The Observer, November 16, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 11
Outside the Circle
Epidemiology 101 as an undergraduate mainstay
A group of science and liberal arts educators, along with higher education organizations, are attempting to make public health courses prerequisites for medical school. The proponents argue that the world is increasingly facing public health challenges, and soon-to-be doctors need an introduction to the public health field to make informed decisions.
â€"You just donâ€'t get that in medical school,â€" said Richard K. Riegelman, a lead author of a report on undergraduate public health education and founding dean of George Washington Universityâ€'s School of Public Health and Health Services. â€"Students need to know what theyâ€'re dealing with in the world.â€"
Riegelman, along with other professors, is currently touring the United States to promote suchplans, and the group stopped last week at the Association of American Medical Collegesâ€' 2007 annual meeting in Washington, D.C. They hosted a session entitled, â€"Should Undergraduate Public Health Be a Prerequisite for Medical School?â€"
The panelists argued that the answer to that question is yes. As medical schools and other professional programs reevaluate what their students need from college to be successful at the next level, public health courses need to be part of the equation, they said. But medical schools will not require a number of credit hours in the field just yet. And colleges will most likely not be able to offer majors in the field for some time.
Currently, roughly 100 colleges have a public health school or program, and the majority offer courses specifically for undergrads. Riegelmanâ€'s campaign is not focusing on these schools, however. Rather, the group is targeting the 1900 colleges that arenâ€'t attached to such programs and are far less likely to have public health classes. â€"Itâ€'s about the big middle,â€" Riegelman said, â€"where the students are.â€"
In discussing his campaignâ€'s effect, Riegalman said, â€"My measure of success is whether this is being intellectually incorporated into the arts and sciences. This isnâ€'t about public health educators pushing something on colleges. Itâ€'s about everyone taking ownership.â€"
Sending in the class monitor
At Brandeis University, a professorâ€'s alleged remark in a class on Latin American politics has set off an investigation and has left the class monitored for the time being.
A professor allegedly used the word â€"wetback,â€" an insult describing illegal immigrants from Mexico and a term that has frequently caused pain to Mexican Americans. But the incident all boils down to the context in which the word was used, and the context is under dispute.
According to the professor, Donald Hindley, who has taught nearly 47 years at the university, the word was used in a historical discussion about racism against immigrants. â€"When Mexicans come north as illegal immigrants, we call them wetbacks,â€" he told the Brandeis student newspaper, the Justice, in describing his comments.
But at least two students in the class approached Steven L. Burg, the chair of the department, independently, â€"to register serious concern and complaints about things that had been said by professor Donald Hindley in class and in the case of one of the students, directly to the student,â€" he said.
A decision by the university declared that Hindley was in violation of anti-discrimination policies and mandated that an assistant provost monitor the class for an indefinite but temporary period of time. The decision also mandated that Hindley complete sensitivity training. About 13 students, or a third of his class, staged a walkout to protest the professorâ€'s treatment, according to the Justice, and the professor is also filing a formal appeal to the decision.
Court faults University of California on tuition
Courts ruled yesterday that the University of California owes nearly $34 million to former students. A California appeals court upheld the ruling made by a lower court earlier this year that will force the university to repay a number of graduate students for improper tuition increases in 2003.
The ruling agreed with students bringing the suit that the university promised multiple times against tuition increases in various university materials it distributed. The university, however, noted various places where it warned students about possible policy changes, which included tuition increases. The court determined that the promises made by the university were so strongly stated that they created a contract with students.
The university, which has not officially responded to the ruling, is expected to appeal.
MIT sues Gehry
One of the most highly anticipated construction projects in higher education in recent years is the $300 million Stata Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, designed by acclaimed architect Frank Gehry. However, for the amount of money spent for the building, MIT feels that it should not have leaks, mold, and blocked drains.
MIT has sued Gehry for unspecified damages for â€"deficient design servicesâ€" that forced the school to make substantial repairs with other companies, The Boston Globe reported. Gehry has not responded to requests for comment.
Gehry has had similar troubles in other buildings heâ€'s designed, specifically Case Western Reserve Universityâ€'s Peter B. Lewis building. During its first winter, the buildingâ€'s sloped roof was responsible for massive droppings of snow and ice, which forced the school to close down the sidewalk in front of the building.
