OPINION
FOOD
Dream On
A medical student wonders if being just a doctor is enough? » PAGE 3
A Chinese New Year Away From Home
IN THIS ISSUE
News Briefs » PAGE 3 Mythbusters » PAGE 5 Puzzles » PAGE 7
Synapse Student seeks out traditional comfort food » PAGE 6
The UCSF Student Newspaper
Thursday, Feburary 6, 2014
NEWS
Campus Groups Mark Black History Month
synapse.ucsf.edu
Volume 58, Number 18
Chinese Culture Night
NEWS
New Student Government Referendum Passes Easily
By Angela Broad Staff Writer
B
lack History Month in February is a chance for the UCSF community to highlight the contributions of African-American and black-identified individuals, to bring medical services to underserved area and to foster discussions about justice and inequality. The Multicultural Resource Center (MRC), the Office of Diversity, the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) and others are sponsoring events commemorating Black History Month, from photo installations to community outreach programs. Here is a roundup of the month’s top events: Prep School Negro - film screening and director discussion February 6, 5:15-7 p.m., Cole Hall, Parnassus The UCSF LGBT Resource Center and the UCSF Multicultural Resource Center will screen the documentary, Prep School Negro. Documentary director Andre Robert Lee reflects on his adolescence in Philadelphia, where a scholarship to an elite private school changed his life in unpredictable ways. The film also highlights the experience of students of color in the present day who face the challenges and contradictions of prep school life. A Q&A session with director will follow
By Michael Le Contributing Writer
PhotoTiffany Hsu/DS3 Left to right: Chelsea Wong (D3), Thomas Nguyen (D3), Mason Tran (D4) and Ralph Thomas (D3 dressed up in traditional Chinese clothing and a lion headdress at the annual Lunar New Year celebration hosted by the Chinese Health Professional Student Association on January 30.
the screening. Open to the entire UCSF community. Black History Month Celebration – reception February 13, 3 – 5 p.m., Lange Reading Room, Parnassus. RSVP required. The UCSF Office of Diversity will host a Black History Month Celebration honoring Michael A. LeNoir, MD, president of the National Medical Association, and the Physicians Medical Forum for their continued support of UCSF faculty, students and trainees. RSVP is required by February 11. For more details visit http://diversity.ucsf.edu/node/3296451.
Cracking the Codes – film screening and discussion February 19, 5:15-7 p.m., Toland Hall, Parnassus The MRC promotes a campus culture of inclusion and equity, cultural competency and interprofessional collaboration, and supports the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty, staff, students and trainees. The Center will host a screening and discussion of Cracking the Codes, which is a powerful exploration of systemic inequity and racial justice. See http://crackingthecodes. org/ for more.
BLACK HISTORY » PAGE 3
NEWS
LGBTQI Health Forum: New Perspectives and Training Registration now open for February 22 event By Michael Liu Contributing Writer
T
he sixth annual LGBTQI Health Issues Forum offers participants the unique opportunity to learn about the clinical concerns of the LGBTI community and how to provide sensitive care to these underserved populations. The LGBTI population is at a higher risk of some cancers, cardiovascular disease, depression, anxiety and substance abuse. Take advantage of this event to learn about LGBTI health risks and disparities, and how to provide more knowledgeable, effective and sensitive care. There will be workshops and
breakout sessions to accommodate all knowledge levels of LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex) health issues. The forum will be held on February 22 and registration is now open. Last year, more than 300 students from UCSF and colleges around the country attended. UNAIDS Civil Society Partnership Advisor Eric Sawyer is slated to give the keynote address. A founding member of ACT UP and a co-founder of Housing Works and Health Gap, Sawyer’s work is a potent reminder that healthcare is often political and that all health professionals can play a role an important role in advocating for the care of the underserved. Through its brand of ‘in your face’ activism, ACT UP helped bring national attention to the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Sawyer also created Housing Works to address homelessness among people with HIV/AIDS. To-
day, at UNAIDS, he continues the fight to ensure that people living with HIV/AIDS in the developing world have access to care. A patient panel will address real-world LGBTQI experiences within the healthcare system. Breakout sessions will cover LBQ women’s health, MSM health, bisexual wellness, transgender health, intersex health issues, HIV issues, LGBT elders, parenting and youth, LGBTQ mental health and substance abuse. There will also be an outness panel featuring faculty, interns and local health professionals, who will discuss their diverse experiences being out in their professions. New this year will be a lunchtime screening of Transgender Tuesdays, a documentary about the lives of eight transgender patients of the Tom Waddell Health Center, the first low-cost public health clinic offering dedi-
LGBTQI HEALTH FORUM » PAGE 3
U
CSF students have approved a referendum to change the student government structure by an overwhelming margin of 88 percent to 12 percent. Sponsored by Associated Students of UCSF (ASUC) and Graduate Students’ Association (GSA), the referendum proposed the merger of the two campus-wide student governments into a single entity, unifying dental, graduate, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and physical therapy students under one identifiable banner. The new entity will be called the Graduate and Professional Students’ Association (GPSA). Approximately 30 percent of the overall UCSF student population participated in the referendum, which was held in an online vote from January 21-28. Graduate and physical therapy students voting in the referendum also overwhelmingly approved the formation of student governments to respectively address their needs, which were handled previously by GSA. Approval of the referendum allows work to proceed with the official dissolution of ASUC and GSA and plan for campus-wide elections in April 2014 to elect the five executive council officers of the GPSA Executive Board. Officers of the academic council of the GPSA Executive Board will be appointed by the respective academic governments. More information about GPSA and the next steps related to the transition to GPSA from ASUC and GSA can be found at gpsa. ucsf.edu.
Michael Le is a seventh-year DDS-PhD student in Oral and Craniofacial Sciences.
Valentine's Day is fast approaching. Synapse will print messages of love in its next issue. Send your messages to synapse@ucsf.edu by 10 a.m. Monday, February 10.