For years, any talk of installing a health care facility at North Campus was met with the outright rejection. Just one month ago, Provost Elizabeth Capaldi explained that duplicating the Student Health Center was not only financially difficult, but also valuable only on South Campus. Even though most students don't live near it.
A lot has happened in a month. Student Affairs now proposes a health facility for North Campus comparable to the Center for Student Health in South Campus' Michael Hall. The sudden change is now possible since the university plans to build and fund the North Campus facility as part of the Lee Road complex.
Incorporating a student health center into the Lee Road plan is a tremendous step forward. Common sense demands that health facilities should be closest to where students actually live. North Campus is the center of the vast majority of academic activity and social activity for undergraduates and, for many students, home.
At college, and especially in the dorms, illnesses spread as fast a sneeze. Many students are forced to hitch a ride on a Bluebird to get medical attention or fill a prescription. Anyone who has ridden the bus once knows that it is one of the least logical places for sick students. Riders are often crammed onto the buses for 20 minutes or more. Standing shoulder to shoulder with kids coughing left and right isn't healthy for anyone. The lengthy, frustrating bus ride is just another unnecessary symptom of UB illness.
Having a facility on North Campus eliminates not only this unpleasant trip, but also gives easy access to necessary health services like immunizations, a rape/pregnancy crisis center and a pharmacy.
But this is not to say that a new health center at North Campus should mean a sacrifice for South. Although moving the facilities demonstrates the prominence of the Amherst campus, South Campus is still integral to UB for its graduate facilities. The plan to convert part of Goodyear Hall into an apartment complex demonstrates student demand for South Campus living - of all facets. Both health care facilities should offer the same services.
The current plan could make the Center for Student Health at Michael Hall a satellite under the administrative control at Lee. Moving head offices to North Campus and funding two functioning health centers is certainly costly, but student need far outweighs the difficulties of this new organization.
Some members of the administration want to keep the management localized on South Campus simply because the School of Medicine is also there. But, the medical school has no connection to the health center. Michael Hall deals with non-emergency health situations and does not run a residency program. Making the comparison is like pleading for a school nurse's office to remain in close proximity to a medical research lab.
In fact, it's best for the administration not to interfere with plans that hinder development of an on-campus community that truly serves students. With all the long-term emphasis on developing an on-campus community in Amherst, it defies logic that construction projects like the math building or $2 million worth of signs come before student health. And odder still, in earlier phases of designing the Lee Road complex a student athletic center was deemed a high priority before the student health center was even considered.
A North Campus student health center is long overdue. Student wellness in all forms should be the university's chief concern, even if prioritizing essential student services means cutting back on aggressive development measures. As administrators continue their efforts to construct a UB community, they must heed student needs and focus on creating a sound municipal structure that serves the needs of present residents in addition to attracting new ones.
