Loquitur
5
NEWS
Students wait in New Residence Hall to get desired rooms· get first pick. I didn't want to wait around to get shafted. We got shafted last year," he said. The main lounge of the New To keep busy the students residResidence Hall was turned into a ing temporarily in the lounge, campsite last weekend, as nervous • watched movies, played cards and residents waited for the housing invented games. One group of selection _process to begin. This men started a game of catch year the housing selection was mixed with hot potato using an "first come, first serve," as orange. Being in the lounge for opposed to the points system used eight hours led to some interestlast year or the lottery system used ing new past-times for the stuthe previous year. Some students dents. Some students did not want really liked the new way of doing to play or keep busy in any way; things; others felt it was unfair and they chose to sleep the wait away poorly organized. instead. Blankets and pillows Students were so anxious to get were strewn about the lounge by into the living space that they the time the housing selection wanted that some camped out all process was to begin. night. The first day of housing There were rules in the waiting selection was Friday for people game. One member of each group wanting to live in the apartments. had to be in the lounge at all times Some students heard that others to remain on the waiting list. were sleeping in the lounge all Students went out in shifts to get night to get the apartment they food or go the restroom or just to wanted so, they came in at eight get outside in general. Some peoam. ple chose to go to Wawa o The first people to get there McDonald's to escape the lounge were Marco Iacono and Heather and get some much-needed food. Buonacuore. Iacono explained his At the end of the day the main eagerness to wake up early on a lounge was littered with Wawa Friday morning. "We wanted to coffee cups, balled-up bags from
by CatharineHernson
assistant perspectiveseditor
McDonald• s, papers of all sorts, and candy wrappers. The administration was happy with the students' perseverance,
"We wanted to get first pick. I didn't want to wait around to get shafted. We got shafted last year." -Marco Iacono and not threatened by the early morning mob of students waiting to get an apartment. "I don't think it's crazy, I think the people had a good time. It was not that early, it shows how much it matters to them." Shayla Hasic-Starnps, assistant director of Residence Life, said. The apartment selection process went smoothly, the rest of the weekend was not bad but not quite as easy as Friday. Saturday's
housing was for students who are currently freshman and intend to live in sophomore housing next year. Houses available to these students filled up quickly, as only houses One, Two and Three were open for them. They also had the option of living in the NRH, many students walked around the building looking for the perfect room during the waiting period. The freshman selection was finished ahead of schedule when all the available rooms were filled within an hour. Most students were able to live in the building they wanted to and were generally happy with the process. There were some complaints about the "first come, first serve" process of this year's selection process. Some students were unaware that people were settling into line at 5:30 am. The students were also not happy that the selection was taking place in the NRH, because it gave an advantage to students who live in the building to write their names on the list earlier. This was one complaint that spanned the weekend. Sunday was the worst day for
housing selection according to the students who stayed up all night in the lounge just to stay as high on the waiting list as they could. Students started to camp out in the lounge at 9 p.m. Saturday. The houses on the block for Sunday were for next year's junior and senior classes. Houses Four, Five, Six and Seven were to be filled between 2:00 and 7:00 pm. The process was done by 4:00 pm that day. There were more students then available rooms in the houses, which left some students homeless or living in a sophomore building for a second year. The line that formed that night was all residents of the NRH; the early grouping on the waiting list angered students living in other buildings. One student said, "If I had known that people were here camping-out I would have been here too. It's not fair that because they live in the building they're all here at nine o'clock the night before. There should be more rules."
Doct~rs leaving Pa. because of malpractice by Colleen Connor staff writer
The malpractice insurance premiums have skyrocketed in the past two years for physicians in Pennsylvania. Physicians who specialize in orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology and general surgeons are hit the hardest. Their malpractice has risen from approximately $20,000 per year to close to, if not over, $100,000 per year. The doctors are requesting that if they do not get a decrease in their malpractice, they will have no choice but to leave the state. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Donald Kovalsky, who left Pennsylvania, is now practicing in a the central United States because of Pennsylvania'smalpracticeissues. He commutes weekly as his fami-
ly still lives in this area and works three days each week. He is able to offset his travel costs due to the cost of his malpractice coverage in his new office location. A typical orthopedic surgeon now pays approximately $111,296 per year. If a surgeon were to move to Delaware, which is 20 minutes away, his malpractice would only be $37,783 per year. This is why many of the medical doctors in the area are changing the locations of their practices. In 2001, Pennsylvania's major malpractice insurance had an overall increase ranging from 21% to 60.4% and the Medical Professional Liability Catastrophe Loss Fund (CAT) increased its surcharge by 25.7%. Too many meritless claims steal important financial resources like patient
care. According to the Physician's Insurer's Association of America, only about 30% of malpractice claims resuJt in payment to the patient. When a claim against a physician goes to verdict, the plaintiff prevails in only about 19% of the claims. Because of this, 89% of the doctors are practicing defensive medicine to protect themselves against meritless claims. Defensive medicine occurs when additional tests and treatments are ordered that are not required for treatment. Eighty percent of doctors who have attempted to recruit new physicians into Pennsylvania have faced serious difficulty in recruiting. Seventy-two percent of doctors have stated that they have deferred the purchase of new
equipment or hiring of new staff due to sharp increases in liability insurance. The House of Representatives has recently expressed the support of the proposed House amendments to HB 1802 and have added amendments. They are proposing a seven-year deadline for bringing malpractice·actions called a statue of repose, with exceptions for minors and foreign objects found in the body. A stronger process by which judges reduce "jackpot" awards, requiring the judge to consider the impact to access the medical community. The lawmakers have to come up with a plan that will retain our physicians in Pennsylvania and still respect the patients right to sue.
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