IU's diving program gives students chance to explore underwater environment

Charles Beeker is a scuba enthusiast. Involved with scuba for nearly 40 years, he is the head of the IU Academic Diving Program. But Beeker said he wants students to know that they don't have to be enthusiasts like him to get involved with the 43-year-old program, which is run through the kinesiology department. \nHe said his classes are not solely directed at students who want to complete an individualized major within the field.\n"You don't have to be a scuba major to get involved," Beeker said. "We want to take an interdisciplinary approach; use it as an extension of your studies. There are a myriad of options."\nBeeker has headed the program since 1980, and today IU boasts a program that is intended not to just educate students about the underwater world, but for them to also use diving as a tool to help students with academic pursuits outside of the world of scuba.\n"Our first goal is to educate students in diving safety," Beeker said. "Once (students) do that, they can go on a field study. And after that, they're going to want to use that academically." \nSenior Cheryl Czapla is a typical scuba student. The Highland, Ind., native said she came to Bloomington as a prospective marine biology major, but she quickly changed her focus to biology. Hoping to continue her interest in her old major, Czapla got involved as a sophomore by taking Beeker's Introduction to Scuba class. Afterward she decided to become certified through the program and continue to pursue her interests through diving. \nSeventy-five percent of students who take Beeker's introductory class decide to become certified divers like Czapla, he said. \nCzapla said she credits Beeker's program with allowing her to continue to pursue her previous interest in marine biology and helping with her current biology major. She participated in a 10-day underwater field study in the Florida Keys last year, where she earned credits toward her major.\n"The diving program has helped me a lot academically," Czapla said. "It has allowed me to keep my interest in marine bio and gotten me class credits for biology."\nThis summer, Czapla said she hopes to accompany her classmates on a field study in the Dominican Republic. Students will conduct underwater research on the remains of American Indians who greeted Christopher Columbus upon his arrival to the island. They will also be examining the underwater remnants of an early Columbus ship that made the trip from Spain in 1494 -- the Isabella. The group plans to write recommendations that both sites be made into official underwater parks.\n"Think of a museum, just underwater," Beeker said. \nSenior Melissa Rowland, a certified diver before coming to IU, said she thinks the program is great.\n"I've really gotten a lot out of the classes," she says. "I have enjoyed my experience thoroughly"