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The U.S. State of Georgia has forbidden a man there to recruit for a troubled medical school in San José. Shelvey Holland, standards administrator of the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission, took the action last week. The state official said that a cease-and-desist letter had been mailed to the man, Dr. Winston Cannon. The Georgia official said that Cannon has been recruiting in Georgia
for St. Jude Medical
The clans gathering
By Bryan Kay
Scotland’s national day — St. Andrew’s Day — is fast approaching, and the British Embassy is planning a garden party to celebrate it Nov. 23 at the ambassador’s residence in Escazú. The embassy’s St. Andrew’s Night Ball will celebrate the life of the patron saint of Scotland, St. Andrew. He was one of the 12 disciples of Jesus. It is popularly thought that a man now known as St. Regulus who, when sailing in the North Sea, fell upon troubles in rough conditions, and ended up shipwrecked on the shores of what is known today as the town of St. Andrews. He was heading to the 'end of the earth' with St. Andrew's bones (or relics), legend says, acting upon a vision he had in a dream. For that reason, the place became an important site for Christian pilgrimage. A cathedral was built, where it is said the relics were housed for a time. The cathedral’s ruins can still be visited today. Other legends exist. However this is the most prominent. St. Andrews is in Fife, in the central eastern part of Scotland. It is famous today, also, for being the home of golf, boasting the oldest golf course in the world. The embassy’s celebration falls one week before the correct date for St. Andrew’s Day, Nov. 30. The party will take the form of a ceilidh, said Georgina Butler, British ambassador to Costa Rica. A ceilidh is a traditional Celtic party. Highland dancing will be wholly dominant at the event. It is not yet clear though if haggis, the much maligned traditional food, will be in attendance. Guests are asked to provide the food, as the party is free to everyone who attends, though the number is limited to the first 100 to respond. So it remains to be seen if Robert Burns’ "Great chieftain o the puddin'-race!" will make it to Escazú. Burns is the most famous Scottish poet and bard. The above line is from the second line of his poem, ‘Address to a Haggis’. He is talking about a traditional Scottish food encased in the stomach of a sheep. It is a type of pudding, something similar to black pudding. Burns also wrote, among other works, the recurring New Year’s Eve anthem ‘Auld Lang Syne.’ The embassy party starts at 7 p.m. and will run through midnight. It is hoped that there will be a raffle to raise money for charity. For further information, contact either Kevin Glass (glass@costarica.net), or the embassy (britemb@racsa.co.cr). |
School and/or Empresarial University.
Both institutions are in San José.
Neither institution has been authorized to recruit in Georgia. "Therefore, any kind of operation or recruiting in Georgia or from a base in Georgia has been illegal in this state unless and until these institutions apply for and, if possible, gain a certificate of authorization by the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission," the state official said. The decision by Georgia is a victory for Jeffrey Grace, a U.S. citizen who came to San José to train as a physician. He spent a year here trying to get Costa Rican officials to look into the school after he decided in September 2001 that he was not getting an adequate education. He had little luck in attracting official attention. Grace said that the medical school is associated with Colegio Univeritario San Judus Tadeo in Sabana. Grace said that he and 11 others were recruited for the school’s "American plan." Classes were supposed to be in English, and the successful graduates were supposed to be able to get jobs in their own countries, Grace said the school claimed. Some, but not all, of the students were recruited by Cannon from Georgia. The principal complaints about the medical school say the school lacked accreditation, lacked qualified, English-speaking faculty members, had inadequate resources and failed to provide basic resources for education, such as cadavers for anatomy class. One student said that an apartment in Sabana Oeste was used for a time as a classroom. Empresarial University seems to have had some relationship with St. Jude’s Medical School. Empresarial got into trouble with Costa Rican officials last month because it was featuring photos of some of the nation’s biggest hospitals on its Web page. The Web page has been updated, although links still exist to a medical school and a veterinarian school. But the linked pages are both described as being under construction. Empresarial also said that it offers doctoral degrees, including one in biological sciences. It also promotes a master’s of business administration on line, but that page, too, is under construction. The Web page says that the university campus is in an urban residential area in Curridabat. The Web page said the school had been called the International Post-Graduate School until 1997. Empresarial’s president is Aldo Erazo, and the rector is Lic. Noel Henriquez, said the Web page. The Georgia official said that a copy of the cease-and-desist order
has been sent to the president of Empresarial University and to the Consul
General of Costa Rica in New Orleans.
Phones for disabled
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The telephone company has put on line some 40 text telephones for customers who cannot hear or talk. The company, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, said that the disabled will be able to commuicate directly by means of the devices, which cost about 170,000 colons. ($457). In the event the person using the device calls a conventional telephone, an operator at 137 is available to translate for the same cost as for a pay call. The new devices are placed in locations at telephone agencies in the major cities, including at both international airports, Juan Santamaría and Daniel Oduber Quirós, and Tobias Bolaños Airport in Pavas. |
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