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ramming for ThekJoreas Sia 1969

University of Prince Edward Island

Health... What's it worth?

UPEI Health Centre at Risk of Closing

By CINDY VENEMA

The latest budget victim to come under the microscope at UPEI is the Health Centre.

As the expected budget cuts are slashing all the corners of UPEI’s institutional structure it is no suprise to see the ad- ministrative scapel move to- wards the very well being of its students Sharon Zimmerman, a _ nurse who has worked at the Health Centre for 16 years, feels that the university is hit- ting a very essential service. She emphasized this point by stating, “The university has a moral obligation, ifnot, a legal obligation to provide health services to the students”. The Health Centre is in jeopardy because Student Developmenthas been told that they have to cut $110,000 from their budget. Since most of their budget goes towards sala-

ries, they are looking at saving this money by not replacing Jack Blanchard who is retiring from counselling, and by cut- ting the approximate $50 000 in funding the Health Centre currently receives.

Located inthe basement of Marion Hall, the Health Centre treats students, fac- ulty, and staff. Lastyear, 1995/ 96, the Centre saw 5431 pa- tients. About 3124 or 58% of the patients were students; 1 83 were faculty; 820 were staff; and 199 were “other”, such as daycare. These numbers, com- pared to the 1989/90 school year when 2470 patients vis- ited the Health Centre show that the Centre is becoming increasingly popular.

Health Care is impor- tant, and having access to this service is essential. The prob- lem for students that are living far from home, is thatno Medi- cal Clinic in Charlottetown is

accepting new patients be- cause of a ceiling placed by the government and no new doctors are allowed to prac- tice in the province.

Student Development is looking atother possibilities in keeping the Centre alive. Blane Jenson, Director of Stu- dent Services, stated, “My opinion is that we have to save this service”, agreeing with the importance of Health Care for students.

Jenson also stated, “We are working very hard to main- tain the Health Centre, not to close but move cost off the main operating budget”.

Which means that the Health Centre would have to start supporting itself.

Currently Student De- velopment is paying for the nurse, the building, and utilities at the Health Centre, and

Cont'd p.4, see "Health"

February 18, 1997

SEX: it's back... see Page 17

Government Helps Deaf Students Study Abroad

By AMANDA LABONTE

ST. JOHN’S, Nfld. (CUP) — The department of Social Serv- ices is helping deaf students in this province attend other post- secondary institutions as far away as the U.S. because Newfoundland schools can not meet their special needs.

A person is considered deaf when their only method of communicating is through the use of American Sign Lan- guage and they need to be provided with interpreters to understand what is being taught in a classroom.

Buta lack of money pre-

vents deaf students from func- tioning to their full potential in an environment like New- foundland’s Memorial Univer- sity because the school can’t afford to provide interpreters for them.

“Interpreters are really hard to get,” said Kelly Gillingham, a hard of hearing student from Memorial who has seen the complications many deaf students have to go through. -

Students who are hard of hearing don’t have the same problems as deaf students. In many cases, hard of hearing students can use electronic

devices or are able to read lips and so don’t require the many services deaf students need.

But the Family and Re- habilitative division of Social Services has set up the Train- ing Services Program so any disabled student who wants to attend a postsecondary insti- tution able to meet their spe- cific needs can apply to re- ceive funding.

“Individuals who are deaf cannot obtain the serv- ices they need (ina university) inthis province,” Ken O’Brien of Social Services said.

The program has ena- bled deaf students to attend

liberal arts universities such as Galidette in Washington D.C. or technical colleges like St. Paul in Minnesota, which spe- cifically aid deaf students.

O’Brien said itis cheaper to help pay for students to goto these universities than totry to provide the same quality of services locally.

Jeanne Cranford of the Newfoundland Co-ordinating Council on Deafness says that attending a postsecondary in- stitution primarily for deaf stu- dents has other benefits that Memorial can’t provide. She said it encourages social inter- action with peers, who are also

deaf, which is an important part of going to university, par- ticularly in the early years. The main drawback is that students have to go away to further their education. However, it is the intent of the Training Services Program, O’Brien says, to provide the best possible opportunities to all disabled students. “Theunderlying function of the program is to provide (all) individuals with an equal ~

opportunity.”

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