Professor Stanley Falkow stood on stage surveying the Medical School classroom. Some desks and seats were broken, and the audiovisual equipment was outdated. The dimly lit 40-year-old room was clearly designed for lectures, not the give-and-take teaching style more typical today. "Guys, I can't believe you can sit there and accept this," the professor said to his first-year microbiology students.
Jean Drouin decided not to anymore. For the last two years, he and fellow medical student Michael Ennen have cataloged problems ranging from inadequate computer facilities to holes in the library ceiling. They collected the signatures of more than half the school's students on a petition that calls for updating the Medical School facilities. And they lobbied the Medical School faculty senate and President Gerhard Casper for changes, arguing that the facilities undermine the quality of education and deter admitted students from choosing Stanford. "We're told the money isn't available, but how long do you chip away at your brand name by chronically underfunding medical education?" Drouin asks.
Students aren't alone in recognizing the problems. Many school administrators support the campaign, says Elliott Wolfe, associate dean for student affairs. And in a letter to Casper last year, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education -- which accredits American medical schools -- noted that several concerns mentioned in 1983 and 1991 reports still needed to be addressed. They included: an overcrowded library, a deteriorating computer network, lecture halls with inadequate audiovisual equipment and a lack of space suitable for small classes.
At issue now is how to fix things. Already some classrooms have been renovated, and money is set aside to replace computers and old audiovisual equipment. Administrators are evaluating five plans. Wolfe doesn't think the student's preference -- a new facility -- is likely. But Drouin and Ennen don't plan to back down. They are enlisting faculty members and may reach out to alumni to back their fight.
