The schools with professors imposing these bans include George Washington University, the College of William and Mary and University of Virginia.

“(Laptops) are like putting on every student’s desk, when you walk into class, five different magazines, several different television shows, some shopping opportunities and a phone, and saying, ‘Look, if your mind wanders, feel free to pick any of these up and go with it,’” said Professor David Cole of Georgetown Law University in Washington, D.C. in an interview with the Washington Post.

Similarly, it is not uncommon to find about half of the students in a Cal State Fullerton classroom utilizing laptops during lectures. But exactly what they use them for is up for debate.

“Once I’m in the classroom, it’s always on,” said RTVF senior, Kenneth Lopez, 24, “I’ll visit Facebook from time to time. I read articles on Yahoo. Sometimes I’ll play games, but more often than not, I do take notes,” Lopez said.

Nonetheless, not all students use their laptops specifically for leisure.

“Usually I don’t take notes with (my laptop), I write them,” said Economics major, Jason Thach, 28.

Thach has carried his laptop to class for over a year now.

“Many teachers have articles that they want us to read, and it’s nice to have a laptop during class to follow along,” Thach said.

But most professors at CSUF don’t seem likely to jump to the extreme of banning laptops during their lectures.

“I have way too much that I want to accomplish in the classroom to waste time worrying about whether someone is taking notes or surfing the web on a laptop,” said American Studies Professor John Ibson.

A professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder tracked the grades of 17 student laptop addicts. At the end of the term, their average grade was 71 percent, almost the same as the average for the students who didn’t come at all, as reported by the Washington Post.

Ultimately, the responsibility remains with the student. “Students who visit Facebook or eBay instead of paying attention to class, participating and taking notes are insulting and cheating themselves much more than they are insulting me,” Ibson said.

Students may think they’re keen at multitasking, but professors are not oblivious. “They may think they’re paying attention, but they’re not and it’s obvious,” said Professor of American Studies, Craig Loftin. “Students need to be aware that professors are aware.”

What professors are more concerned about is how one’s internet use can affect the students around them. “If it’s distracting to other students, then it can be a problem,” Loftin said.

Colleges have yet to restrict the use of laptops in classrooms completely. The benefit of keeping a few students off of Facebook does not outweigh the cost of preventing professors from accessing educational websites that aide in their lesson plans.

Disabling Internet access entirely might create a raft of new complaints from professors who routinely ask students to go online in class, the Washington Post reported.

“Maybe it takes a lousy mid-term grade for students to realize they need to pay more attention to the lecture and less attention to their computer screens,” Loftin said.

The worldwide craze of “going green” has greatly impacted the way inventors of renewable energy sources think. Former NASA scientist K.R Sridhar has developed a sustainable and efficient energy source that creates inexpensive clean energy. Bloom Energy founded Sridhar’s Bloom Box in 2001, but only now is the public eye catching a glimpse.

CBS’s Lesley Stahl with “60 Minutes” called the Bloom Box a miniature “power plant-in-a-box” after an interview with Sridhar on Feb. 21, his first public appearance revolving around the topic of this previously confidential technological invention.

The objective Sridhar wanted to reach with the Bloom Box was to maximize the amounts of energy produced with the least amount of emissions in an energy source.

Sridhar has invented a new fuel cell, like a thin battery that runs 24/7 that is completely self-sufficient and sustainable.

During the “60 Minutes” interview, Sridhar held two Bloom Boxes and stated that the units can, “ … power an entire U.S. home, two European homes and even four homes in India.” A single unit, sized for personal home usage, is smaller than a shoebox in diameter.

John Doerr, a partner with the venture capital firm who discovered and funded Google, Netscape and Amazon, sees Bloom Box as “the first clean energy investment.”

Jumping on the “Go Green” bandwagon, 20 well-known companies in California, like Wal-Mart, eBay, Staples and FedEx have invested big money in Sridhar’s technology to use as their energy source.

Google was Sridhars first customer, purchasing four units, each the size of a refrigerator. For the past 18 months, the units have been powering a portion of Google’s energy needs at their headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.

Each corporate-sized Bloom Box is currently priced between $700,000 and $800,000.
Currently, California is the only state where Bloom Boxes have been installed.

“A unit should cost less than $3,000 for home use in the next five to 10 years,” Sridhar said.

Nonetheless, uncertainty may prevent Sridhar’s Bloom Box from making its way into the common home.
“To know that Google and other big companies are using it, doesn’t really say too much. They have the means to try great new projects like the Bloom Box. Until facts and stats prove the box’s capabilities in mass quantity, I am a bit skeptical,” said public administration major Eric Frankman.

There isn’t any need for power lines from an outside source.

The Bloom Box is a stationary unit that will generate electricity in your own backyard.

“If you can generate energy where it is needed, on the spot and still meet needs, you are going to lose emissions. It will be more efficient by nature,” said computer science major Ryan Lewis.

Addiction to online games, such as FarmVille, can lead to self-destructve behaviors, including a detachment from reality. Photo by Nick Marley/Daily Titan Photo Editor.

“Gamer” parents in Korea were spending countless hours raising a virtual child in an Internet café as their own infant starved to death at home.

They were playing “Prius,” an online 3-D game in which players nurture an online girl, Anima, who has mysterious powers and grows up as the game progresses.

Online gaming can be a dangerous addiction. It has become a relatively new trend that is growing rapidly throughout many countries. Ever since video games have exploded in popularity over the last 20-plus years, there have been a plethora of different gaming genres for almost anyone to enjoy. Every gamer plays different games for different reasons. However, some people take it too far.

Depending on the game, it can become an addiction, tearing relationships apart.

As failing school became a concern, Tawny Pascarella, a 22-year-old English major, quickly found herself in arguments with her parents, not to mention disputes with boyfriends, about the time being spent playing video games.

“I would get to the point where I wouldn’t talk to people. I’d forget to go to the bathroom. I wouldn’t eat,” Pascarella said.

According to a study conducted by the NPD Group, over 63 percent of Americans play video games.
Some games seem to attract all audiences. For example, social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace offer many different genres, such as card games, puzzles and strategy games, but the most played is “FarmVille,” made by Zynga.

According to the Inside Social Games Web site, the massively popular farming game had more than 83 million monthly gamers, almost twice over the runner up the previous month.

Cal State Fullerton student James Gobee has a 60-year-old father who finds himself spending a lot of time playing these types of games.

“I guess I am somewhat addicted to the Facebook games,” Gobee’s father, Ernie, said. “I play them every day, at night when every sane person has gone to sleep.”

While this may seem common to some, Ernie also explains how an older game pulled him away from personal interaction,“I think I was more addicted to a computer game called ‘Heroes of Might & Magic.’ I would often be asked to come to dinner or join family functions because I was always on the computer.”
Nonetheless, there are still others who play games just for entertainment and don’t let them affect their daily lives.

CSUF psychology professor David Gerkens mentioned a study that revealed the positive affects that video games could have on gamers.

The study, done by C.S. Green and D. Bavelier, showed that action games provide improved visual attention and processing over people who don’t play.

Some play video games for other reasons, like stress relief.

“Video games are my outlet for my aggression. If I’m not playing video games, I get really cranky,” Pascarella said.

Reminisce with games from this past decade. Image courtesy of Gamespot.com

Although it’s weird to think that we’ve already completed a decade of the new millennium, it’s about time we sit back and take a look at which video games were keeping us occupied in the early ’00s. In 2000, we saw the release of many great games. We also experienced the beginning of what would be become the third console war with the release of the sequel system, Playstation 2, and then the later release of the Xbox and Nintendo Gamecube in 2001. But since the PS2 was brand new in the market, the cream of the previous generation’s gaming crop was just meeting its potential. So, we’re here to take a look five of the most popular games we were playing a decade ago:

5) WWF: No Mercy (N64) November 2000

THQ’s follow up to its successful “Wrestlemania 2000,” this title enhanced the fun factor that four people could have while playing a game, with over 70 characters to choose from, including some fan favorites like The Rock, Hunter Hearst Helmsley (HHH) and the Undertaker. The game even included lesser characters like Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty. “WWF: No Mercy” had something for all players. The game also shone with its single player mode, where had you go on the “Road to Wrestlemania” and choose one of seven belts to pursue, then wrestle your way accordingly until ending at the “Grand Daddy of Them All.” This game was definitely most prominent for its multiplayer mode. If you had four players, you had endless possibilities of what you could do, which meant hours upon hours of fun. “WWF: No Mercy” will be remembered as one of the top multiplayer games of its generation. We can only hope that it’s released on the Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console for download sometime soon.

4) The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (N64) October 2000

Coming out almost a year after the release of what some consider the greatest Zelda game of all time, “The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” is definitely an underrated game because it swayed so far from the usual Zelda games. People (myself included) were thrown off by the game taking place somewhere different than the usual kingdom of Hyrule; Zelda and Ganon are nowhere in the game, and you only had three days (in-game) to complete it. “That game was kind of weird, I never beat it all the way through. I liked “Ocarina of Time” better,” said Andrew Huynh, a 22-year-old psychology major. Nonetheless, after taking a second look at this game, it was definitely a fun ride and had an unexpectedly deep storyline.

3)Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (N64, PS1, Gameboy Color) September 2000

The hugely successful sequel “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2″ is still one of the highest scored video games ever released. Radio-TV-Film major Ruben Angulo, 27, put it bluntly: “That game seriously rocked. I didn’t get much homework when that game came out.” THPS2 boasted a roster that included the legendary Tony Hawk as well as the likes of Bob Burnquist, Rune Gilfberg, Chad Muska and my personal favorite, Bucky Lasek. It also included an improved Create-A-Skater function and an impressive soundtrack, which included tracks like “Guerilla Radio” by Rage Against the Machine and “When Worlds Collide” by Powerman 5000. Many say that the series began to fall off after THPS2, and it’s a debate that’s still talked about to this day between gamers. Nevertheless, if you still have this game collecting dust on your shelf, give it a whirl so you can take a ride down memory lane.

2) Perfect Dark (N64) May 2000

Let’s face it, in 1997 (and beyond) “Goldeneye 007″ had all gamers pinned down in front of the TV for hours on end. Developer Rare knew it had a hit, but since it was unable to continue using the James Bond franchise, they developed their own storyline and characters, and used the same, but improved, engine. It was with this potent mix that we were introduced to Joana Dark. The story takes you on a 17 mission roller coaster ride that includes assassinating clones of the President of United States, helping a little gray alien who goes by the name of Elvis and eventually preventing one alien race from decimating another with planet Earth caught in the middle. “When my buddies and I got tired of playing ‘Tekken Tag Tournament,’ we always went back to playing ‘Perfect Dark’. We would never get bored with it,” said software engineering graduate student Uchenna Anyikam, 25.Viewed by many as the “spiritual” sequel to “Goldeneye,” “Perfect Dark” definitely gave players their money’s worth. Xbox 360 owners will get a chance to play the game again as it will be released on Xbox Live March 17. So, if you played this game and have a 360, get some friends over and have a blast with this gem.

1) Counter-Strike (PC) November 2000

Originally released as a mod to the PC series “Half Life,” “Counter Strike” quickly took on a life of its own. A squad of terrorists vs. an anti-terrorism unit trying to complete different objectives on a series of different maps: that’s it. No main character, no princess to save, no running around looking for the scroll to save the world. Just simple team-based gameplay. Using tactics to outsmart the other team, or just going down a choke point guns a-blazing, it was this simple formula that still has people playing this game to this day. In high school, I could almost always be found at the local internet café playing this game until my eyes hurt. If you want to play a game that helped pave the way to such hits like “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2″ and “Killzone 2,” pick up “Counter Strike.”

Rescue workers and police enter the scene of destruction where the Interstate 880-Interstate 80 interchange collapsed in Oakland during the Loma Prieta earthquake in October 1989. Photo courtesy of Tom Van Dyke/San Jose Mercury News/MCT

When people think of California, one of the first words that usually comes to mind is earthquake.

The San Andreas Fault, which snakes uncomfortably close to Orange County and other large cities along much of California’s length, has been relatively quiet for the past 150 years but that could end very soon.

“California will have an earthquake, it is not if, but when,” said David Bowman, chairman of geological sciences at Cal State Fullerton. “California actually has earthquakes daily, they are just too small for us to feel.”

The San Andreas is not the only fault along which an earthquake can occur. It is just the largest fault of a large complex of faults making up the San Andreas Fault Zone.

“There are lots of faults and in various sizes, most are small. The San Andreas Fault, Ellsinore Fault, Whittier Fault, Newport Fault and Inglewood Fault,” said Bowman. “At CSUF we sit on top of Puente Hills Fault then there is a little portion that is called the Coyote Hills Fault.”

Although CSUF students and faculty are well aware California will eventually face another earthquake, few are prepared for a disaster.

“Count how many bridges you go under or cross on the way home,” said Dr. Brady Rhodes, geology instructor. “If those bridges are impaired then you wont be able to get home. Also figure out how you are going to get food and water when buildings are no longer accessible.”

Since 1857, the San Andreas Fault has not had a big earthquake. That leaves California over 150 years past due.

The Fort Tejon earthquake, which occurred on Jan. 9, 1857, was the biggest earthquake California experienced. The amount of fault slip gave the earthquake a moment magnitude of 7.9. Although the area was not that populated, it still was recorded as extremely destructive.

Graphic courtesy of MCT

“I would rather be at home when an earthquake happens,” Rhodes said. “People do not realize how dangerous an office space or their surroundings are. Look in your office, classroom or personal space and see all of the things that can shift and move. Things will fall and break, essentially your printer or laptop can be in your lap.”

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake, which occurred July 28, 2008 definitely, shook things up, said Administrative Lieutenant John Brockie. The earthquakes epicenter was located about three miles west of Chino, Calif. and about 28 miles east of Los Angeles.

“When the July 28 earthquake happened I was standing in front of the old Police Building,” Brockie said. “There was minor damage in multiple buildings but nothing structural. The library was definitely a mess with all the books on the floor, but that was a given due to the shaking.”

Although Brockie stated that no one was hurt physically he did mention they were very visibly scared.

The CSUF Police Department is designed to act in concert with the other services available on the campus, to protect and provide a safe environment for the students, staff and faculty of the campus no matter what the situation may be but for material things such as batteries and pillows students will be on their own.

“California is going to get a big earthquake because we are on a major fault system,” associate professor Phillip Armstrong said.

“Southern California is more at risk, rather than Northern California because the San Andreas Fault is close to us. Southern California should expect a 7.0 magnitude, if not higher.”

Many can still remember the Northridge earthquake, which occurred on Jan. 17, 1994 in Reseda, a neighborhood in LA, that lasted for about 20 seconds. The earthquake had magnitude of 6.7, but the ground acceleration was one of the highest ever instrumentally recorded in an urban area in North America.

Seventy-two deaths were attributed to the Northridge earthquake, with over 9,000 injured. In addition, the earthquake caused an estimated $20 billion in damage making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

“I am not prepared for an earthquake,” admits English major Raymond Reyes. “I am scared what it may do and where I can go. Even though I consider myself to be self-sufficient regarding my condition being paraplegic, I am afraid how would I get around in my wheelchair. That is one of the last things people think about when these things strike.”

California State Northridge had students on hold with their studies until the university could clear their buildings and make it safe for re-occupancy after the 1994 earthquake. Many students in the dorms were reported sleeping inside their cars and the quad until it was safe to go back in their rooms.

“There are models that predict loss of life and monetary figures but we really do not know how many people are really going to be hurt and what the damage is going to be when we get this earthquake,” Armstrong said.

According to Brockie CSUF faculty and staff participate in emergency drills twice a year in case a disaster strikes. They go through routine exit routs and what to do in case someone is hurt.

“I think everyone should participate in a earthquake drill,” Reyes said. “Not just faculty and staff everyone handles things differently, you can have someone who you think will crack take action and the strongest person fall to their knees.”

The purpose of the Great California ShakeOut is to help people and organizations get better prepared for major earthquakes, and also practice how to protect themselves when they happen.

The next ShakeOut Drill is scheduled for Oct. 21 at 10:21 a.m.

The main goal of the ShakeOut is to get Californian residents and students prepared for major earthquakes, so use the ShakeOut as an opportunity to learn what to do before, during, and after an earthquake. Visit Earthquakecountry.info/roots/seven_steps.html for tips on how to prepare, protect and recover.

“We cannot predict earthquakes, they just happen. People want to hear that there is an earthquake on Thursday,” Bowman said. “The San Andreas is locked and loaded, ready to go. It can produce a big earthquake today, tomorrow or fifty years from now, it’s time that people realize that.”

Jesse Flores, 22, of Fullerton and Melissa Sandoval, 19, enjoy lunch at Monkey Business Café. Photo by Jennifer Karmarkar/Daily Titan Staff Writer

My mother warned me never to judge a book by its cover and, had I listened, I would have checked out Monkey Business Café in Fullerton years ago.

Apparently, I’m not the only one who doesn’t listen to their mother – this 5-year-old eatery seems to be the best-kept secret in town.

Driving down Lemon Street, the landmark lipstick-red building is easy to spot. Banana-yellow signs splashed across the store-front promise espresso and free Wi-Fi, adding a touch of kitsch. The windows sit high above the street with shades usually drawn, furthering the mystery about this place.

It turns out that Monkey Business has had several incarnations since the owner, Hart Community Homes, launched the business in 2003. It began as a thrift store, then closed and reopened as a café in 2005. Three months ago, the café morphed into a full-blown restaurant with the addition of a grill and an oven.

On my first visit, Sunday breakfast was in full swing. About a dozen customers of all ages relaxed at umbrella-coiffed picnic tables and sprawled across plush, pillowed couches and chairs that line the spacious room.

A toddler scrambled to and fro across the hardwood floor, pausing to bang on the weary baby grand near the entrance. Bleary-eyed students guzzled organic coffee while waiting for their food.

Andy Grether, 23, a business management major at Cal State Fullerton, lives across the street from Monkey Business Café and eats there about three times a month. He said the food is always good, no matter what he orders.

“It’s all homemade and it doesn’t feel processed,” Grether said. “Every day there’s a new special. I usually just ask the girl behind the counter to surprise me.”

That day the kitchen staff surprised Grether with the breakfast special ($5.99), which comes with two eggs any style and a choice of applewood bacon, black forest ham or grilled chicken. The special also includes a choice of potatoes or fruit and toast or whole wheat pancakes.

A few words about the stuffed banana cream french toast ($7.50) — order it and savor it as if it were your last meal. Stacked high with sliced bananas and smothered with sweet vanilla cream cheese – one bite and I was in monkey heaven.

There are healthy options too, like the acai breakfast bowl ($6.75) and homemade granola ($6.00). Lunches feature sandwiches and salads priced between $4.75 and $6.95. My favorite was the veggie sandwich ($5.75), layered with crunchy veggies and served on squaw bread. The addition of homemade lemon-basil mayonnaise and veggie cream cheese was a stroke of genius.

And if great food isn’t enough, Monkey Business also has a really cool back-story: it is part of Hart Community Homes, a non-profit social enterprise that operates two licensed, residential homes for foster boys between 13-18 years old.

Executive Director Cari Hart-Bunevith opened the thrift store-turned-café/restaurant to provide transitional assistance for youth who were aging out of the foster care system at age 18.

Some youth work as cooks and dishwashers; some design labels and t-shirts. Others help with marketing and office work or tend the organic garden on the side of the building.

“Whatever their strength, we will find a pathway for them to build on,” Hart-Bunevith said.

The Geisha House is known for its ethereal decor. Photo courtesy of Dolce Group.

Geisha House is Santa Ana’s modern Japanese restaurant, located on Main Street. Although recently featured by the OC Restaurant Week, this sushi bar and saké lounge can be compared to a uniquely designed club that just happens to sell food.

While walking towards the entrance of Geisha House, the enormous wall photos of Japanese girls in “Harajuku-like” clothing gives off the impression of a clothing store rather than a restaurant.

Geisha House supposedly provides a “sensual, ethereal, mysterious” experience. At least, that’s what it says on the Web site. The techno music was overtly noisy, so it was definitely not sensual or ethereal.

I agree that it’s mysterious. In fact, so mysterious that I couldn’t tell who was greeting me inside because the lighting was too dim. All I heard was, “Hello,” and perhaps, “How are you?” in Japanese as I squinted inside, unable to figure out who was talking to me.

The color scheme was red and black, with round red tables that you typically see in Chinese restaurants. There was a glowing cube-shaped platform and fireplaces within it, large pictures against the wall of more Japanese girls wearing colorfully-layered clothing and quilted iron board canvases displaying Japanese artwork and pictures of geishas.

“If you’re looking for a quiet dinner, then it’s not the right place. It’s club-like,” said diner A.J. Kim, 31.

Set in the atmosphere of a high-class brothel, the Geisha House is supposed to “embrace Japan’s sexual history” and has the goal to “make the client climax,” according to the Web site. I wouldn’t go that far, but it’s a unique dining experience that you can give a chance if you’re a weekly party goer who enjoys screaming and shouting at the dinner table.

“The (owners/staff) put a lot of time and effort on the decorations,” said server Lauren Salcido, 22.
Despite its club-like decor, the sweet and crunchy seaweed cucumber salad lightened my mood and made me eager for more. You can never go wrong with food covered in sesame dressing.

But be sure to stay away from the OC Sunfire Roll that includes lobster, cucumber, avocado, cilantro, mango and Wasabi Yuzu dressing. It left a strange fishy aftertaste in my mouth that was hard to get rid of. If you’re not a fan of sushi, try the Maguro Spicy Taru-Taru Crispy Rice with tuna on top as an appetizer.

Since the small-portioned food left my stomach half-empty, the cinnamon gelato was next. It tasted like Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

The customer service was similarly impeccable. The server was attentive and genuinely cared to provide a good dining experience.

“I try to be as present and personal as possible so they (customers) feel like a part of our family and friends,” Salcido said.

Profile on Senior Sheila Holguin, Utility player for Cal State Fullerton Softball. Topics covered include her softball history, playing for Coach Michelle Gromacki, who won the championship for Fullerton in 1986, the bond she shares with her sister, her love of milk and the meaning of fan support. Home opener is March 5th at 6 p.m. vs Stanford.

The wreckage from the Greek freighter, the S.S. Dominator, can be found off the coast of Palos Verdes. Photo by Christine Amarantus/Daily Titan Staff Writer

A wise person knows her limits. I, however, am far from wise.

The wreckage of the S.S. Dominator, a Greek freighter that ran ashore off of Palos Verdes, is said to be a fairly easy walk from Bluff Cove, with occasional boulder-hopping and the possibility of tripping over seal carcasses. After looking over some hiking Web sites describing the trail with rave reviews from other hikers, my boyfriend, Brandon, and I embarked on what we expected to be a day at the beach.

Thinking we were only going to encounter sand, I wore sandals — rookie mistake No. 1.

We had also forgotten to bring water, sun screen or hats of any kind. On top of all that, I didn’t charge my phone, so a quarter mile into the trek my phone’s battery died.

The first leg of the journey was as pleasant as could be. We walked down the hill, onto the beach and past many surfers enjoying the waves.

After several hundred yards, the trail narrowed and eventually disappeared, leaving Brandon and I to stumble over thousands of jagged rocks. We should have turned back, considering my lack of appropriate footwear, but we pressed forward.

Then, it snuck up on me — I started to get really thirsty. By midday, the sun rose from behind the cliff and gleamed right into our eyes as we stumbled along.

As our trek continued, the sun descended into the ocean and the tide inched nearer. I began to panic as I became more dizzy. I began taking mental notes of spots where I could pass out. Little did I realize this was a sign of sun stroke.

When we could finally detect the Dominator’s silhouette in the distance, we were struck with a brief ray of hope, and hurried to it as quickly as possible, which is not saying much, considering our faintness and the effort it took to get over the rocks.

At that point, the shipwreck was anticlimactic. I was more interested in getting out of that place.

The sky grew dark and the sun cast rainbow-like shimmers across the horizon. Without flashlights (I forget, what number rookie mistake would we be on now?), we would soon be lost in the dark. And yet, we had no idea where to climb out.

I gave up. “Call 911,” I told Brandon.

I’m out of ideas.

He dialed the number, just as concerned as I am. The dispatcher heard the story: We were dehydrated, sun stroked, lost.

“Just keep walking,” she says. “You’ll be fine.”

After ending the call, Brandon’s phone beeped, signaling that it would soon run out of battery.

Suddenly, a beacon of hope arose from nowhere: lit cigarettes. People could be maybe 100 feet ahead of us. We cried for help and climbed toward the lights. A pair of surfers, Sean and Sean, answer our call. We felt stupid telling them about getting lost and not bringing water.

“It happens to the best of us,” they said as they handed us their canteens.

Even in the dark, they knew exactly where they were going. They led us up the cliff, telling us where to grab and where to step. Brandon and I needed both hands, but Sean and Sean were able to climb, even while carrying their surf boards. The climb was exhausting, but the Seans didn’t allow us to give up. One pushed me up while the other pulled. When I reached solid ground, I laid flat in the dirt, grateful. I had been humbled by both nature and the kindness of strangers.

What should be taken from this cautionary tale, is to always be prepared. One doesn’t have to be a boy scout to survive in nature, but it does take a cool head. Always remember the essentials. Have water and maybe some food, wear sturdy-soled shoes and dress in layers. Practice on shorter trails before taking on the longer, more strenuous hikes.

And lastly, have a good idea of what you’re up against. Bring a map, find out what the terrain is like.

Photo courtesy of FlickR/Markusram

Carrie Bradshaw may have the ability to effortlessly and gracefully walk the streets of New York in 5.5 inch YSL stilettos, but for the rest of the world, wearing heels can be a painful experience, accompanied by wincing and walking that looks downright ridiculous.

Movies such as “Sex and the City” and “The Devil Wears Prada” encourage women to toss out their flats and replace them with high heels, without realizing the damage they are doing to their body.

“According to the study by American Podiatric Medical Association, 39 percent of women wear high heels every day,” said Dr. Paul Yoon, a podiatrist at Fullerton Medical Center. “Within in this group, nearly three out of four (women) have reported a shoe-related foot problem. ”

Ankle sprains and pain in the balls of the feet are common effects of wearing high heels but long-term conditions, such as bunions, hammertoes, calluses, calf contractions that can lead to Achilles tendinitis and knee and lower back problems often occur, according to Yoon.

“Lower back pain can also result as the spine bends backwards to compensate the forward push of the body when you walk in heels,” said Yoon. “It can also increase the knee joint pressure and contribute to osteoarthritis in the long term.”

The fashion industry has seen the rise of the “statement shoe,” taking away the focus from the clothes themselves and turning the high heel into the centerpiece of the outfit. Recently, the platform heel has trickled down from the high-fashion runway to department stores and it has become common to see college students completing their outfit with heels that are up to 5 inches in height.

“Christian Loubouitin and YSL brought back the skyscraper heel trend,” said Lindsay Albanese, a celebrity stylist and FIDM alumna. “Sky-high heels have always been around but they have definitely become the forefront in shoe trends in the past few years.”

However, fashionistas may want to save making a statement with their heels for when they are at a bar or a club, not when you are trudging across campus with a backpack.

“Occasional wear of high heels for evenings out would be fine and will not contribute to long term foot problems,” said Yoon. “But daily wear of high heels, especially greater than 3 inches, would significantly increase the foot problems.”

Most fashion-conscious students will argue that “pain is beauty” and they are more than willing to sacrifice their feet in the name of fashion. However, fashion-forward students do not need to resort to flip-flops to find comfort on campus.

“Wedge heels are making a huge comeback this year and they are more comfortable than heels,” said Albanese. “I also love flat boots with most outfits. They are always street chic and stylish.”

Or you could opt for a shorter heel or one that is wider, both of which are more stable and better for you feet than stilettos, but they can still be bad for your back and knees, according to Yoon.

“I would never wear high heels to school unless I was doing a professional presentation for class that day,” said Chaena Mendoza, a 23-year-old health science major. “I like to look and dress cute when I come to school, but wearing heels to school would be overdoing it. When I see other girls wearing heels at school, I feel bad for their feet.”

Graphic by Kristen Hulsey/Daily Titan Design Editor

It’s midnight, you’re exhausted from eight hours of class and you still have 15 chapters to read. Your stomach hurts and you have a headache. You sweat just thinking about what you have to do, and in order to focus, you grab “study-enhancers,” such as Adderall, or energy pills, and try to concentrate.

Caffeine is the most common drug amongst college students and many are aware of its detrimental side effects. However, not so many know about the downsides to energy pills and study-enhancing drugs.

Increasing in popularity, Adderall is not an uncommon prescription drug used to help students concentrate in class and do better on tests.

Adderall, or amphetamine-dextroamphetamine, was first marketed in the 1960s as the diet pill of choice. It is currently classified as a stimulant medication and appetite suppressant and is mostly used to treat both attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Adderall stimulates the central nervous system by increasing the release of chemicals such as dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. These chemicals, or neurotransmitters, help the brain send signals between nerve cells. The drug helps restore the balance of these neurotransmitters to the parts of the brain that control the ability to focus and pay attention.

“Yes, they do make an individual more alert, but at what cost?” said Dr. Patti Laguna, sport psychology professor. “The lack of sleep, especially with long-term use, can be extremely dangerous.”

The side effects of Adderall may not be noticed the first few times, but as time progresses, users are capable of experiencing repercussions.

“Some side effects include increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, constriction of blood vessels, increase of glucose in blood, restlessness and insomnia,” said Laguna. “Serious side effects include increased body temperature, irregular heart rate, cardiovascular failure, seizures, and in rare cases psychosis.”

According to Laguna, there have been a few studies conducted that have examined Adderall misuse. For example, approximately six to 10 percent of students nationally have misused Adderall for studying, while Adderall misusers typically have alcohol-related problems (i.e., binge drinking). Adderall misusers include more males (14.4 percent) than females (9.1 percent), more white (14.5 percent) than non-white (6.1 percent) and more students residing with the Greek system (53.9 percent) than those residing on campus (14.5 percent) or those who reside off campus (seven percent).

Those who want to avoid Adderall attempt to stick to other studying habits.

“Usually when I have an exam, I just cram,” said 24-year-old illustration major Barbra Cembrano.

Although Adderall may be a bad choice to study with, other substances such as energy pills aren’t any better and can even be worse.

For example, some students take caffeinated diet pills as an alternative to sugary beverages. However, there is one unforeseen problem with caffeine in diet pills: the amount of caffeine can be equal to two or three cups of coffee. When that is added to the already caffeine-enriched student diet of soda pop and Red Bulls, it can increase a student’s heart rate and blood pressure, and can induce insomnia and anxiety.

Energy pills cause muscle tremors, headache, nausea and other gastrointestinal problems as well as abnormal heart rhythms. In addition to this, relying on stimulants may be a quick fix, but they are not suitable for long-term energy.

“Most students who use these types of study drugs are merely cheating themselves. They think they have found a short cut to studying and doing well in their classes,” said Laguna. “They may get away with not having to understand and learn the material today but it will definitely come back to haunt them again. It might not be tomorrow or next week, but sooner or later (even when they have a job) they will need to learn it.”

Some students have stressful lives dealing with exams and pressure in and outside of the classroom. The amount of pressure and stress they put on themselves is hard enough, but adding vast amounts of caffeine and over-the-counter drugs can be more damaging to their health.

“If you need to stay up late take a cold shower, run around, turn up the music and open up a window,” suggested history major Tondra Russell.

Photo courtesy of MCT

Visualize the lift. Breathe in… Breathe out. Grip the bar… Lift.

It’s a routine that powerlifter Huy Nhan has performed hundreds of times while preparing to deadlift 575 pounds. He incorporated the visualization and deep breathing techniques into his routine three years ago to improve his concentration, with surprising results.

“I’ve gotten a lot stronger from it,” said Nhan, 24, a kinesiology strength and conditioning major. “I feel a lot healthier from it and my grades are actually a lot better as well.”

The 5′10″, 250 pound Nhan, who is training for his first power competition, uses diaphragmatic breathing and imagery meditation prior to each lift. He also meditates throughout the day to stay focused and calm.

He is in good company. Long-considered the providence of mantra-chanting monks and mystics, today more Americans than ever before practice yoga and meditation as a path to physical and mental well-being.

According to a survey by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, nearly 13 percent of adults practice deep breathing exercises, more than nine percent meditate and six percent practice yoga. The findings were reported in a 2009 article by the American Medical Association.

Kinesiology major Justin Vidal, 21, began meditating more than a year ago as an alternative to taking pain medications. Herniated discs in his lower spine had left Vidal with sciatica and chronic back and leg pain. Doctors prescribed multiple pain medications but the pain was still so severe that some days he was barely able to crawl to the bathroom.

“At first I was just so angry,” Vidal recalled. “Why me? Why do I have this pain? Why do I have to take all these pills? Why am I stuck in this position?”

That’s when Vidal began searching for an alternative way of life. At the suggestion of a friend, Vidal began to meditate. Initially, all he could do was try to relax in the most comfortable position possible.

Eventually, he started listening to music meditation CDs that used varied bell tones for each chakra – or energy field – in the body. This practice directs the blood flow to specific parts of the body, which then receive more oxygen and other nutrients.

Over time, Vidal learned how to bypass his pain through meditation.

Soon he began to notice subtle changes: his digestion improved, he was sleeping better, his mind was calmer. And there was an added benefit: his test-taking skills improved.

“Meditation can definitely bring your stress level down to the point that when you get in (the classroom), you can be relaxed,” Vidal said.

Both Vidal and powerlifter Nhan are students in Cal State Fullerton kinesiology professor Patrick Freeman’s Hatha yoga classes. A yoga-devotee since age 12, Freeman stresses a multi-disciplined approach to yoga and meditation. His classes are part lecture, part activity, and teach proper diet, breathing and positive thinking in addition to yoga postures.

“A lot of people in the west think of yoga as what you do at 24 Hour Fitness or at the rec center,” Freeman said. But to an advanced yoga, that’s “basically kindergarten.”

“It’s still very good; it’s good for the health of our body and, for some people, that’s all they want out of yoga and that’s fine,” Freeman said. “The cool thing about yoga is that you can take from it whatever you want…It’s not a religion; it’s a system of scientific principles designed to still the restless mind.”

Freeman said humans think more than 60,000 thoughts a day – that’s about a thought every 2.4 seconds. Yoga and meditation teach techniques like relaxation and concentration to slow down those thoughts.

And they’re very simple (techniques),” Freeman said. “But the power lies in the practice. As we practice more and more it gets easier.”

Meditation is not a magic cure-all, he said. But practiced properly and regularly, it can bring relief from myriad of health problems, including digestive problems, sleep disorders and attention-deficit disorder.

And, for stressed-out college students, meditation may be just what the doctor ordered.

“The way the world is moving, we’re inundated with information overload and people are under a lot of stress,” Freeman said. “Meditation can bring them that calmness they’re looking for; that peace of mind.”

Experts say the health benefits derived from alternative disciplines like meditation and yoga include:

Deeper level of relaxation
Reduced anxiety
Decreased muscle tension and headaches
Relief from depression
Reduced Pre-menstrual Syndrome
Enhanced immune system
Increased flexibility, strength and balance
Calmer mind

Patti Ochoa, director of Touchstones, started the Orange based adolescent drug and alcohol treatment facility in 1992. Photo by Jennifer Karmarkar/Daily Titan Staff Writer

Sometimes miracles have a way of blindsiding a person.

Just ask Tiffany S. A chronic run-away, the 16-year-old had been drinking alcohol and using a laundry list of drugs, including methamphetamine, acid and crack cocaine.

“My parents asked me if I wanted to look into some support groups and I agreed to go,” she recalled. The next thing she knew, she was living in an inpatient drug treatment center, where she would stay for the next eight months.

Tiffany, now 20, has been sober since 2006. She is one of an estimated 1400 teens who have gone through the doors of Touchstones, an adolescent drug and alcohol treatment facility in Orange.

Situated on a residential street just west of Old Towne, Touchstones has provided treatment to teens since 1992. Director Patti Ochoa launched the center after the county recognized a need for residential services for adolescents. It is still the only social model residential treatment facility for teens in the county, Ochoa said.

“Social model means we create a family environment where everybody has responsibilities,” she said. “Most kids come in here and think there’s a laundry fairy. While they’re asleep somebody swoops in, picks up their laundry, washes, dries it and puts it away. Here, they learn that if they don’t do their laundry, it’s not going to get done. They learn the responsibilities of the family (which we) role model for one another.”

Touchstones uses the "social model" of drug rehabilitation by creating an environment where teens learn familial responsibility. Photo by Jennifer Karmarkar/Daily Titan Staff Writer

Except in the treatment environment, staff and residents are theoretically equal and share the cooking and other chores.

For Tiffany, the social model component was one of the things she liked best about Touchstones.

“Just watching my peers and my counselors demonstrate made me trust them and allowed me to open up,” she said. “I got a mental brainwash just sitting in meetings and (being) in that environment and slowly opening up. It was a simple yet difficult process.”

Touchstones differs from hospital-based treatment because there is no medical staff. Males and females are housed in different wings, separated by a living room where the teens participate in group sessions and 12-step meetings. During the week, they attend school four hours a day in a classroom adjoining the main building.

While most adult treatment programs are 28 days, Touchstones was designed as a six-month program because cognitively, teens are not able to grasp concepts as quickly as adults, Ochoa explained. Some teens stay longer.

“You can’t just teach them the strategies and then send them right back out on the street and expect them to use it,” she said. “They’re always going to revert back to what they know. They’re going to revert back to what’s comfortable.”

Treatment is structured in three phases, with privileges and responsibilities increasing incrementally with length of time in the program. During phase three, the teens are allowed to go home once a week on an overnight pass. This allows them to practice the strategies they have learned in treatment and develop a 12-step foundation in their community, Ochoa said.

When residents complete the program, they are presented with a coin inscribed with the serenity prayer, while their peers provide positive feedback.

“We call it ‘coining out,’” Ochoa said. “They never actually ‘graduate,’ they just move on to the next phase.”

She said more than 80 percent of teens who complete the program remain clean and sober.

When Kenny P. went through Touchstones in 1998, he was 17 and just looking for a way out of jail.

“I was a candidate to go to rehab and they tricked me by saying it was only a 4-6 month program,” he recalled. “I said to myself, hell, I’ll be in jail for 45 days and work my tail off (in treatment) and I’ll get out in four or five months.”

Kenny said he found it challenging to sit in a group of 20 other teens and be vulnerable with his emotions.

But he stayed the full six months and eventually returned to Touchstones as a group counselor and mentor. He credits Ochoa and Touchstones for introducing him to Alcoholics Anonymous, which ultimately saved his life.

As for Ochoa, one might say that she was blindsided by a miracle herself, because she never planned to work in the treatment field. A trained journalist who had worked for the Orange County Register, Ochoa was doing public relations when a friend who ran a treatment center asked her for a favor. Ochoa wrote the proposal he needed and figured that was the end of it.

Three favors later he handed her a box of business cards that read: Patti Ochoa, adolescent program director.

“I said ‘Bob, I have a job’ and he said ‘just do this until you run out of cards,’” she recalled.

That was in 1982. The cards ran out years ago but Ochoa stayed at the treatment field.

For more of this week’s Introspect visit: http://www.dailytitan.com/2010/02/former-addict-intervenes and http://www.dailytitan.com/2010/02/introspect-heroin-sweeps-oc.

Ken Seeley, a former drug addict, now helps other addicts battle addiction. Photo courtesy of Ken Seeley

Ken Seeley was 27 when he hit rock bottom. He had been kicked out of the Air Force, convicted twice of DUI and was selling drugs in the clubs to support his crystal meth addiction. His health was deteriorating; his skin hung loosely from his gaunt frame.

The final straw came when his employer, a medical billing company, confronted him.

“They said ‘we think you need help and we hope that you choose to get the help that you need, but we can’t work with you anymore,’” Seeley said, recalling the fear and humiliation he felt at the time. “My life came crumbling down on me.”

That was 20 years ago. Today, a clean and sober Seeley uses his experience to help other families suffering from the devastation of addiction, both in his private practice and as an interventionist on the popular A&E reality show “Intervention.”

Seeley’s own drug use began with marijuana as a teen and soon progressed to harder drugs like methamphetamine. Today, opiates – prescription meds, oxycontin and heroin – are the fastest growing segment of teen drug use, he said.

“(Opiate use) is running rampant all over this country; kids are getting addicted and they’re dropping like flies.”

He said teenagers and their families are among the hardest on which to intervene, a fact he attributes to human nature: parents want to protect their child so they often make excuses for them and minimize the problem.

“When I was smoking pot at 15 or 16 and my mom would find my pipe, I would say it’s my friend’s pipe or my friend’s marijuana.” Seeley said, recalling that his mother’s response was always “Oh, we knew you were good. We knew you weren’t doing it.”

“They want to believe their child,” he said. But if they examine the types of behaviors in the time frame they started finding the pipes they might see other things that are happening that may be part of the bigger picture.

Seeley says red flags include changes in behavior, erratic behavior, changing friends, mood swings and dropping grades. “A lot of the families that contact me are … putting it toward puberty or ‘this is just what teens do.’”

Seeley said at that point it’s critical to contact a professional to decide if their child is “just being a teenager” or is heading down the road of addiction.

For Martha and Henry L. of Houston, the changes in their 19-year-old daughter, Allison, were obvious. She became caught up in the party scene at college and started missing classes, causing her grades to plummet. Allison entered treatment in Los Angeles, but after four weeks she left the center on her own. The couple contacted Seeley to help locate Allison and get her back into treatment.

“Ken guided us through the whole process,” Martha said. “After we first met him that night at the hotel he could have easily left us and said ‘call me when you find your daughter’, but he didn’t. He told us no matter what time of the night we heard from her to call him.”

Allison was found and brought in for the intervention the next day. She agreed to go to treatment and she and Seeley left for the treatment center the next morning. What was so outstanding about Seeley, Martha said, was that he was in contact with them through the entire turbulent transition and he continues to stay updated with the family.

“Not only is he wonderful to us as parents … but he was willing to spend as much time and have as much respect for Allison as possible,” she said.

A Certified Addiction Specialist and Registered Interventionist, Seeley joined the show “Intervention” six years ago. Today, he divides his time between the show and running his private practice, Intervention 911, which he has built into the number one intervention case management company in the country.

Dennis Wallin, program director for Anamika Recovery Center in Anaheim has known Seeley since 2003, having worked with him to transition clients into treatment.

“Ken is a true leader and visionary within the recovery and intervention field,” Wallin said. “His motivation in his work is to be of absolute service to others in need of help. That willingness to be of service, in my opinion, has been the foundation for Ken’s success as an interventionist.”

Though Seeley boasts a 98 percent success rate in getting addicts into treatment, he is quick to point out that is only part of his task.

“Anybody can get somebody to treatment,” the soft-spoken Seeley said. “It’s about setting healthy boundaries and putting accountability to the addict and helping to support them in recovery. That’s what we focus on.”

Seeley’s fees for an intervention range from $3,500 to $10,000, depending on whether he is hired by the treatment center or by the family.

But he notes that you can’t put a price tag on the feeling of watching an addict surrender to treatment, recover and then later thank their family for putting them into treatment.

“It’s never easy,” Seeley said. “I promise you it’s not easy for the families and it certainly isn’t easy for the addicts. But when you get to that other side there’s no better feeling than to turn over their loved-one and watch them start on the road to healthy recovery.”

For more of this week’s Introspect visit: http://www.dailytitan.com/2010/02/introspect-heroin-sweeps-oc and http://www.dailytitan.com/2010/02/touchstones-treatment.

The kids call it “H.”

Jackee was 16 when she smoked it for the first time. It was the summer of her sophomore year and her boyfriend asked her if she wanted to get loaded with some other kids. She had already been smoking methamphetamine on-and-off for three years, so trying heroin didn’t seem like a big deal to her.

“I thought about it for like five seconds,” the 18-year-old Yorba Linda resident says. “And then I thought, ‘Eff it. Why not?’”

As she sat in her boyfriend’s car, Jackee watched one of the teens press the “sugar” to the foil. He lit a match beneath the foil and held it as Jackee sucked the smoke through a hollowed out pen.

She took five hits, drawing the smoke in deep each time, taking care not to waste any. When she was done, she lay back on the grass next to her boyfriend and stared at the sky. She felt invincible.

Those skies darkened quickly. Jackee began smoking heroin daily, using greater quantities as her tolerance increased. Within weeks she had developed a $200-a-day habit that she would go to any lengths to feed.

Jackee is not alone. Her story is becoming all too familiar in the tidy tracts and upscale enclaves of Orange County, where a wave of teen heroin use has left authorities and parents grappling for answers.

At Touchstones, an adolescent residential treatment facility in Orange, program director Patti Ochoa says three out of 16 clients are primary heroin users, a figure she calls “unusually high.”

At Twin Town Treatment Center, an adolescent outpatient treatment center in Los Alamitos, the figure is higher: two out of five of their 13 to 17-year-old clients now cite heroin addiction upon admission.

Primary counselor Chris Logan says heroin, “seems to be the thing to do right now.” These are not street kids, he stresses, but kids from middle-income families.

At Alternative Options, an intensive outpatient treatment facility in Placentia, administrators say they rarely had heroin addicts at their facility a year ago. Today, six out of ten clients are being admitted with heroin addiction. The majority are females between 15 and 18 years old.

Sean Hogan, assistant professor of social work at Cal State Fullerton, says figures like those are considerably high for any population, not just teens. According to government statistics, approximately 5 percent of adolescents are admitted to treatment with heroin dependence, with most admitted with a marijuana-use disorder.

“Even if you back out those reporting marijuana as their primary drug of choice at admission, you still only get about 10 percent of adolescents reporting heroin as their primary drug of choice,” Hogan says.

Experts say that low cost, availability and the high that smoking heroin produces are fueling this new wave of young users.

According to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials, the heroin being trafficked from Mexico to Orange County is primarily black tar heroin and, to a lesser extent, Mexican brown. The low cost and increased availability of high purity heroin that can be snorted or smoked rather than injected with a needle makes it attractive to teens.

At Alternative Options, most of their teen clients begin using drugs “right out of grandma’s medicine cabinet,” program coordinator Linda Bates says. They progress to heroin when their Vicodin or Percocet habit becomes too expensive. She notes that prescription drugs often run $20 a pill or more, whereas a bag of heroin is fairly cheap.

“Many of these kids save up their lunch money and money mom gives them to buy heroin,” Bates says. “Ten dollars at a time – that’s enough to buy a small amount. You can get more for your money with the heroin.”

She says what teens don’t realize is that with heroin, addiction can be almost instant – usually right after their first use.

When teen addict Jackee smoked heroin for the first time, she wanted to use again right away.

“I thought, ‘This can’t be what everyone’s addicted to. It wasn’t even that great – I got sick!’ But I stopped getting sick after a while and I liked the numb feeling it gave me,” she said.

It wasn’t long before Jackee was using heroin daily – about eight or nine balloons a day, she said, adding that a balloon costs about $25 in Yorba Linda. She started dating a dope dealer who brought her free heroin. She also had a part time job so she was able to buy balloons on her own.

Jackie began doing anything to get her dope.

“I was ditching school to get heroin. I would have heroin dealers bring me my dope at the campus because I would be kicking (having withdrawals) at school, lying in the bathroom stalls puking and shaking,” she said.

She stole money from her family and her employer. She volunteered for the snack shack at little league baseball games, stuffing twenties into her pockets when nobody was looking. She stole money and iPods from backpacks in the girls’ locker room at school.

“This one guy I knew had over $100,000 from his parents’ deaths,” Jackee recalled. “He was a heroin addict so I immediately became his friend and flirted with him and slept with him because he fed me heroin.”

When Jackee’s parents took her to a hospital detoxification unit six months after her first use, she weighed 98 pounds, her hair was falling out in clumps and she couldn’t last a day without heroin. Stories like hers are not unusual, according to Tammie Skonseng, a counselor at Alternative Options, who explained that heroin addicts will beg, borrow and steal to get their drugs.

“Even if they have to sell their body, they will do it. We don’t find that with someone who is drinking or someone who is doing meth, but (heroin addicts) have to have it because they will be so sick without it.”

The Orange County city of Placentia has been hit exceptionally hard by heroin use. There, police department officials say heroin arrests have shot up 150 percent in the past 12 months, primarily among 16 to 23-year-olds.

Police Sgt. Kelly Kenehan, who supervises the Special Enforcement Detail for gangs, vice and narcotics, has been involved in nearly two dozen heroin-related arrests involving teens and young adults in the past six months. In response to the growing problem, his unit has stepped up street enforcement, especially in the hard-hit north end of the city.

In September, law enforcement seized 100 pounds of Mexican brown heroin in adjacent Anaheim, believed to be one of the largest heroin seizures in California. But that has failed to stem the flow of the narcotic into Placentia.

“Some of the search warrants that we’ve done and arrests we’ve made show that people are driving up to LA anywhere from two to five days (a week) to pick up and distribute it within our city,” Kenehan said, noting that heroin is readily available outside the high schools and the streets that surround them.

In November, a 17-year-old Placentia boy nearly died from a heroin overdose. Since then, Kenehan’s department has fielded calls from anxious parents asking about symptoms and paraphernalia associated with heroin use.

“Parents are freaking out,” Alternative Options’ Bates agrees, adding that most find it hard to believe the drug their child is using is heroin.

“But addiction is addiction. It’s bad with any drug, but we just don’t think of heroin as something that’s available here in Orange County in the high schools,” she says.

She cautions parents to pay attention to what their teen is doing.

“I think awareness is a big thing right now,” Bates says. “I think the community needs to get together and be aware. And watch. Because there’s a big thing going on.”

For more of this week’s Introspect visit: http://www.dailytitan.com/2010/02/former-addict-intervenes and http://www.dailytitan.com/2010/02/touchstones-treatment.