Grades, Safety, & Health, Oh My!

First semester is nearing to a close and it seems people are dropping like flies as our grades, safety, and health are put at risk. I'll explain...

1) Ross University is a very small school in a small town. As you walk around campus, you CONSTANTLY see people you know (including your neighbors, professors, and friends) as well as people you don't know but repeatedly see. Because of the small community, Ross is a rumor mill and the rumors here spread fast. Well, according to a girl in my PBL group, she heard from a friend that heard from one of the head professors that this current first semester class is, well, not the brightest. Apparently, this first semester class is "the worst Ross has ever had." According to my friend's source, approximately 130 students are currently passing all of their classes. She also heard that 50-60 students have already dropped out of first semester. This means that out of a class of 350 students (we started with 412, I believe), about 65% of the entire first semester class is failing one or more subjects. I don't know how true these numbers are because I imagine the numbers have changed (like in a game of "telephone") as this information has been passed around. However, I do know that our class performed so terribly on the Biochemistry section of Mini 1 that even after the Minimum Passing Score was set to 55% (the lowest it can be set to), 1/3 of the class was still below the MPS. "Below MPS" is a failing grade. The head of the Biochemistry department spoke about this in class so I know these stats to be true. Regardless, it seems that this current first semester class is struggling. I have no idea how many of us will pass all of our classes and move on to second semester. 50-60 "flies" have already dropped and I imagine that number will only increase though I hope it does not.

Sidenote: At Ross, a minimum passing score is determined after each exam based on class performance. The set MPS is a C and any score below MPS is simply "fail." So, your score can be an A, B, C (MPS), or fail. The MPS is usually set at 60% but depending on how poor or well the class does, it can be set anywhere between 55% and 65%.

2) Another new development is the recent increase in crime around the University directed at the students. In the past two weeks, we have received 3 e-mails from Ross Security informing us of robberies on Moo Cow Trail. On three separate occasions, students walking home were held at "machete point" by masked robbers on Moo Cow Trail. This may sound like a joke, but I'm not kidding. Below is an excerpt from one of the e-mails. (I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a Ross e-mail so if someone reading this knows, please inform me!)

"This is to inform you that last night, 03/17/08, between the hours of 9:45 and 10:25 pm, two armed robberies were reported to have been committed against members of the Ross community along Moo Cow Road. In the first incident a female student was walking back to campus alone, when two masked men, one armed with a machete and the other with a knife, emerged from the nearby bushes and accosted her. One placed the knife to her throat and demanded that she hand over her money. She handed him her purse in which she had $50.00 EC. They took the cash and her cell phone and ran back into the bushes.

The second incident occurred at 10:25 pm. A female member of faculty and her visiting sister were also walking back to campus along Moo Cow Road, when two masked men came at them from the near by bushes, one brandishing a machete and the other a knife, and demanded that they hand over their cash. The member of faculty opened her empty purse to show them that she had no cash, but they went on to steal her sister's jacket and bracelet, and fled into the bushes at the sight of an approaching vehicle."

Because of this increase in crime, Ross had more lights installed on Moo Cow Trail and they placed security on foot patrol in that area. They also trimmed the roadside shrubs "to lessen the hiding areas for the criminals." We have also received TONS of e-mails asking students to take the free transports from the main campus and the Annex to their homes at night. I know these crimes are not Ross' fault, and I genuinely believe they are doing everything they can to keep the student body safe. Still, I'm disappointed that on top of everything, I have to worry about being held at machete-point in my own neighborhood. I am literally a 2 minute walk from Moo Cow Trail. Some people that I know now walk with heavy flashlights and knives at a moments reach to protect themselves. As for me, I barely leave my apartment and if I do, you bet I'm taking a bus wherever I have to go. As long as students follow Ross' recommendations and take the buses, the crimes should cease and everyone will be fine.

3) With Mini 3 and finals less than one month away, life is getting even more stressful around here. The lack of sleep and constant levels of high stress seem to have people feeling a little under the weather. Also, it seems that every few days someone pops up with an injury. While I don't credit this to school and studying, I find it peculiar that people keep getting hurt. Perhaps mental exhaustion leads to clumsiness. While I am miraculously still in one piece (I am naturally clumsy), my boyfriend cannot say the same. This past Sunday, he fell down what he claims are the world's darkest stairs in my apartment. He hurt his ankle so I played nurse, and ace-bandaged and iced his foot. The next day, he went to the clinic on campus and they referred him to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) in Roseau for an X-Ray. That was ... interesting. We hired a private taxi to drive us into Roseau. This service cost EC $150 (US $56) and 45 minutes later, we entered the hospital. I must say PMH was not what I expected. For a hospital in a country's capital, it was pretty deserted (perhaps because it was a national holiday in Dominica) and very informal. From what I saw, there was one doctor (perhaps there more that I didn't see) and a dozen chatty nurses sitting around or lethargically walking about. When we went to pay the EC $40.00 for the X-Ray, there wasn't a single person working the registers. Eventually, we had to grab a random employee to go behind the cashier window and write us a receipt. It didn't take long at all for the X-Ray to be done once we arrived at the hospital, but it took about an hour for Gabe to finally be seen by the doctor and have the X-Ray read. Because we have already studied the foot in Anatomy, we pretty much read the X-Ray for ourselves while we waited. When the doctor finally came in, he confirmed that Gabe did not fracture or break any bones in his foot - it was only an ankle sprain. He also took a look at an infection that Gabe had on his elbow and prescribed some Cipro to clear it up. Overall, the medical care was satisfactory (even though the nurse didn't know how to read the thermometer!) but I wonder what the medical care would be like for something more serious than an ankle sprain and small infection. I hope I never have to find out! I also found the facilities to be disappointing. There was mold on the ceilings and the equipment was rusty. Also, Michael and I were perplexed by a composition book held together by tape that had "Emergency Drug Book" written on it. While I was a little disappointed in the hospital in both care and facilities, I think they do the best they can for a hospital in a third world country. After all, Gabe got the care he needed and the right medication for his infection so we couldn't have asked for more. Below are some pictures of the hospital, the consultation room we waited in, and Gabe's busted elbow and ankle.

I know this post was long but it has been a while since I've updated everyone. Hope everyone is safe and healthy back home and we'll see you in about 5 weeks!