NEWS
Pearl for the Developing Clinician
ARTS&CULTURE
IN THIS ISSUE
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Taking a pulse » PAGE 5
school experience. » PAGE 6
The UCSF Student Newspaper
Thursday, November 21, 2013
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Volume 58, Number 11
OPINION
NEWS
A Veterans’ Day Perspective From a First-Year Student Veteran
Students Plan New Student Government Structure By Michael Le Contributing Writer
P
I’ll admit, I’d much rather be stressing out about studying for a test than to be experiencing death, destruction and 130-degree temperatures. I’m eternally grateful that I was able to make it back home from my one-year tour in the Middle East. Over 6,500 troops cannot say the same and have paid the greatest sacrifice fighting the United States’ War on Terror. With more than a million service members expected to return to civilian life over the next few years and an unemployment rate for Post 9/11 veterans currently at 10 percent (2.7 percent higher than the na-
lanning is under way to create a new student government that would merge the two student governments and unify the student body under one identifiable banner. Student representatives from the Schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and the Graduate Division began meeting in October as a planning committee to provide input on a new student government, to be known as the Graduate and Professional Students’ Association (GPSA). Their goal is to produce a new student government structure that will improve the campus-wide student representation, as well as improve how students are served by the governing body. “We're hoping to increase interprofessionalism and efficiency with the proposed governing structure,” said Joseph Foy, GSA president and member of the planning committee. “The new structure should allow for greater collaboration between students in different schools and programs, and improve communication with the administration.” The idea to reform the current structure arose out of discussions during the previous academic year between then-ASUC president Doug Jacobs, then-GSA president Jason Tien and current Nursing Student Council president Arielle Bivas. They identified three major issues: inconsistent two-tier representation,
VETERANS’ DAY » PAGE 4
STUDENT GOVERNMENT » PAGE 4
Photo courtesy of Sam Lee Capt. Sam Lee stands in front of Al Faw Palace, then home to headquarters US Forces-Iraq in September, 2011. He worked as a strategic planner helping develop a cohesive communication plan for OPERATION NEW DAWN for senior leaders.
By Sam Lee Staff Writer
T
hree years ago I was experiencing almost daily rocket attacks on our compound in Baghdad, Iraq. This Veterans’ Day, I found myself barricaded behind a mountain of books and notes studying for my nursing med-surg exam.
NEWS
Chancellor: Typhoon-Ravaged Philippines Needs Our Help
I Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines two weeks ago.
n the wake of the devastating typhoon in the Philippines, UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH, sent out the following message to the campus community last Wednesday: Dear Colleagues: I share the deep concern and sadness that the UCSF community is experiencing with
the impact of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), which has devastated the Philippines, particularly with heavy destruction within the Visayan islands of Samar and Leyte, where the number of casualties is feared to be in the thousands and lack of resources extremely critical. As reported, the demands on the rescue effort are overwhelm-
ing. Many relief organizations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, Philippine Red Cross and the Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), have mobilized to provide the basic needs of water, food, shelter and medical care. The following story in The New York Times provides a broader list of these
organizations: http://thelede. blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/11/ how-to-help-philippines-typhoon-victims/?ref=asia. For those here at UCSF, there are free, confidential resources that are available to help during this time. Students seeking counseling can call Student Health and Counseling Services
TYPHOON » PAGE 4