Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Fula. 1 N U unIverSITyi
'V IS1 rreaoure raperoWnursdav. S3, 1981
Gimme
Shelter
The Civil
Defense
System is
Procedural examined
Problems
page 3 centerfold
1 To engineer
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success
page 7
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Procedural Problems
Medical suspension process raises questions
by Debra Silver
VPSA, "agreed that this letter unfortu-
"I am concerned that your behavior nately did slip by. This letter had been a
may be presenting a danger to yourself form used....before I arrived here." He
or others on campus and, therefore, a also agreed that a phone call is a viable
medical suspension may be in order." alternative.
On October 26, 1981, a Stony Brook stu- Dr. Neal "certainly expected human
dent received this news in a letter from intervention so that the student would
the Office of the Vice President for Stu- feel that the...University would wel-
dent Affairs. On October 30, 1981, Ms. come her back."
Steele, a pseudonym used to protect her Mr. Taube commented that the letter
identity, received a letter from the uses such harsh, authoritarian wording
Office of the President stating, "In the because, "it is not meant to be open to
judgement of Dr. Preston and the medi- interpretation and the people to whom
cal evaluators, your continued presence this letter is directed at are potentially
on campus would constitute a serious physically threatening to others."
threat to the health and safety of your- The first letter Ms. Steele received
self and others and might well cause a (from the VPSA office) spoke of concern
serious disruption to the normal conduct that her, "behavior may be presenting a
of University functions." The letter also danger to yourself or others on campus,"
informed her that she was medically and that she should, "be in touch with
suspended effective on November 4, the Director of the University Health
1981. Service, Dr. Gerald Hartman, who will
What action of Ms. Steele warranted arrange for you to meet...for a profes-
her being suspended from the Univer- sional review and evaluation of your
sity? Threatening her neighbors with situation." Ms. Steele called to set up a
physical harm? Chasing after students meeting as soon as she received the let-
with a gun? Kimberely Steele simply ter but in spite of her "danger to herself,:
sought help from the University. She "she was not given an appointment until
spoke to her Residence Hall Director five days later. Dr. Hartman states, "We
(RHD) about her suicidal tendencies, rarely allow more than five or six days
and even committed herself to the Uni- between the time the student calls and
versity Hospital for observation. the hearing. My feeling is that if the
Discrepancies, inconsistencies and student is not executively suspended,
lack of compassion characterize the then there must be a leeway of three to
medical suspension process. From the five days. We assume that the person is
first notification the student receives, not suicidal or a threat to others until it's
through the evaluation and final deci- shown otherwise."
sion, the procedure has flaws. All people involved with medical sus- tions are sent to the VPSA office and medical evidence" could mean her RHD
Camille Giannattasio, Polity's per- pensions agree that the letters must be Taube goes over the report and dis- or her family, as Hartman said he would
manently retained lawyer, stated: "Her changed. Dr. Neal suggests, "the prob- cusses it with Dr. Preston and the Presi- advise Sam Taube.
basic rights of due process of law were lem is that the letter is not flexible dent's office. Hartman stated, "If we look at any
violated." enough. The University should have let- Camille Giannattasio, Polity lawyer, records the student brings, they'll be
But improvements may be in the ters that are graduated, each of a differ- said he "questions whether the psycholo- biased [presumably the student would
offing. According to Norman Ber- ent severity." The Bridge to Somewhere gist and social worker are practicing only bring "good" reports]. 95% of he
hannen, University Judiciary Officer, is drafting a proposal for a letter and medicine without a license and whether judgement is based on how a student
the Student Conduct Code, including will present to Dr. Preston, accordingto or not it's a crime under New York law." acts at the hearing. We don't get fooled.
the medical suspension process "has Grieff. Dr. Podolnick stated, "we're not prac- We've never made a mistake in our
been around since at least 1970. Medical The terminology used in the process is ticing medicine without a license. The recommendatins. We look to see if the
suspension procedures should be often not clearly defined. The terminol- panel does not convene to treat or diag- student has insight into his or her prob-
reviewed each year as is the entire Stu- ogy used in the Student Conduct Code nose a patient. (Kimberely herself lem; their ability to comprehend what's
dent Conduct Code." Subsequent to an (SCC), is not necessarily the same that is reported, "At the hearing they said happening and the response a person
investigation by the Press, Dr. Preston used in the letters. The actual procedure nothing about helping me.") All the gives to certain questions. This is the
and others have made arrangements for may not adhere strictly to what's writ- panel does is make an evaluation as to way the committee chooses to function.'
discussing improvements in the ten in the SCC and students' rights may whether someone poses a threat to them- Dr. Fredric Levine, Director of the
procedure. be infringed upon. There are no written selves or others." Podolnick also stated Psychological research Center, states.
Both the letter from the President's guidelines about the panel that evalu- that, "the term 'medical' is used broadly "there's a good deal of evidence that
office notifying the student of his sus- ates the student. The first paragraph in the SCC." Taube says, "medical sus- results of interviews to determine poten-
pension and the one from the Vice Presi- about medical suspensions in the SCC pension procedure is a professional tial suicides may be invalid. [Suspend-
dent for Student Affairs' (VPSA) office states, "the President may impose medi- assessment by people who are trained to ing a person from school itself] could
are form letters that were written in the cal suspension based on a professional do it, people licensed by New York exacerbate tension and feelings of
VPSA office. According to Gerald Hart- evaluation of student's physical or men- State."' inadequacy." According to Dr. John
man, MD, Director of the University tal health," and the letter from the Dr. Hartman stated that, "a poten- Lee, full-time faculty member in the
Health Service, the letter "is 95% sim- VPSA office speaks of a "professional tially suicidal person would be medi- Department of Psychiatry at the Medi-
ilar for all students." Though he was review and evaluation." The remainder cally suspended if under the same cal school, the integration of informa-
reluctant to admit that they were in fact of the SCC and the letter from the Presi- stresses the person would feel suicidal tion from a variety of sources is what
form letters, Assistant Dean of Students dent's office speak of a "medical again." Neal concurred, "I would think makes a judgement valid."
Sam Taube admitted that "it's more or evaluation." in cases where there is a doctor on the According to Giannattasio. due pro-
less the same wording every time." The actual evaluation for a student panel it could be argued that the evalua- cess of law may have been violated in
Neither letter conveys any degree of with a mental health problem consists of tion is medical." If Hartman is on vaca- this case and in other medical suspen-
sympathy. Joan Grieff, Director of the the student in a room with three evalua- tion, however. Podolnick would have a sion cases. "I doubt very much whether
Bridge to Somewhere, "was appalled by tors who interview her for 30-60 min- panel with no medical doctors on it. the suspension would stand up in a court
the letters. They were threatening and utes. One of the evaluators is Dr. Responding indirectly to this, Preston of law," he said. Giannattasio believes
insensitive. It seems to me that some Hartman, one is Ed Podolnick, PhD in says that even in this case, "the people that the hearing was a competency hear-
kind of one-to-one communication could clinical psychology and director of the there should be competent enough to ing that wasn't legal because Kimberly
transmit the same information. The let- University Counseling Center (the Uni- evaluate whether a person's problem is was never advised of her New York
ter could read. for example, "We hope versity Counseling Center itself is in no due to mental stress or a physical prob- State and Constitutional rights, she has
manner involved with the medical sus- lem like a chemical imbalance." no "opportunity to cross-examine her
that you're feeling better...."
Homer Neal, The University Provost, pension process) and the third evaluator The student is not advised, in the let- accusers." Both of these are standard
"did sense that the letter wasn't as con- is someone from the UCC who is a social ter asking them to make an appoint- procedures in New York State Supreme
worker with experience in mental ment for a hearing, that they have the Court competency hearings.
soling as I would have expected....It was
health problems. If Dr. Hartman is on right, as stated in the SCC, to present Barbara Bernstein, Executive Direc-
my expectation that whoever delivered
vacation, then Dr. Podolnick would call independent "medical documentation." tor of the Nassau chapter of the New
the letter would express condolensces
the panel together, and in Dr. Hart- Ms. Steele was not told of this right even York Civil Liberties Union, asserted
[from the University]. Those letters
man's place, another social worker with when she called to make her appoint- that "since a person can have a lawyer at
didn't reflect the concern that the
mental health experience would sit on ment. Dr. Hartman said that she was a Student hearing Board Hearing, there
Administration has for the student." Dr.
the panel. According to Sam Taube, read her rights at the hearing and has is no reason why they can't have them at
Neal, in signing the letter, acted in place
"each evaluator makes an individual an opportunity to reschedule the hear- a medical suspension hearing."
of the President, who was out of the
assessment" The panel's recommenda- ing. She was not told that "documented (continued on page 7)
country at the time. Fred Preston, _ _ ~_i_
LASO
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PSC funding for a club will not be considered unless that club has
filled out a request for PSC funding
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by Jeff Zoldan
Stop-Stop the Go-Go's
The Go-Go's' performance in the
Stony Brook Gym almost two weeks ago
was testimony that rock bands needn't
be original, clever, or excessively tal-
ented in order to enjoy popular appeal.
It was equally distressing to see the
same audience who so thoroughly
enjoyed the Go-Go's' ready-made, pre-
fabricated set remain dumb and
glued to their seats when Joe "King"
Carasco, a talented musician with
energy, wit, and a band to match,
mounted the stage and gave it his all. It
seemed that the audience preferred the
popular rather than the unknown, even
though the former severely lacked in the
qualities known as depth and talent.
It would be inaccurate to say that this
phenomenon is indigenous to Stony
Brook audiences because they're not the
only ones responsible for making the Go-
Go's' debut album Beauty and the Beat
reach number 19 on the Billboards
chart. Loaded with trite, banal hooks
and inane, superficial lyrics, Beauty
,and the Beat has become the favorite of
music fans in search of that untalented,
redundant band to-love-even-though-
they're-terrible, especially since the
Ramones have shored up their act and
made their new music more palatabl.
Yes, the Go-Go's' songs a: e
infectious-anything that has as many
hooks as "Our Lips Are Sealed" would allowances for every novelty act that can about the limit for the Go-Ge's' whose such was the case that fateful Sunday
be-and fun to dance to. So are a few play three or four chords and carry a musical range extends as far as the New night in the Gym. Carasco's raucuous
dozen Long Island copy bands, but that tune, even though they fall far short of York Giants' offense. R&B guitar style, backed by a reedy
doesn't give them the nod to assume every standard we set for other more Opening for the Go-Go's' were Joe organ and a relentless rhythm section.
they're worthy of headlining in a venue established artists. "King" Carasco and the Crowns, the teemed with energy that was conspicu-
that is used to the likes of Santana, Todd "We Got The Beat" and "Our Town" former darlings of the CBGB crowd and ously absent during the Go-Go's' set.
Rundgren and Pat Metheny among oth- are danceable tunes that are more enjoy- the headliners of last year's Get Stiff Regretablly, the impatience of the
ers. This is Stony Brook, not Tuey's. The able than the normal fare heard these tour. It is always embarassing when the audience blunted what could have been
Go-Go's don't stand to compare with days in the city's dance clubs. But that's opening act outplays the headliner and a wild rock and roll occasion.
anything more than a better than aver- _ I · I s . L I · I I_ · I I I· -r · ~C_ ~
age garage band.
First, the Go-Go's' lush harmonies
were distorted by the most atrocious
mix that one could possible tolerate,
even allowing for Scoop Audio-Visual's
normally defective and tone-deaf sense
Big Brother is Watching
of hearing. Second, it would have suf-
ficed and been a lot cheaper to have
gathered a group of friends and played
Beauty and the Beat all the way through
for the Go-Go's' did little more than
Your Stray Hats
repeat the LP note for note. No improvi-
sation, no spontaneity. All their songs, by P.F. Sullivan Unity. Once they hear that they know they've gove a
The Press started it. fight on their hands." O'Casey pointed out the distress-
with the same 4/4 meter, were rehashed
It was a Wednesday night at the Lecture Center, and ing fact that leftist student groups, gay liberation
and served in the same perfunctory
every other person had The Press' latest issue. They groups, migrant farmworkers, missionaries, black lib-
fashion.
were there for the movie 1984, but the "Stray of the eration groups, foreign policy analysts, and human
Third, but most important, the Go-
Week" offered a set of instructions for making a paper rights activists rarely talk toeach other. One is either a
Go's' material borrows from every facet
hat. Complicated instructions, they unintentionally member of Amnesty International or Science for the
of 60's pop-rock-from the three and
contained a germ of mischief. Those who couldn't man- People, rarely both. While membership in more than
four part harmonies of the Ronettes and
age constructive folding became masters of destruc- one progressive organization is admirable. in unity's
the Belmonts to the unvirtuostic guitar
tive folding. What they folded glided spectacularly eyes, the lack of communication between the various
style that tries hard to imitate the Ven-
from the upper tier to the ground floor and sometimes groups is the reason the Right prevails.
tures. In fact, Charlotte Caffey's and
back again, garnering hoots, applause, bemusement. In keeping with Unity's thrust toward unification.
Jane Wiedlin's guitar playing is so
The catch was that newspaper doesn't make a particu- invitations went out to many campus organizations to
bland and dismally simple that any first
larly good airplane-what usually found itself glee- set up tables outside Lecture Hall 100 and distribute
year student of the guitar could easily
fully sprouting wings and flitting across the room was literature. However, only CISPES (Committee in
perform the same songs with minimal
good, informative, political literature. Solidarity with the People of El Salvador). the campus
effort and practice. Gina Schock and
Kathy Valentine propel the driving Standing on line before the show, one could overhead contact for Unity Resource, and Hugh Cleland. history
rhythm section which, given the sim- underclassmen noticing the Ronald reagan 1984 ad, professor and member of the Democratic Socialist
plistic and almost minimalistic mate- eyes whited-out, pointing at the onlooker, the quote Party who canvassed the line. Barry Ragin. member of
rial, is no great feat. Ms. Shock, though, beside: "Big Brother is watching you." Said one CISPES, expressed chagrined disappointment. "Its a
exhibited extreme deftness behind the underlcassmen to another: "Hey! Maybe Ronald Rea- golden opportunity," he said. "You've got several
drums, proving to be more than an ade- gan is Big Brother!" It was that kind of crowd. hundred of the most apathetic people on campus right
quate percussionist. The showing of the film was by design more a politi- here tonight, and nobody's here."
I have been recently chided that I cal event than a film event, though you wouldn't know Unity Resource is a two month old organization
should give credit to the Go-Go's' it by the crowd. Chosen for its obvious cautionary based in New York City. Their showing of 1914-
because they are an all-female band, a themes, the film is being used as a fundraiser for Unity which involves a nation wide campus-to campus tour-
,surprising rarity in today's prolific Resource, a two month ond New York based organiza- is, in O'Casey's words, only the first of their projected
music world. Fortunately one's sex is tion whose aim, according to John Martin O'Casey, one activities. Within six months, full-time production
no criteria in judging musical achieve- of a group of housemates in New York City who employment involving cable TV. film. and journalism
ment and those who allow the Go-Go's' founded the organization, is to help coordinate the will be available to all the groups sharing the organiza-
gender color their own opinions about disparate left against the organized, monied right. tions political bias. Since the media are what get the
what they may otherwise regard as con- "The one word they don't want to hear", O'Casey said, Right's messages across. Unity Resource sees the use of
temptible or tedious music exercise the referring to the Reagan regime and all its cronies, "is the media as a primary strategy for social change.
worst and most dangerous kind of sex- -- I I 1'1 ~ I I I- I -I -'·--r- I
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The University Wind Ensemble
by Alysa Chadow Mr. Kreiselmen returned to lead in
highlights from Jerry Brook's stage hit
The November 11 performance of the Fiddler On The Roof, with a unique
University Wind Ensemble got off to a sound made by the brass and wind
slow, disjointed start but by ending in arrangement of a traditional all string
perfect harmony the Ensemble secured introduction.
the privilege of an encore. No woodwind/brass concert would be
The wind ensemble, formerly The complete without the music from John
University Band, was led by Mr. Jack Phillip Sousa, who was represented by
Krieselman, an artist in residence from the "Rifle Regiment March" and the
New York University, and assisted by "Picadore March." The two marches
Mr. William Sniffin, Assistant Music were grandly executed by excellent
Director. arrangements-Sousa himself would
The program opened with the prelude have been impressed.
to Richard Wagner's opera Die Miester- The program closed with the finale
singer Von Nuremberg. The work from Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky's "Sym-
started out slowly, without any cohesive- phony #5." The work had a momentary
ness. About midway through, however, relapse demonstrated in the Wagner
the playing became quickened in tempo piece, but by the work's middle, it had
and the ensemble's playing tightened, once again picked up and displayed the
both elements in bringing the piece to a tightness of the preceeding works.
lively finish. The audience's reception had
Second on the program was George increased throughout the program from
Bizet's L'Arlessicnne Suite #2 which
a polite acknowlegement to unmitigated
exhibited liveliness touched with just enthusiasm. It was no wonder then the
the right amount of pathos so as to make ensemble was able to do one encore, Sou-
the piece somber without being heavy. sa's "Washington Post," which, in addi-
There was with each successive change tion to being the highlight of the
in each of the four movements a smooth evening, was, by the enthusiasm of its
transition from the quickness of the pre-
performance (it is extremely difficult
lude to the delicacy of the minuetto,
not to become enthusiastic at a Sousa
right down to the sweeping elegance of
work), able to evoke visions of college
the adagietto and carillo movements.
football homecomings and rah-rah fans
That liveliness and eagerness of spirit
in raccoon coats wildly cheering the
was even more evident in Mr. Sniffin's rress Photo tV Stu Davis ruddy-faced young athletes as they jog
conducting of selections from Richard
,onto the field.
Roger's musical Carousel. The perfor- Hector Berlioz's "Hungarian March," ensemble in Claude Monteverd's sonata The concert was an excellent one, both
mance was striking. It was jubilant from "Damnation of Faust," was a rous- sopra, "Santa Maria Ora Pro Nobis." through diversity of pieces and highly
enough to make the listener fairly dance ing and uplifting work which was again Unlike the previous works, Santa Maria polished performances. It is no doubt
in seat in exhilaration while it was emo- conducted by Mr. Kreiselmen. was based on rich melodies and deep the upcoming Christmas concert by the
tional enough to bring actual tears to the Following a fifteen minute intermis- rolling tones, making it possibly one of ensemble will be eagerly looked for-
eyes. sion, Mr. Sniffin returned to lead the the best pieces of the program. ward to by this night's audience.
ONO"=
page 14 The Stony Brook Press
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