The San Luis Obispo Fire Department was called to campus on Monday after students became concerned with political science professor Allen Settle‘s medical condition.
Settle spoke quickly in the middle of his 2:10 – 4:00 p.m. POLS 471 class, city and regional planning junior Joel Ingrassia said. When students asked if they could take a mid-class break, Settle permitted the break but kept repeating what they would be studying after they returned.
“We were trying to push for the break he normally gives us halfway through so we could talk about it and see what was going on, because he seemed a little off,” Ingrassia said.
Paramedics treated Settle while students waited outside the classroom (room 231, building 10). They asked him questions like today’s date, which he answered incorrectly, and noticed he was sweaty and out of breath, Ingrassia said.
After more examination, paramedics released Settle without taking him to the hospital, Ingrassia said. The professor seemed in good spirits and told the students he had been battling an ongoing viral problem.
San Luis Obispo Fire Department captain Mike Clinite said the professor was stable and would be OK.
Settle served on the San Luis Obispo City Council for 30 years, including four terms as the city’s mayor. He left city office in 2010.
