A lecture is one thing, but quake provided a reality lesson

Just the place to be on Tuesday when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake shook Southern California: Attending a lecture by UC Riverside professor David Oglesby. The subject? Earthquakes.

 

Oglesby, an associate professor in UCR's department of Earth sciences and an expert on earthquake physics, was explaining earthquake waves when he and 17 students had to take cover under their desks. The lecture resumed following the 25-second quake.

"We were learning about the "P" and "S" waves and the difference between them and their sensations," said Thalia Torres, a second-year student from Pasadena City College. "Then we heard a shaking sound and we all looked at each other and the whole building shook and we ducked down and we asked, 'Is that an earthquake?' My heart was beating so fast, it was really exciting. We were talking about it and the next thing we experienced it. What a great way to learn."

The students were part of the Community College Internship program, sponsored by UCR's Graduate School of Education's Copernicus Project.

The UCR campus did not sustain any damage.

-- Mary MacVean

Photo by Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times