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.
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