By: Emma Rasmussen
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV)- The University of Arkansas’ Associated Student Government presented “Revive the Razorback”, an event dedicated to teaching students about CPR.
In the Union, ASG provided those who joined CPR lessons and Chick-fil-A. The class started with a quick introduction to the importance of CPR, and then workers from the UREC, who are certified in CPR through the Red Cross, helped to teach participants proper measures of resuscitation.
The idea for “Revive the Razorback” came about after Ahmed Tolba, the Director of Physical Health and Wellness of ASG read a newsletter the Biomedical Engineering Department had sent out. The theme of the letter was Heart Month and included a story about a professor who was able to administer CPR on a colleague faculty member and save their life. The story had Tolba, thinking about the potential consequences had that day gone differently.
“I thought that was amazing, but my mind immediately went to the question – what would’ve happened if there wasn’t someone there who knew CPR?” said Tolba.
The situation and Tolba’s thoughts inspired the idea to host a free way for students, staff, and faculty to learn life-saving strategies.
Originally, ASG had planned to make its event a three-day challenge, having people attend a CPR class with the UREC, a first aid class with Washington Regional, and potentially a Narcan training. However, due to budget concerns, as by this point in the year, most of the ASG cabinet had already allocated their budget, only the CPR class was feasible.
“We do hope, however, to be able to create an event like that next year, and possibly even pay for students to receive official certifications for their training,” Tolba said.
Despite not being as extravagant as the original vision, the training was a packed house. Fifty spots were available for this event, and all had been reserved within two days of registration opening.
Hosting this event took work and input from several on-campus groups. Union Event Services Admin helped to book the space for the event, and representatives from the UREC helped to coordinate logistics for CPR training. Ozark Catering also helped in setting up the food order.
The event was presented specifically to undergrad engineering and pre-health professionals, however, anyone could have joined.
Tolba said having events like “Revive the Razorback”, is just one way to promote safety awareness.
“ASG is hoping that by hosting events like this, we can create a safer campus community that is prepared in the event of an emergency,” Tolba added.