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Morehouse Medical School Update
by Lisa Lawson
News Reporter
After an 18-month study
begun in 1973 yielded evidencp
to confirm that Morehouse
College had the administrative
leadership and academic
strength to develop a medical
school of high quality, the 1974
House of Delegates of the
National Medical Association
voted unanimously in favor of
the development of a medical
school at Morehouse College.
The study, made possible by a
federal grant, confirmed the
reality of a severe shortage of
blacks and other minority
physicians, particularly in rural
and inner-city communities,
which are often heavily-
populated by blacks and other
minorities. As critical health care
problems and diseases such as
hypertension, diabetes, anemia,
and malnutrition, cancer, and
high infant/maternal mortality
rates are more common and
ever-increasing among minority
groups, the Morehouse School
of Medicine seeks to educate
students who will become
primary care physicians for
medically underserved inner-
city and rural areas throughout
the United States.
The development of the
Morehouse School of Medicine
has been constant and steady.
Provisional accreditation was
granted to the school by the
Liason Committee on Medical
Education, (LCME), in the spring
of 1978. In September of 1978,
the charter class of 24 began the
two-year educational program in
the basic medical sciences. Upon
completion of the rigorous two-
year program, Brown University,
Emory University, University of
Alabama at Birmingham,
Howard University, Louisiana
State University, and the Medical
College of Georgia granted M.D.
degrees to those charter class
students who completed their
third and fourth years of medical
training at these institutions. The
Medical School became in
dependent of Morehouse
College on July 1, 1981. In
February of 1982, the LCME
authorized the medical school to
develop a complete 4-year
curriculum and to award the
M.D. degree in June of 1985. The
Medical School is currently
conducting a $15 million dollar
fund-raising drive in order to
finance a thorough expansion of
the medical program and the
completion of another building
that will be the second perma
nent facility for the medical
school.
The freshman class, selected
from over 2,000 applicants across
the country, has included
graduates from the Atlanta Un
iversity Center and increased its
size from 24 in the fall of 1978 to
32 in the fall of 1980. The first
permanent facility, the Basic
Medical Science Building I,
completed in July of 1982, is a
91,000 sq. ft., $6.5 million dollar
structure which contains all
administrative offices, including
that of President and Dean, Louis
W. Sullivan M.D., faculty offices
and research laboratories for the
Departments of Anatomy, Bio
chemistry, Community
Medicine and Family Practice,
and Pathology. The building also
houses all classrooms and
laboratories as well as a 10,000 sq.
ft. Multi-Media Center. The
research laboratories of the
Department of Physiology are
located west of the main
building in the Laboratory
Building.
For those qualified students
who wish to obtain the M.D.
degree, particularly those who
share in a deep concern for the
residents of medically un
derserved areas, applying to the
Morehouse School of Medicine
is a viable option to consider.
The strong commitment on
behalf of the administration,
faculty, and staff to the develop
ment of ja strong educational
atmosphere, as well as the small
student-teacher ratio encourage
a family-like environment from
which reaffirmed purpose, stan
dards of excellence and achieve
ment can arise. The Morehouse
School of Medicine, as a
minority-oriented institution of
higher education and
professional training and the
seventh member of the Atlanta
University Center, has been and
will continue to be a valid source
of medical education, service,
training, and research. The af
filiations that have already been
formed provide both hospital
and ambulatory care experience.
The affiliation between the
Morehouse School of Medicine
and the Emory University School
of Medicine is extensive. In
cooperation with the Emory
University School of Medicine,
Morehouse medical school
students take their third year
clerkships at Grady Memorial
Hospital in medicine, obstetrics
and gynecology, surgery, psy
chiatry, and pediatrics. The
Board of Trustees which
numbers thirty-three, is chaired
by Clinton E. Warner, M.D., who
is also campus physician at
Spelman College. The board
members include the Honorable
Julian Bond, State Senator of
Georgia, Hugh M. Gloster,
Ph.D., President of Morehouse
College, Ruth B. Love,
Superintendent, Chicago Public
(Continued on Page 7)
The Curfew Blues
by Melanie Cook
Seeing freshmen run from the
front gate at 2:15 a.m. first
semester, is not an uncommon
occurrence. Spelman College
has always had a strict Freshmen
curfew. The curfew policy at
Spelman, during the first
semester, is 12:00 p.m. on
weeknights and 2:00 a.m. on
weekends. Second semester, the
curfew is lifted for the weekend.
However, in 1983, after ten
years, the administration
reinstated a policy of having a
year round curfew. This enraged
many freshmen, and Kimberly
Brinson, in her campaign speech
for Freshman Class Vice Presi
dent, said that if she were
elected, she would start a cam
paign to have the policy chang
ed. After being elected, Miss
Brinson, along with the help of
other Freshmen Class officers
and student government of
ficials, circulated petitions to
change the rule. When taken to
Dean Cox, the request was flatly
denied.
After being rejected by Dean
Cox, the Freshmen Class officers
took their plea to President
Stewart. He agreed with their
request and sent it back to Dean
Cox with his approval. After
almost four months of petition
signing, letter writing and other
forms of protest by the
freshmen, a compromise was
reached. The policy would be
restructured with the provision
that second semester freshmen
would have no curfew on
weekends but would still have a
12:00 a.m. restriction on
weeknights.
Lisa Cook, President of the
Freshmen Class 1982-83, said,
“Our main concern was two
part. First of all, we were not
informed that we had a curfew
until we arrived at Spelman.
Secondly, being the first class in
over ten years to have a curfew at
all second semester, enraged
us.”
Many freshmen think that
having a curfew helps to direct
them in balancing their social
and academic lives. Gloria Gib
son, a freshman, said that the fact
that Spelman is the only school in
the AUC that imposes a curfew
makes her feel that the values
that all Spelman women should
possess, are being instilled in us
as freshmen. She believes that
transportation to and from ac
tivities off campus, plays a large
role in why freshmen miss
curfew on the weekends. When
asked if she felt the curfew
should be modified or lifted, Ms.
Gibson agreed that it should be
modified but not lifted com
pletely.
Kenyatta Whelcher, another
freshman, agrees that curfew is
needed, but should not be
modified. She feels that the
by Deanna K. Wallace
First hand experience has
always been looked upon as the
best teacher. These feelings are
still true today and are emphasiz
ed by the Spelman Alumna
Student Externship Program,
SASE. The SASE Program
provides a challenging and
educational experience for
students to become familiar with
various career options and to
become better acquainted with
professionals who can offer that
first hand experience.
The period of externship lasts
over a three day period during
curfew for new students helps
them to make the adjustment to
college life a little easier.
Although enforcing curfew is a
hard job for dorm directors,
there aren’t a substantial number
of offenders on campus, accor
ding to Ms. Emmie Cochran,
Resident Director of Packard
Hall. When talking with Ms.
Cochran, she said that the
students should be told before
spring vacation. Approximately
60 of Spelman's students are
selected by application to par
ticipate in the SASE Program.
Applications include a brief
narrative explaining career ob
jectives, any work experience
and a reason for wanting to be a
SASE participant. The last step of
the application process is a
personal interview to better
select the most qualified
students.
The traditional purpose of a
classroom education is to teach
students certain skills for a career
and to prepare students to enter
hand about curfew, and that she
agrees with the curfew rules
because she thinks it helps
discipline new students and to
teach them responsibility. She
also said that the penalties were
adequate for offenders.
On campus signing out is one
aspect that should, according to
some freshmen, be eliminated.
(Continued on Page 6)
society. However, only a limited
amount of knowledge can be
obtained if one is never quite
sure what the “real - life”
experience is like. This is where
the Spelman Alumna Student
Externship Program captures first
hand experience for students.
Spelman alumnae and other
black professional women work
side by side with students to
better help them understand the
implications of a career decision
and tfe many complexities
associated with career options.
(Continued on Page 10)
SASE Program Offers Challenge