposed or harmed by the asbestos found. “Any asbestos can be harmful if it’s airborne. As long as it’s encapsulated it’s not hazardous,” he said. When asbestos fibers do become airborne, the human body becomes susceptible. Prolonged inhalation of asbestos par¬ ticles causes severe lung inflammation and can eventually lead to lung cancer. But Stephens said he could not emphasize enough the fact that it is not harmful until it becomes airborne. He said the material is wrapped in a protective membrane that keeps it intact. “In the future, we will have to be more cautious"when do¬ ing renovation work,” Stephens said. Stephens said Samford is fortunate most of its buildings are relatively new. The oldest building, Samford Hall is thirty- one years old. He could not, however, say if the asbestos problem at Sam¬ ford had or would be solved in the near future. He said he did not know if some of the other buildings contain materials with asbestos like those found in Samford Hall. “Some of them may be,” he said. “I’m not going to say at this point whether they would or would not.” “Where prudence has to be shown is in the renovation of the buildings. We’ll have to be careful about what materials we select to be use in renovations,” he said. Stephens said he has taken steps to handle future cases by taking the maintenance personnel and putting them through training so they will be able to detect materials that contain asbestos. “I don’t feel we have a tremendous asbestos problem at Samford,” he said. “When some people hear the word ‘asbestos,’ they think it means doom and despair,” Stephens said. “But the same people will go into the labs here at Samford and handle hydrochloric acid which could also spell doom and despair. It’s all in the way it is handled.” \ Volume 72 Number 4 Samford University Birmingham, Alabama October 15, 1987 Asbestos found, removed during Samford Hall renovations Bruno endows pharmacy chair Anthony Bruno, president of Big B, Inc., and his wife Marianne have given $500,000 to the School of Pharmacy for the school's first endowed chair. This endowment will allow the school to recruit a nationally recognized professor. By B1 Carothers Associate Entertainment Editor If you thought you saw an unusual number of “derbied" young men last week, do not worry, it was Sigma Chi fraternity’s annual “Derby Days.” The week is designed to be a com¬ petition between the sororities on campus and a fund-raiser for the fraternity’s national charities. This year’s week brought in a gross amount of $3,500 according to Ross Campbell. After expenses, $2,000 went to various charities including the Cleo Wallace Center for Children, Big О Boy’s ranch, and the Sororities’ favorite philanthropies. Amy Lawrence, a Sigma Chi lit¬ tle sister and a sister of Zeta Tau Alpha, said “I think it’s great that an organization like Sigma Chi can of¬ fer fun activities for the student body while raising money for a charitable cause.” Monday started off with the der¬ by snatch in which girls in the sororities try to capture a Sigma Chi’s derby. For each derby that a sorority member took, their group received points that was added to their total score for the week. Tuesday featured the penny voting for “Mr. Legs" and the derby hunt, which the sisters of Phi Mu won. Wednesday was the day for the Sorority car washes. It was also Johnny Ray day in which Johnny Ray’s Bar-B-Q donated a percen¬ tage of profits to the fraternity for the number of Samford students that ate at Johnny Ray’s. The restaurant donated almost $500 to the group said Campbell. Thursday featured the events on the Quad. Games included an egg toss and a human, chicken fight. A Derby Darling was also elected by penny-voting. In penny-voting, a sorority nominates a sister to be its candidate for the Derby Darling. People then toss coins into a basket and the sorority with the most money at the end of the day declares its nominee the Derby Darling. This year the title of Derby Darl¬ ing went to Laura Billingsley, a sister of Alpha Delta Pi. Billingsley said “It was fun. It brought the sorority a lot closer. We had to work together.” Friday concluded the annual event with a dance at the Barn at Oak Mountain complete with a Dance-off. Lawrence said “The Der¬ by Bash at Oak Mountain was a blast with everybody cheering on the couple representing their organiza¬ tion.” After all the points were added. Alpha Delta Pi finished third. Delta Zeta finished second, and this year’s winner was Zeta Tau Alpha. Tracey Shepard, a sister of Zeta Tau Alpha, said “It was a lot of hard work. The work was worth it because it gave us an opportunity to get to know our pledges better. We’re proud to represent Sigma Chi as Derby Days winner." “I felt that this year’s Derby Days was well-organized and served its purpose well by raising a record amount of money for Sigma Chi’s philanthropies” stated Lawrence “I’m also excited that the sisters of Zeta Tau Alpha placed overall in the competition.” "Derby Days" raises funds for charity photo by Alan Thompson Terence Young I left) looks on as Tony Moussakhani takes aim during a pool game in the gameroom. Kirkley named new gameroom manager By Jon Воем Staff Reporter Amid the “regulars" shooting pool and slamming ping-pong balls, is a new face around the Samford gameroom. Keith Kirkley, a junior biology major from Hueytown, has been selected as the new gameroom manager. Kirkley said, “I want to have a respec¬ table gameroom that will provide a place where students can go in their recreation time.” Kirkley assumed his responsibilities on Sep. 30. Rick Traylor, assistant dean of students said the job of the manager entails “everything that goes on in the gameroom.” “The manager oversees the everyday running of the gameroom, supervises his staff of five, and coordinates their hours,” he said. Traylor said nothing in the gameroom has changed. The same rules and guidelines still apply. Joey Shunnarah, a senior pharmacy major, served as manager for 13 con¬ secutive school sessions, including January Term, spring and foil semesters, and both summer sessions. Shunnarah left his post early this semester, citing academic reasons for his departure. Shunnarah, a commuter student, said that in his position as manager “I would go home at 9:30 and then begin studying. I felt it was time Pharmacy school came first.” Last year Shunnarah initiated a gameroom tournament which included ping-pong and single-elimination pool competition. Kirkley said he would like to see this tournament held again. Although nothing has been formerly drawn up, he said the tournament is a definite possibility for the future. “I would like to do it again because it drew people into the gameroom." he said. “I have a great staff to work with," he said, “and I am looking forward to my up¬ coming days and weeks as manager.” Samford University Library