THE STUDENT LIFE FRIDAY, OctObeR 4, 2019 | CLAREMONT, CA | VOL. CXXX NO. 3
Dr. Who? Student Health Services in crisis JULIA FRANKeL It’s the primary source of health care for the 7Cs, providing medical services like immunizations and check-ups to about 8,500 students. And as the weather turns colder and flu season arrives, Student Health Services has a message for students: The doctor is out. Or at least the nurses are. SHS temporarily suspended scheduling routine appointments last week — including physicals, women’s health exams, vaccinations, tuberculosis tests and sexually transmitted infection testing — due to a “critical” shortage of registered nurses and medical providers, according to a statement posted to its website. The center is currently operating as an urgent care clinic and will be referring students who cannot wait for appointments to alternate off-campus providers, the statement said. “We have not had the capacity to schedule appointments for some students with viral symptoms or other urgent care needs in a timely way. … Same-day appointments for students requiring immediate care have been especially limited,” the statement said. The decision to suspend routine appointments was made Sept. 24, according to Janet Smith Dickerson, vice president for student affairs at The Claremont Colleges Services. But, no email was sent to students until more than a week later, the day after TSL published the news. The departures of two registered nurses, both due to personal reasons, left SHS unable to provide routine services to students, according to officials. “We realized a week and a half ago that students with urgent care needs were being turned away,” Dickerson said. “We did not anticipate that we would be so shortstaffed and would have to move to a modified operation.”
When Pitzer Student Senate President Clint Isom PZ ’20 felt extremely sick on Sept. 30, he went to SHS for a walk-in appointment. But staff told him there were no nurses to see him. They gave him a plastic bag filled with tissues and cough drops and told him to reschedule his appointment for two weeks later or call 911 if his condition was urgent, he said. Isom attempted to get the doctor ’s note he needed to complete an assignment, but couldn’t. “You can’t get a doctor’s excuse if you can’t see the doctor,” he said. “The staffing shortage needs to be addressed … especially this time of year, when everybody’s sick. SHS has struggled to hire new registered nurses amidst a competitive regional marketplace, Dickerson said. She’s engaged in meetings with TCCS budget and human resources offices to ensure SHS staff are being paid competitive salaries. “We thought that we should be able to call [a] nursing temporary agency and have someone here the next day but it doesn’t work like that,” Dickerson said. “It’s a very competitive market for people in health professions now.” The U.S. unemployment rate for registered nurses stands at 1.4 percent, less than half the national unemployment rate of 3.7 percent, according to U.S. News. SHS has three doctors, two nurse practitioners and only one registered nurse on staff, according to Dickerson. But the statement on the SHS site said it’s made “incremental progress” in hiring and added one physician provider this month and one registered nurse this week.
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JUStIN SLePPY • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
5Circus club juggles work, play and acrobatics Read the full story on page 6
Campus Safety started Off the rails: Future of Claremont’s Metro Gold Line station uncertain using body cameras without JASPeR DAVIDOFF After decades of preparation, the agency responsible for bringing the Los Angeles Metro’s Gold Line — which runs from eastern LA to the San Gabriel foothills — further east says its plan is finally moving forward. But doubts continue to swirl over whether the light rail system will ever make it to Claremont. The Metro Foothill Extension Construction Authority is slated Friday morning to sign an agreement with contractors Kiewit-Parsons to
extend the Gold Line at a cost of $2.1 billion. The 12.3 miles of new rail could add stations in as many as six cities: Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont and Montclair, with construction set to begin next year. Of the six new stations, though, only four are currently guaranteed under the contract. The Metro has secured enough funding for the extension as far as Pomona, but construction of the easternmost 3.3 miles of rail — which includes the proposed Cla-
remont and Montclair stations — will cost another $550 million. The agency has just $100 million of that secured, and needs to raise another $450 million in funding by October 2021 for that part of the project to proceed, extension authority spokesperson Albert Ho said. Rising material prices nationwide, a loss of qualified foreign-born workers due to tighter immigration policies and the on-
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ANAGA SRINIVAS • THE STUDENT LIFE
LIFE & STYLE
Students and administration reflect upon the legacies of CLSA and OBSA as the organizations both celebrate their 50th anniversaries this fall. Read more on page 4.
The student newspaper of the Claremont Colleges since 1889
informing students
MARc ROD Unbeknownst to students, Campus Safety officers have been using body cameras when responding to calls since Aug. 1, according a Campus Safety policy document distributed at an ASPC meeting Thursday. Neither Campus Safety nor the individual 5Cs announced the policy had gone into effect. “These cameras are a useful tool in helping us to record key information during responses to reported crime,” Kim Lane, the then-spokesperson for The Claremont Colleges Services, told TSL in May. “They also allow us to proactively review and assess officers’ actions and interactions so that we can provide appropriate training.” Campus Safety Director Stan Skipworth did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. The policy encourages Campus Safety officers to be transparent about their use of body cameras. “Officers are encouraged to notify the public that the [camera] is activated and recording. Under most circumstances, notification has shown to aid in diffusing incidents,” the policy said.
OPINIONS
Under the policy, all officers must activate their cameras when dispatched on calls involving “actual or potential violations of the law” and may not deactivate them “until the scenario has been stabilized; upon request of the victim; or as ordered by a supervisor.” The officers have discretion to determine when the situation is “stabilized.” College administrators and Pomona College’s Judicial Board can request access to the footage for investigations, according to ASPC President Miguel Delgado PO ’20, who discussed the policy at the ASPC meeting. Students will be able to tell if the cameras — which officers wear on their chests — are recording if they can see the camera lens, according to Pomona associate dean Ellie Ash-Balá. Ash-Balá said the cameras could help students, particularly students of color, who have complained to Pomona administrators that they’ve been treated unfairly or racially profiled by Campus Safety officers. The guidelines also prohibit anyone from making copies of or releasing footage from the cameras without permission and require officers to undergo training before
See cAMS on page 3 SPORTS
“Allowing people to exist in spaces without giving them the tools they need to flourish reduces them to props.” — Brooke Sparks PO ’22 Read more on page 8.
Claremont McKenna College’s chief civil rights officer is investigating reported actions by members of the CMS swim and dive team, a college spokesperson said Wednesday. Read more on page 9.
INDEX: News 1 | Life & Style 4 | Opinions 7 | Sports 9