Medical students rally abortion training By Nita Lclyveld Knight-Ridder Newspapers LOS ANGELES - The murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian inside his Amherst, N.Y., home on Friday was another grim call to action for Brian Wilbur and Patricia Lohr, second-year medical students at the University of Southern California here. They are part of Medical Students for Choice, an organization dedicated to making sure that the next generation of doctors include those who are willing and able to provide women with legal abortions. “Why should a doctor live in fear of her life? Why can’t people look at this as the legal, medical procedure that it is," Lohr asked. The organization, which claims over 4,000 members and 100 chapters, was started in 1993 after a Texas anti-abortion group mailed out thousands of pamphlets to medical students nationwide, pamphlets that included jokes designed to intimidate: "Q: What would you do if you were in a room with Hitler, Mussolini and an abortionist and you had a gun with only two bullets? A: Shoot the abortionist twice." Later that year, abortion provider Dr. David Gunn was shot dead in Pensacola, Fla. And the anger that killing generated helped fuel the organization. One priority of the group, which is based in Berkeley, Calif., is to educate future doctors, said MSFC executive director Patricia Anderson. She notes that many doctors are never exposed to pregnancy counseling or abortion training as part of their medical education. Only about 12 percent of obstetrics gynecology programs offered routine training in abortion in 1992 (the most recent study), compared with more than twice that number in 1985. And no .abortion providers exist in,.84 percent of America's counties, home to one-third of the nation's women. Despite the efforts of the anti abortion movement to limit the availability of the procedure, abortion remains the most common surgical procedure for American women. Still, many private doctors and hospitals refuse to perform it - many for moral reasons, some for other reasons. “Hospitals are a little like banks. They’re very concerned with public image. It’s easier to farm out therapeutic abortions to clinics," said the co-director of a family medicine residency program at a major Los Angeles hospital, who asked that her name not be used. “It's a lot easier to duck and take the easy way out. That’s why students miss out on training.” MSFC offers internships in which Fraternity at loss after student kills himself College Press Exchange OXFORD, Miss. (CPX) - No one will ever know exactly what drove 18-year-old Dudley Moore, a freshman at the University of Mississippi, to kill himself, but circumstances leading up to his death may haunt a few members of the Sigma Chi fraternity for a long time. Moore, who was a pledge at the fraternity, died Sunday after spending five days in critical condition. His roommate found him hanging from a rod in the closet of their dorm room. When campus investigators stepped in to examine the matter, the roommate told them about harassing and threatening messages left on Moore’s answering machine by members of the fraternity. Read the Beacon every Thursday to assure students can spend a month at a family planning clinic, watching pregnancy counseling and abortions. Chapters also set up programs so students can observe at clinics near their schools. The organization pushes for reforms in medical school education; it helped convince the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in 1993 to require all ob gyn residency programs to include abortion as a routine component of training. Schools and residents can opt out on moral or religious grounds. That aside, medical students say compliance remains spotty. At Temple University, the medical school offers little access to abortion training, said Jackie Kiang, 29, a third-year medical student and MSFC organizer. Thai’s why Kiang went on an MSFC internship, where she observed at inner-city Chicago clinics. When she heard about Slepian's death, she said, "My heart sank. One of the first things I thought was who will step into his shoes .’ No one. And that's very alarming.” Penn State MSFC coordinator Kristin Larson, 23, regularly goes to a Harrisburg, Pa., clinic, where she escorts those getting abortions. There and on her campus, she's come face to face with protesters, holding signs. “They say things like. 'You're being trained to be a murderer. You're being trained to be an assassin. You’re the same as a guard at Hitler's death camp.' Awful things like that," she said. "1 think a lot more people support us than are willing to fight publicly with us." Such stories, and the violence make many medical students cringe "Definitely, 1 have some concerns. 1 hope they approve RU 486 (the abortion pill). I'd be more comfortable with that. Then. I could write a prescription. 1 w ouldn't he pul in danger like I would be in a clinic." said .Jennifer Chan, 22, a first-year USC student who sat outside the cafeteria Tuesday, wearing a short white lab coat, a stethoscope and deep bags under her eyes. Nick Sasson. 27. a USC second year student, says he wants to learn how to perform abortions. But, he said, 'it seems like doctors who perform abortions are in such short supply that (the) people (who perform them) end up doing only that. I don’t think I want to do this 24-7. So the pill would help. I think that way, a lot more doctors would be willing." For Wilbur, the USC organizer, Slepian’s dedication is a model. “He’d already had death threats. I guess it was pretty courageous to carry on," he said. "I only hope I have the courage to do the same.” While the fraternity has been cleared of any wrongdoing, a few of its members will face disciplinary action from the student judicial council, said Ed Meek, vice chancellor of public affairs and marketing. The fraternity members’ threats violated university policies. Meek said. “It was all big-brother-going-to get-little-brother kind of stuff,” he added. “We cannot state any relationship between the call and this student’s death, but we also cannot say that the call didn’t have any impact. “It's very sad, really,” Meek continued. “The individuals who made the phone calls are distraught about this. It’s obvious they didn’t intend for anything like this to happen.” National Campus News Syracuse University sophomore wins Lottery check for life By Ryan Donohue Syracuse University Daily Orange He waited, nervously smoking cigarettes, in a stock room he was familiar with in the hack of a convenience store A few minutes later, Chris Wildrick stepped out of the shadows of that room, walked proudly past an aisle of snacks and sodas, and accepted his first S 1,000 check from the New York Lotterv. The Syracuse University sophomore and former employee ot the Convenient Food Mart will collect a check for the same amount every week for the rest of his lile. The checks will not be as large as the 4-foot-long cardboard one he accepted Friday, nor will the excitement probably be as great as that day either. Wildrick spent the Police Blotter: A Look At Campus By Peter Levine Campus Correspondent - University of Wisconsin at Madison College Press Exchange BLACKSBURG, Va. (CPX) - Police have arrested seven members of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity chapter at Virginia Tech in connection with the September 20 abduction and robbery of an exotic dancer and her escort. According to the Collegiate I imes. the fraternity members held the dancer. Michelle Russell, anti her escort. David Cheresnow sky, against their will for 30 to 40 minutes after Russell refused to perform a full hotly strip. When Russell also refused to provide other requested lorms ol entertainment, she and Cheresnow sky said a fraternity member reached into Cheresnow sky's pocket to retrieve .$323 the amount the fraternity had paid for Russell's performance, said campus police Ollicer Jerry Olinger. The case remains under investigation, and more arrests are possible. Olinger told the Times. COLUMBIA. Mo. (CPX) - Police at the University of Missouri are investigating an alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl who reported that she woke up naked during a homecoming party at the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house. Details of the Oct. 18 incident are sketchy, but a police report indicates that the girl told investigators she remembered someone removing her clothing against her will a few hours before she awoke. According to The Maneater, police said alcohol played a role in the alleged assault, but officers would not say how. A spokesman for the fraternity told The Maneater that fraternity members believe the person responsible for the attack is a friend of one of the members. "We have investigated and found no member of Delta Tau Delta was involved, and we are fully cooperating with each party,” said Tim Walsh, a member of the fraternity’s executive committee. Police look into death of Arizona freshman College Press Exchange TUCSON, Ariz. (CPX) - Police are investigating the death of a freshman at the University of Arizona who may have fallen down a staircase after taking LSD. Brian Scott Balcer, an 18-year-old engineering major from Ann Arbor, Mich., died Monday, nine days after he was found lying unconscious at the bottom of some stairs just off of morning in interviews reporters and camera engineers filming a commercial lor the lottery. But lor the modestly dressed music appreciation major, the question will be the same week after week: what w ill he do with the money '.’ "Let me get my bachelor's degree first," Wildrick said w hen asked about possible plans for a big vacation. This is Wildrick's lirst semester at the university. Fie worked his way into the school after spending four years as a drummer in an Army band and working his way through Onondaga Community College on a part-time salary. He bought the winning lottery ticket during one of his shifts at the convenience store. It was the last one out of ten he play ed. On Sept. 26 he reported the winning ticket to lottery officials. When I got it. 1 was stunned I'his is the second report of sexual assault in a Missouri U. fraternity house this semester. A female student reported being raped at the Sigma Nu house on Sept. It). That case is still under investiaatum. COLUMBUS. Ohm it'l’Xi - A homeless woman wandering tlnough a library at Ohio State University led employees to more serious matters needimi their attention in the men's restroom An evening supers isor on duly ()ct. I 3 told The Lantern that he w as trying to find the woman - w hom one student said looked "out of place" - w hen he saw water flowing out of a men's restroom and into a hallway. Upon further inspection, the supervisor said he found two sinks overflowing with water, puddles of urine in front of several urinals and a large, unknown substance stuck on the outcome door. Library employees said they don't know it the woman had anything to do with the mess. They never found her. LAWRENCE, Kan. (CPX) - Four Lawrence, Kan., residents, including three students at the University of Kansas, were the victims of two separate robbery attempts in which the suspect made off with more food than anything else. According to the Daily Kansan, a 2()-year-old man not enrolled at the university told police that he was awakened around 4 a.m. on Oct. 18 by a man wearing a yellow T-shirt who was standing in his living room. "The victim's dog began to growl, and the victim told the man to leave.” Lawrence Police Sgt. George Wheeler told the Kansan. "Before the man left, he took some food from the victim's fridge” - some cheese and a burrito. Three female students living in the same off-campus apartment complex reported that they were awakened only moments later by a man matching the same description. One woman said she saw the man trying to steal her stereo and told him to leave. a campus courtyard Another student said she had seen Balcer staggering around the courtyard, near his dorm, wearing only pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The student said she went into a building for only a moment and returned outside to find Balcer lying at the bottom of a staircase. Police reports indicate that Baker's injuries included a broken pelvis, a bruised lung and various Wildrick said. "I was relieved. 1 was horrified because that's a lot to put m y our pocket all at inice." Wildrick finished his shill until midnight, store ow nor (iarv Murando said, quickly adding "Then he gave me Ins two-week notice The New York Lottery puls tile odds of w inninc the "Win For I he prize at one in 7.86 million While lie's not sure how lie II spend the money. Wildrick said he's got plenty of plans already in the woi ks. He hopes to fund some oI his sister's hobbies and to think more seriouslv about marriage plans with his liancce. Wildrick said he also hopes the monev will help him break into the music industry, lie already has ordered a 54.000 drum set. "Ten veins from now. start watching the Boston Pops." he said. Before lus luck turned. Wildrick was a guy in a purple shut bearing The surprised burglar dropped the stereo and ran out ol the back door to the apart incut. Upon further inspection, the women icporicd that the suspect had eaten some ol their lood. 100. I ttuess lie had the munchics Wheeler said BOULDER. Colo. iCPXi Campus police at the University of Colorado at Boulder got more than they bargained for when they embarked on vvlial they thought was a routine animal-control call. Aeeoiduig to the Campus Press, animal control officers found a dog left unattended and lied to a lamppost on campus, flic dog had been barking and disturbing classes. When officers tried to remove the animal from the scene, a man ran up. demanding that it be released. Officers explained that leaving tile dog unattended was against the law. The Campus Press reported that the man - later determined to he the doe's owner - struggled w ilh officers to yet the dog. Officers sprayed the man in the face with pepper spray, hut the man dashed off with the dog any way. He eventually was caught washing his face in a men's room of a classroom building. It was there that police arrested the man for leaving the dog unattended without its registration tags and for resisting arrest in the first place. The dog. named Jedi, was transported to the local Humane Society. TUSCON. Ariz. (CPX) - An employee of the University of Arizona reported on Oct. 14 that she was scared someone had ejaculated on her car’s back seat after finding an obscene note attached to the rear view mirror. According to the Daily Wildcat, the note said. "Watch out. 1 spilled semen on your back seat The woman told police she found no damaee to her car. TUSCON. Ariz. (CPX)- A student at the Uimersity of Arizona reported head and internal injuries and that he told doctors at University Medical Center that he had taken "acid" before his fall. Toxicology tests confirmed that an unknown substance was found in Baker's bloodstream. A spokesman for police said Tuesday that the death was ruled an accident but remained under investigation w bile authorities try to piece together events leading to Balcer’s fall. the Convenient Food Mart logo. On I ndav. he stood in the haek room of that store getting attitude adviee from the adsertisement agency filming the lottery commercial. ■■Remember you don't need them, they need you," a photographer cautioned him just before he stepped out to smile for the camera crews. Wildrick said he had already gotten a taste of fame w hen one of his professors announced that he had won the lottery in the middle ol rehearsal. "Within two (.lays everyone in the school of music knew," he said. Despite Ins vs innings, Wildrick said he will stick with his Visual and Performing Arts education. "1 can finally afford to go to school lull lime." Wildrick said, "But I think all my state and federal aid went out the w indow." rime Briefs that a strange man called her more than '0 tunes m one hour to deliver obscene and sexually explicit messages. .According to the Daily Wildcat, the w oman (old police on ()ct. I X that she didn't recognize the man's voice - in part because he tried numerous times to disguise it. Dunn” some calls, the man tried to fake a Hispanic accent, and during others he simply made kissing sounds and breathed heavily. the woman said Police said they are taking steps to help the woman trace calls to her dorm room. WIST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (CPX) - A student at Purdue University was charged with indecent exposure alter admitting that he had Hashed a woman who was jogging on campus. According to The Chronicle, the woman told police she saw the student on the afternoon of Oct. 15 and made a note of his license plate as he drov e away. Police tracked down the student Irom the description the woman prov ided. The Chronicle reported that the man admitted to other acts of indecent exposure, but none for which police are still search for suspects. If convicted, he faces up to a year in prison and a SS,O(X) fine. Since January, there have been 17 reported cases of indecent exposure on the Purdue campus. Eight of those crimes have been solved. Capt. Ron Fosnaugh told the Chronicle. Incidents of indecent exposure are widely under reported, Fosnaugh said because. "People tend to stereotype ... telephone harassers or flashers, thinking they're harmless. (But) that’s not true," he added "They can become very aggressive. People say tobacco is a gateway drug; Hashing is a gateway into more serious crimes like rape or sexual assault.” To help curb the problem, students should report suspicious such acts of indecency to the police, Fosnaugh said. "How we catch these people is through assistance from the public. They get descriptions and we can put the information together and address those behaviors," he said. Sell it... In the Beacon classifieds behrcoll4@aol.com
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