Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 3/12/08 Section: News

Eric Hieronymus (right), a senior criminal justice major, and his partner practice buddy breathing during a dive in Frank Barry's Friday morning scuba diving class.

Students in swim suits, black and neon masks, flippers and huge oxygen tanks lumber around the bottom of the indoor pool three nights a week at SJSU.

Frank Barry teaches the 2-unit, KIN 008 scuba diving course Wednesday and Thursday nights, and Friday mornings.

Barry, a part-time professor for SJSU's kinesiology department, took the scuba diving class at SJSU in 1970, and now he and his wife take divers all over the world.

"I fell in love with diving," he said. "I just like to dive, and I made it my business."

The course covers proper scuba diving procedures, safety issues and low- and no-oxygen situations.

Students can buy or rent their own equipment, or borrow from the kinesiology department's equipment, which is purchased by the university and donated by other organizations.

Gina Catalli, a senior kinesiology major, said taking the course from Barry gives students a chance to learn how to scuba dive correctly, and they have the option of getting ocean certified at the end of the semester.

"It's really cool," she said. "You really learn your stuff a lot better than I think if you were to take it in a three-day course … because you really learn bad things that can happen. You learn that it's really best to take your time."

Barry said at least 45 percent of each semester's scuba students choose to take the ocean certification, get a physical and sign the waiver.

"The school isn't sponsoring the certification. That's all on me," he said, referring to his planning the end-of-semester trip to Monterey.

Annette Halloran, a senior kinesiology major, said the class is well organized, following an open-water diving manual and practicing diving modules in the pool.

"It's a hard class," said Catalli, who is retaking the class this semester. "You really have to be a good swimmer."

The physical prerequisites for the course are the completion of a 400-yard swim in under 12 minutes, a 25-yard underwater swim without surfacing and the 50-yard transport of another person without swim aids.

Mike Doung, a senior sociology major, said he took Barry's course last semester and helps out during the Thursday night scuba classes.

The class is "really good" at preparing students for the ocean dive at the end of the semester, he said, and the only downside is the cost, which ranges from $40 to $150.

"It's so expensive," he said, "but it's a lifetime (skill)."

Barry said the biggest obstacle for students who want to take the scuba course is consistent participation.

"This is kind of involved," he said. "Because of the safety side of it, we have to progress step by step. The time that you have to dedicate to showing up once a week for two and a half hours - that's the tough part."

The most important aspect of the class, Barry said, is learning to rely on the buddy system and the ability to maintain control at all times.

"(Students) learn their limitations and working with somebody else," he said. "If you gain the confidence in handling the equipment, it leads to being very, very, very comfortable under the water, and for some people that's a challenge."

Barry said he's trying to get the department to reinstate an advanced diving program, where students could get an advanced certification and five or six specialty certifications in diving.

"It's still on the books," he said, referring to the advanced class. "It's just a matter of getting the department to go along with it."

Barry also hopes to bring back the Spartan Dive Club, a group Barry was involved in during his time as an SJSU student who wanted to stay connected in the diving community after taking the scuba course.

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