It’s the law
Information should be provided

“Built in 1963 as part of the Brown-Lupton foundation, the Brown-Lupton Health Center provides full medical care and a pharmacy to TCU students. The Health Center is also a source of information about medical issues that students face.”

Or so the TCU Web site states.

In actuality, the Health Center employees refuse on a regular basis to provide information regarding medical issues that plague the student body.

In stories about topics as sensitive as depression and as arbitrary as allergies, Dr. Burton Schwartz, a doctor at the Health Center, has not been a source of information to the Skiff.

Employees of the Mental Health Center said they didn’t have records of the number of students that come in on a day-to-day basis, and they declined to explain their procedures in cases of extreme depression. Schwartz wouldn’t release the number of prescriptions the Health Center fills for allergies or the number of students who come into the Health Center in reference to allergies. He also refused to explain the Health Center’s procedures for testing students for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and he withheld the number of prescriptions of Ritalin granted by the Health Center.

His reasoning for being so tightlipped?

“I have all of this information, but that information is for us,” he said. “It is not for the pages of the Skiff.”

In fact, Health Center employees said Schwartz has put a gag order on the staff, and no employee is permitted to talk to Skiff employees without his permission.

According to the Freedom of Information Act, these numbers must be released.

Schwartz and his staff at the Health Center may need to be reminded that students run the Skiff. And students are the very people to whom the Health Center is supposed to “provide information.”

Editorial policy: The content of the Opinion page does not necessarily represent the views of Texas Christian University. Unsigned editorials represent the view of the TCU Daily Skiff editorial board. Signed letters, columns and cartoons represent the opinion of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board.

Letters to the editor: The Skiff welcomes letters to the editor for publication. Letters must be typed, double-spaced, signed and limited to 250 words. To submit a letter, bring it to the Skiff, Moudy 291S; mail it to TCU Box 298050; e-mail it to skiffletters@tcu.edu or fax it to 257-7133. Letters must include the author’s classification, major and phone number. The Skiff reserves the right to edit or reject letters for style, taste and size restrictions.