Letters to the Editor

CAPS works for most students

To the Editor:

University and college counseling centers across the nation have been faced with increasing demands for services. Many of our peers have increased staff or charged students fees to accommodate the ever increasing demands. Penn's counseling center, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), although a service with national distinction, faces the same challenges as our peers. In the last five years, the number of students seen in individual counseling has increased from approximately 1700 to 2200. In addition, the number of psychiatric consultations and crisis intervention sessions has almost doubled. Substantial additional funding has been given by the University to retain excellent staff and to hire additional staff including a Coordinator of Referral Services to meet such demands. The mission of CAPS remains the same: to assist students at the University of Pennsylvania in fulfilling their goals and maximizing their academic and extracurricular experience. This goal is often accomplished in individual counseling. Most students in individual treatment report significant improvement within one semester. In addition, 98 percent of students rated their CAPS experience in individual counseling as "very to fully satisfied."

At times, students are referred out for ongoing treatment, often to specialists right here on campus at our health system. This year, approximately 25 percent of students were referred to an outside provider after an initial assessment or after receiving brief treatment at CAPS. No student is denied service or needs to seek a therapist on their own. The CAPS Referral Coordinator or the student's clinician is there to help. On a recent survey, 92 percent report satisfaction with such referrals. In the relatively few instances where a referral is not proceeding as anticipated, the Referral Coordinator is always available to assist students in reevaluating their options to get the care they need.

CAPS understands how difficult it can be for some students to seek assistance, and we want to provide a service that meets our mission of successfully helping students address their concerns. The staff at CAPS is always open to feedback to help assure that appropriate care is rendered in every case. CAPS routinely follows up on the care provided within the department and through our referral counselors. We are pleased that students consistently rate our service in the good-to-excellent range on student satisfaction surveys, which has helped contribute to CAPS' standing as one of the top three university counseling services in the nation according to The Princeton Review.

Ilene C. Rosenstein Ph.D. Director, CAPS

Embargo with Cuba must stay

To the Editor:

I was shocked and much less than pleased when I read one of the columns published last week. Ted Perkins' expos‚ on the Cuban embargo ("Rid Cuba of Castro by opening free trade," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 6/10/04) is nothing short of ridiculous. The abomination begins with his declaration that "complete elimination of trade-sanctions will end the cruel, Communist reign of Fidel Castro," and this is far from true. Free trade does not a democracy make, as has been proven in the cases of China and Communist Vietnam, which Perkins also mentions in his column. Perkins is quick to say that if trade is possible with these two communist nations, then it should also be possible with Cuba, but he does not tell us is that free trade has not ended communism in either of these countries. How does he expect us to think that this will be the case with Cuba?

He'll defend and support other US embargoes if, in his expert opinion, the circumstances were "justifiable". Among these he names "South Africa (pursuing apartheid), Libya (sponsoring terrorism), and most recently Syria (fostering violence in Iraq)." Perkins fails to note that the atrocities committed by Castro's regime fall nothing short of what he calls justification for an embargo. In Cuba it is illegal to differ in opinion from the government, it is illegal to admit to disliking Castro, and (in a recent addition) it is illegal to be self-employed. That is, you may not own a family restaurant, be a magician, or sell flower arrangements that you have made. You often pay for these offenses with your life.

Letting rest the issue of the legitimacy of the embargo on Cuba for the time being, allow me to explain precisely why eliminating the embargo will not improve the situation of suffering Cubans. Increases in capital inflows to the island have not improved the living standards of the people, but have instead been used to maintain the reign of terror and confusion and to strengthen the armed forces. Clearly, Castro's government does not have its priorities straight and American imports will not change anything for the better. He will still be anti-American, he will still blame the US for all his plights, and he will be better funded to continue abusing his power. Let the rest of Cuba figure out how they are going to afford American imports on a monthly salary equivalent to $10.

Cristina Col¢n SEAS, '07 Co-President, Cuban-American Undergraduate Students Association

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