and now, in the People Suck category

[lanning]

So. A man collapses during a presentation at your school. Do you:

1) Check to make sure he's breathing.
2) Call 911.
3) Update your Twitter.

If you chose option 3, you're a USC student.

Alastair Fairbanks, a USC senior in attendance for Nye's presentation, told the Los Angeles Times that "nobody went to his aid at the very beginning when he

Comments

[mirrorskippy]

If it's at all reassuring as a freshman there was a classmate who had a seizure (in the first class of the semester, I believe) and it was like a scene from a 911 training film. Closest classmates moved the desks out of his way, one girl called 911, the professor called the campus police, and everyone else stayed calm and out of the way (he was fine, btw). So there are a few coherent students out there.... just maybe not at USC.

[lanning]

Heh. Yeah, that is somewhat reassuring. Glad to hear we're not all hopeless causes. *g*

[dameange]

On America's Next Top model, a girl fell unconscious while being called on the floor of judging. The British guy was the first out of his seat to help her. The other three people jumped, but stayed in their seats. Tyra? First thing out of her mouth? "Who was scared? I definitely was."

{rolls eyes}

Ego-centric society much? Yeah, I would think so. And my opinion is the only one that counts.

[lanning]

*grins* Sometimes I can laugh. Other times, I despair. Either way I'm stocking up on canned goods and ammunition. ;)

[maevele]

but is Bill Nye okay?

[lanning]

He says he is -- supposedly he just overdid it that day. If it were me, though, I'd be having a thorough medical exam about now.

[xparrot]

I don't know anything about the incident, and I could believe students could be this apathetic, but that article reads a bit suspect to me, since the one example tweet they have of the "play-by-play" was clearly written after the incident. There's also the refutation, and yeah, I admit that if I saw a guy collapse on stage for a matter of seconds I wouldn't immediately leap up on stage...I'm more curious about the support staff who didn't do anything than the audience.

[lanning]

Yes, I wondered about them, too. There must have been someone else there besides the students. I'd be glad to hear it wasn't true, honestly -- there's enough to be depressed about. *g*

[kriscat]

There's been an update to the article;

UPDATE: A USC student who attended the lecture wrote in to contest the assertion that students in the audience were tweeting and texting after Nye fell. He writes: "When Bill Nye fell, he was only down for a very brief 5 to 6 seconds. During this period, everyone was so confused and shocked, we assumed it was part of the show and no one could have, or did, know that it was a medical problem. It was our childhood hero, we did not want it to be a medical issue. Everyone was so riveted and confused, NO ONE reached for their phone. We wouldn't even know what to say, we had no idea why he had fallen anyhow. The whole auditorium was silent and on edge, we were at once concerned and confounded. Once he came to, apologized for falling, and stumbled while grabbing on to the podium, everyone realized the awful truth and stage hands jumped to the stage to assist him."

I think that's closer to the truth, thank god.

[lanning]

Oh, good, I'm glad to hear it. I've heard enough horror stories lately.

[tehomet]

Ick!