While talks about the intern who is heard on the last recording of Jennifer Strange during the 107.9 FM water drinking contest, questions remain as to how much legal protection that intern has in the slew of lawsuits filed against the show hosts, the station, and the owner, Entercom Radio.

According to the Sacramento County coroner's Deputy Allyson Rogers and a Rancho Cordova Police Officer James Waters, Strange's death was consistent with water intoxication. She died on January 12, 2007. Entercom Radio, owners of 107.9 FM, The End, has lost its morning show, disk jockeys, intern(s) and employees, and moreover its credibility. As friends and family mourn the death of a family member and friend, the issue of a radio station intern's responsibility has been raised. Meanwhile, a senseless tragedy has destroyed not only the Strange family, but also a community.

According to an audio excerpt of the "Morning Rave Show," Strange, 28, said her head was hurting, but that "they keep telling me though that it's the water, that it will tell my head to hurt and then it will make me puke."

"Who told you that? The intern?" a host asked Strange.

"Yeah!" she replied. "It hurts, but makes you feel lightheaded."

That short conversation raises the potential for making a college student responsible for the death of a woman in a contest. Was the radio station's intern being quoted as giving medical advice? How much responsibility

does an intern bear with their employers and the school when they are out in the field working?

According to a blog entry written by C.W. Nevius from www.sfgate.com , when a person drinks large quantities of water rapidly, the normal balance of electrolytes in the body can be diluted to the point that brain function is disturbed, leading to lightheadedness, nausea, vomiting, headaches and in this case, may have been directly responsible for Strange's death. Electrolytes are a substance whose solution or molten form is a conductor of salinity in the body. He also ads that anyone who drinks too much water too fast are vulnerable. Nevius adds that infants, marathon runners, and people working in extreme heat are particularly vulnerable to this type of death. Drinking fluids made to replace electrolytes can help to prevent such intoxication.

According to an article in the Sacramento Bee, Strange was found dead by her own mother inside her Rancho Cordova home. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin called for an investigation in response to a letter sent Monday by Sacramento Attorney Roger Dreyer who has filed a wrongful death suit on behalf of the Strange family.

Connie Ayala, Coordinator of the Cooperative Work Experience, the internship program offered at American River College, says the program is regulated by the state's Title 5 regulations mandated district-wide in California, requiring that the students participating in internships are safe and insured by their

employers at all times when in the work place. The student, advisor, and employer must all sign a form stating that both the student and employer acknowledge all liability is under the employer during their internship. The form then goes to the student's advisor and Dean for signatures.

For students interested in the Cooperative Work Experience Program, Ayala says students must enroll in either General Work Experience for undeclared majors, or Cooperative Work Experience for students with declared majors; completed at least 1 semester in college; obtain a career goal; have a 2.5 GPA or higher; be goal oriented and highly motivated with good time management skills; able to attend a weekly Work Experience course and have the availability to work up to 20 hours per week at an internship or job experience.

Despite the intern's involvement with the "Morning Rave Show" tragedy, Ayala encourages all students to join the Cooperative Work Experience Program.

"Enrolling in a work experience course is an advantage," Ayala says. "The instructors here act as advisors as well as coaches, helping students' learning experience both in school as students and out in the field as professionals."

For more information about internships, Ayala can be contacted either at the Career Center or the Cooperative Work Experience office or at (916) 484-8182.