Point News, 1991 March 25

              The Point News March 25,1991
Health Center cuts should be put in perspective
T ed Lewis and John Underwood attended the March
20th open SGA meeting to discuss the future of the
Health Center, something which is now in question
due to the recent budget cuts. Dr. Lewis and Dr.
Underwood presented the three plans they have considered,
focusing on the one they seek to implement. This plan
includes the dismissal of four nurses and the acquisition of
a full time Nurse Practitioner and a full time clerical
position. The administration feels that the Nurse Practitio­ner’s
ability to write prescriptions and to better diagnose
illnesses and perform minor medical procedures will suffi­ciently
make up for the loss of the nurses. More important,
perhaps, is the budgetary savings that will be incurred by
this reorganization and $100 increase in mandatory student
fees, some of which will go towards the Health Center.
There was a great deal of opposition to this proposal from
students who felt that the administration will be jeopardiz­ing
student health care by decreasing the Health Center
staff. While student health should be a significant concern,
this proposal would seem to satisfy health needs while
protecting the rest of the college from further damaging
budget cuts. Several positions have already been elimi­nated
from the administrative staff, and Continuing Educa­tion
and Public Safety will be reorganized. Also, the
SummerArts program was cancelled. Dr. Lewis stated very
clearly that he intends to protect the academic sector of the
college from these cuts, a decision he should be applauded
for. This leaves the reorganization of the Health Center, a
regrettable but unavoidable situation.
Students, when selecting a college, presumably consider
all the factors involved, including accessibility of health
care. Considering the seclusion and rural setting of this
college, some sort of health facilities need to be provided
for students. However, knowledge of this seclusion is
available when students apply. People choose St. Mary’s
College because of the quality of its academic program, and
this excellence should not be sacrificed to provide extra
health care for mature adults, who decided to come here.
Dissatisfied students proposed filling the clerical posi­tion
with a health care professional for an additional, minor
increase in mandatory fees. This would be a valid compro­mise,
if the majority of students truly feel it is necessary.
However, we need to carefully consider how much money
we want to spend on non-academic sections of our college.
After all, we are here first and foremost for an education.
Dr. Lewis and Dr. Underwood are doing an admirable job
in dealing with these devastating cuts. By protecting and
even enhancing the academic reputation and quality of this
institution they are increasing the ultimate value of stu­dent’s
tuition. They should be praised for these efforts
rather than viewed as uncaring bureaucrats.
Important Notice
A newspaper exists not only to provide its readers with timely
information, entertainment, and a forum for discussion, but
also as a public, historical record of the activities, events, and
opinions that shape the campus community. The Point News
is seeking to improve and refine its newsgathering techniques to better
serve both of these roles. One difficulty we are having, frankly, is a lack
of writers who are willing to write news articles. Although newswriting
can be tedious, it is absolutely essential. Good news reporting is crucial
to a well-informed and well-documented campus community.
Tonight, Monday, March 25, at 8pm in Lower Charles Hall, you will
have an opportunity to help improve The Point News. We will be
sponsoring a workshop on news gathering. The workshop will be led by
our professional advisor, Judy Landau, as well as two professional
journalists. Current staff members are urged to attend, and any student
who might like to help with the newspaper but has not been sure how to
get involved will certainly benefit. It is also open to any member of the
community who has an interest in journalistic methods and ethics.
Come on out and get involved!
THE TOINT NEWS
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Editor-in-Chief
Aaron Garnett
Layout Editor
Eric G. Mion
Associate Editor/News Editor
Andrea L. Egger
Copy Editors
Claire Liston and Adria Lassiter
Commentary Editor
Phil March
Calendar & Events
Kevin Roth
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Liz Deutermann
Advertising Manager
Jane Erbach
Features Editor
Lynne Wood
Typist
Heidi Castle
Sports Editor
Tena Jackson
Distribution Manager
Lynda Nalley
Sports Editor
Jonathan F. Irwin
Photography Editor
Krista Gruhl
Professional Advisor
Judy Landau
CO L LEG E PRESS SERVICE
Subscriber
The Point News is published every two weeks during the academic
semester by the students of St. Mary’s College of Maryland. The ideas and
opinions expressed on its pages are not necessarily those of the college.
We welcome all readers to submit commentaries and letters to the editor. Sub­missions
must be sent to The Point News or dropped off at our office in Lower
Charles Hall no later than Friday before the week of publication. We reserve the
right to edit submissions in order to correct errors in spelling and grammar, to
shorten length, or to remove libelous statements. The opinions expressed in com­mentaries
and letters to the editor are solely those of the writers.
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College of Maryland, St. Mary's City, Maryland 20686.
Alum accuses college of discouraging Jewish applicants
In the January 31 issue of The
Point News, an article about Jew­ish
student organization said: “Hillel
is not a new concept to St. Mary’s
. . . The problem has been lack of
student support.”
Actually, the problem has not
been lack of student support ex­actly.
The problem has been lack
of students.
Jewish students, that is. In a
larger sense, “the problem” is a
college public relations strategy
of refusing to reveal clearly to the
general public that SMCM is apublic
school, and has always been a public
school. Making clear to high school
seniors throughout the Mid-Atlantic
Region the public nature of the school
could attract a more diverse student
body than is currently present.
Since 1985, the College catalogue
has included a relatively balanced
section on “Religious Life” (that I
suggested). As founder, President,
(and one of the only members) of
SMCM’s first Hillel, I can attest
that the many professors of Jewish
origin at the college, and the public
relations officers, though suppor­tive
did little, at least directly, or on
their own, to make a Hillel group
possible. But perhaps partly be­cause
the student body has grown
in size and the College has become
more well known, more observant
Jewish students have enrolled than
before, making a Hillel at SMCM
possible. CALEB KRIESBERG
CLASS OF 1985
Students need to be more aware of AIDS risks
AIDS. It’s a word that many
people regard with some trepida­tion.
I think it is safe to assume
that most St. Mary’s students know
the basic facts about AIDS. I am
not writing this commentary to
preach safe sex or spout the scary
statistics. I’m writing on a more
personal level, how AIDS affects
me, how it affects all of us on a
personal level.
Regardless of how much any
one person may know about AIDS,
there are always factors that are
overlooked. AIDS is probably not
something most people give much
thought to, and that is quite under­standable.
No one wants to pon­der
the possibility of catching a
deadly disease. But, ponder we
must, for the possibility is there.
On campus, off campus, every­where.
The HTV virus is not selec­tive!
A college may seem like a ha­ven,
a safe place, but keep in mind
that it is no more nor less safe than
anywhere else. I write this not to
scare anyone into safer sex practices,
but simply because that is what is.
Sex and drugs carry the same conse­quences
here as they do in Southeast
D.C., as in Downtown Baltimore, as
in New York City . . . anywhere.
AIDS, while not a happy thing,
must be kept in mind. You are
always at risk, but you can also
always protect yourself. Stay safe.
Stay alive. ja y SWARTZ
PEER EDUCATOR
Misconception leads to news error
I would like to bring your attention to a misconception made by an
observer and relayed to your reporting staff, for the article which appeared
in the February 13th edition, War-related tension causes campus violence
(P-9).
The article states, “The Sheriffs department appeared on the scene
shortly afterwards. . . however this was not the case, and I would prefer
that the community not infer that Public Safety thought it necessary to call
for St. Mary’s County finest for assistance in handling such a small
incident.
Possibly the observer was misled by the professional appearance and
demeanor of our two most recently hired officers. A correction would be
most appreciated. BILL BARKER
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY
The report o f the St. M ary’s County Sheriff s office’s arrival was made by
a student witness and we failed to attribute it as such.We regret the factual
error in the article and thank Bill Barker fo r bringing it to our attention.
Laughton objects to change of commentary headline
I am enclosing the article as I submitted it to you before the break. Please note that I submitted the article
with the title that included the important date of February 28th -- information which tied the article together right
from the start. By not including the date in the title, the article lost its glue. Please be more careful in making
editorial changes. JOHN LAUGHTON
PROFESSOR OF MUSIC
John Laughton refers to a commentary which appeared on page six o f the February 27th issue o f The Point
News, headed “Breaking the Silence” When submitted to us, the commentary was entitled “Silence and Feb­ruary
28.” The editors of The Point News do not generally consider titles attached to submissions from the
community as integral parts o f the submission. The choice o f a headline fo r a commentary, a letter to the editor,
or any other material in The Point News depends on a number o f factors, not the least o f which is the amount
of space available. No attempt was made by The Point News to de-emphasize Laughton’s commentary, and
we regret that he feels it was poorly headed.