2 news The Beacon Monday, January 31, 2010

Sophomore Rachel Yeargin loves a man on a motorcycle, but only if he’s wearing his helmet. Christina Cernik / Photo editor

from Complex, page 1White said.

With this commitment, the first phase has begun with the intention of being completed within the next year. Phase two will consist of building the foundation and constructing the fields and courts. The last step will include the construc-tion of an athletics building onsite.

“It is another example of our commitment to excellence. We want to have one of the top [division II] athletic com-plexes in the country,” White said. “This will be a testimo-ny of our faith as Christians showing that we go above and beyond in all that we do.”

The PBA athletic teams that will practice and compete at the Marshall and Vera Lea Rinker Athletic Complex in-clude: men and women’s soc-cer, men and women’s tennis, men and women’s cross coun-try, softball and baseball. Also using the new athletic complex will be the school’s intramural teams, which about 1,100 stu-dents participate in annually.

A portion of the new site will be donated to the city, consist-ing of a park with two multi-purpose fields, a fountain area for small children to play in and a support building.

low 4,500 as overall highway traffic dropped, but still aver-aged 12 deaths a day in part because of spotty state helmet laws.

from Helmet laws, page 1

at PBA and workship leader. “You make friends and meet beautiful people there. Help-ing them and making them happy just makes you feel so blessed.”

Dr. Terriel Byrd, professor of urban Christian ministry and coordinator of the evening ministry program at PBA, said that PBA is a model for other

institutions by showing lead-ership in the area of racial rec-onciliation.

“The workship projects are a demonstration of how peo-ple can come together from not only different racial back-grounds but also from social and economic backgrounds and living out what Dr. King called the ‘beloved commu-nity,’” Byrd said.

from MLK Challenge, page 1

Freshmen Dylan Black and Geoff Kishbaugh volunteered at the Mari-time Museum for the MLK Challenge.

Photo Courtesy of the workshiP offiCe

Workship brings people together

Riding poses risk, preparation key

B.S. in forensic science to be offered this fall

Palm Beach Atlantic Uni-versity will begin offering a Bachelor of Science degree in forensic science this fall se-mester. PBA is one of two uni-versities in Florida that offer the four-year program, and it is unique to Christian schools altogether.

Forensics is “the fastest growing career in science,” said Cynthia Toth, coordina-tor of the new program and associate professor of biology.

Graduates with a bachelor’s in forensic science are jump-ing right into careers as DNA analysts, criminalists, toxi-cologists and molecular biolo-gists.

Even pre-law students are finding immense utility in studying forensic science for their later careers in law.

Starting salaries for gradu-ates are as high as $70,000 to $80,000 a year and the de-mand for professionals in the field is higher than ever.

Toth explained that gov-ernment labs are now doing less of the work and moving towards privatization, so the job market in the field is at its prime.

Toth was excited to share that the program already ex-pects fifteen students. PBA’s science department is stock-ing up on state-of-the art

equipment that will allow stu-dents to simulate the jobs they will be doing down the road. A brand-new Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine in the lab will allow students to watch on-screen as thou-sands upon thousands of DNA strands are copied and pro-duced.

Later they will use the prod-uct of the PCR to perform pa-ternity tests and identify the

culprit of a simulated crime right in the lab.

Classes will be taught by ad-juncts, professionals who are still working in their various forensic science fields. When students graduate, they will be placed directly into intern-ships with the help of PBA.

Popular crime shows help entice students to forensic ca-reers. CSI PBA-style will com-mence this fall.

PBA:CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

By Kara BonnContributing Writer

Charlotte rakestraw / GraPhiC arts editor

Varsity and intramurals to enjoy new complex

How to find the right helmet according to NHTSA:1. Certification2. Thick Inner Liner3. Weight of helmet, generally about three pounds4. Go for full-face5. Cost, $200-$4006. Try it on, walk around in it for at least 10 minutes7. Don’t forget eye protection, good quality goggles or sunglasses8. Replace your helmet after five years

“I think it should be manda-tory for riders in every state to be wear a helmet,” said mo-torcycle rider Joe Puccio, a senior at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

“It is for your own safety,”

said Puccio. “Nearly every time I ride, I have a close en-counter with a driver who is not paying attention on his or her cell phone, and nearly runs me off the road. Being attentive is a must, but being prepared is even more valu-able.”

According to USA Today, every day in the United States more than 12 motorcyclists die in crashes and the leading cause of these fatalities is head injuries.

“Although motorcycles comprise only three percent of the vehicles on the roads, they are involved in 13 percent of the country’s fatalities,” said The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Vice Chairman Christopher Hart in a press release.

He said that helmets that meet the United States De-partment of Transportation regulations are 37 percent ef-fective in preventing motor-cycle fatalities.

Last year, PBA senior Bryan Reynolds took his passion for riding to campus and created the motorcycle club.

Not knowing any bikers on campus by name and face, he felt that guys and girls at PBA who own motorcycles are one of the demographics that aren’t really connected.

“The main goal is to con-nect the diverse group made up of different bikers and to build relationships among the members,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds has been riding a motorcycle for almost three years and feels that the exist-ing motorcycle helmet laws are fair and plausible. Howev-er, he has a strong belief that riding with a helmet is always a smart choice even if the per-son is only going a short dis-tance at low speeds.

“The big question is, do you want to be able to walk away” from a motorcycle accident, said Reynolds.