things may have changed, but when dominica was hit by David, Ross was allowed to operate in the states, I beleive in texas, without any problems, as it was "special circumstances". maybe someone should look into getting these types of OKs.

responded to this similar post on SMU's Hurricane Info forum last nite, but for some reason I cant find it on there.

To address "John's" letter, I will start off that the points that the student makes are for the most part INVALID. He is posting false information and I hope that appropriate action will be taken against the poster. He is telling students to contact various agencies to complain about SMU and therefor make the school look bad and risk negative exposure for SMU. Well here goes my argument against the post:

Many of your points are INVALID.

The island did obviously get damaged very severly and the campus and RH did sustain first floor and some second floor damage. According to pictures that I have seen, I did see people working on the first floor of the RH. That was without island supplied power or water, so I can imagine once the electricity is back in full force, that the RH and Campus will be repaired very quickly. The Cayman Islands is one of the richest places in the world, along with support from the UK, so I agree with gov't and SMU officials that classes and the island will be up and running almost to normal come January. The Gov't expects cruise ships come December 1st. So your point that it'll extremely long before the island bounces back is INVALID.

-Your argument that the Maine living is more expensive than the Cayman Islands, is INVALID. Even if the semester did cost you $5800 to live there for a semester, thats still MUCH cheaper than Grand Cayman. If memory serves me correctly, I remember many students paying about $1400US( $1100 CI) per month EACH (so 1400x2 =2800US$/MONTH) for a 2 bedroom place in Grand Cayman. So if you do the math youre paying for 2 people over $10,000 for a semester (4 months) in the Cayman Islands. Now if you divide your "expensive" total of $5800 by 2 (for 2 people per double room), that comes out to about 2900 US$. Thats like $700 US/month which is around $600 CI/month. Show me a place in the Cayman Islands that costs $600 CI/month...Please. Thank you..So your argument about the AmeriSuites being way too expensive is INVALID.
p.s. We're not gonna mention UTILITIES that you were paying in Grand Cayman which were about $300/month. (AmeriSuites in Maine= $0 for utilities/month)

-Your argument about the Maine Campus not being big enough to hold students is again INVALID. The AmeriSuites has conference rooms in there that are more than suitable to hold 180 students, so Im assuming that the first semester students will have classes there. Maybe even us upper semesters as well. Either case, we will be comfortable in our classes. So again, your argument is INVALID.

-As your argument about risking liscensure or accreditation if we have classes in Maine... thats AGAIN...INVALID.
SMU has had its Masters (MHSA) courses going on for a number of years. Hundreds of SMU students have attended the Maine campus who were also enrolled in the MHSA program. Of those students who passed Step 1, 100% of them went on to recieve their FULL MD Degrees. NONE of them had liscensing problems. Those rumours were set forth by other Carib med students who were envious of SMU's MHSA affiliation and by some SMU students who probably felt too overwhelmed to enroll in the MHSA program.

An SMU official recently posted on this forum:

We researched the legalities of relocating the campus in emergency situation first with Hurricane Mitch in Belize.

We have full permission from the Maine and U.S. DOE to operate our classes in Maine. Your credits will still say Grand Cayman on your transcript, and we will return to GC as soon as its feasible. This will most likely be the beginning of next semester.

So again, your argument is proven INVALID.

-As far as hearing rumours about California...ummm...you are in no position at all to be listening to rumours. I'm sure you heard the rumour before Hurricane Ivan that , "Hey John, guess what I heard? I heard there's an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS Category 5 Hurricane coming here that might destroy this island", and you obviously chosen to disregard that "rumour" so I dont know why you're posting things you've "heard".
P.S. Hurricane Ivan DID destroy the island. I know you were regretting your decision while you were being bombarded by Ivan for 36 hours, and denying that you regret it is a bunch of **.
So Again your argument is proven INVALID.

-You state that youre not disloyal to SMU...well I believe that your post was more than disloyal to SMU, I believe it was an act of Libel, and you should be held accountable and neccessary action be taken against you for that. Your IP address should be traced and I would honestly like to see action to be taken against you for your Misinformative post.

-You are giving false information to students, both current and prospective students. You are giving names and addresses of people to reach to embarass SMU with (I believe at least) the goal of causing SMU harm. You are posting false claims about refunds and "rights". My advice to you is: let the students read their handbooks or signed policies and contact the school with any questions that they may have.

I HIGHLY SUGGEST AGAINST ANY STUDENTS TAKING ADVICE FROM A PERSON WHO DISREGARDS LIFE (HIS OWN) AND WILL PROBABLY PUT HIS PATIENTS' LIVES AT RISK. HE STAYED ON THE ISLAND DESPITE NUMEROUS WARNINGS TO LEAVE. I hate to imagine the harm to his patients that he might cause.

HE IS IN NO POSITION AT ALL TO BE POSTING ANY ADIVICE ON ANY MEDICAL SCHOOL FORUM.

For those that think we should be sympathatic because he stayed on the island during Ivan...yeah we should, but to a point. We have to remember his total disregard for human life and inability to follow clear directions. I'm not saying that all the students who stayed are wrong,but some had reasons to stay there that they felt appropriate ( had pets there or wanted to safeguard their possessoins that they couldnt do without). Whatever the case may be, the poster obviously isnt cut for medical school and his arguments were shot down by me, one by one. If he can dispute those with valid evidence, I more than welcome it. But if he cannot, I please suggest to him to stop posting false information on Medical School Forums as the Poster, of all people, has no right at all to give advice when he cant and didnt take life saving advice.

Thank you, and I will see you all in Maine. God Bless.

Upon doing an author search, “Rights of St. Matthews Students Re: Ivan and Maine Move”, was the only posting by “JohnSGA” on this entire forum. Of course there is nothing wrong with that, it just seems a little odd especially since most of what he posted is false. (I use the word most to be generous, but I’m not sure if any of it is factual.) I have done an extensive amount of research on SMU and what I have learned is almost exactly what “MedSter” wrote in response. I feel that it is extremely unlikely that this John is in any SGA (Student Government Administration) and if he/she is, it is possibly not at St. Matt’s. Perhaps SGA is supposed to mean something else…doubt it! (The SGA is a nice touch as it makes it sound like he knows what he is talking about.) Personally, I think that he is from another school, possibly admin, trying to get a few kicks in while we’re down. It’s a shame that in such a difficult time people like this will take such cheap shots. Hey JohnSGA, we just went through a cat 5 hurricane, times are tough and everyone is doing their best to help the school get back to normalcy, if you can’t post something helpful at least make it factual! Just curious JohnSGA, are you really with St. Matt’s? If I’m wrong about you, PM me and let’s talk. What we say in private can stay in private, and if I’m wrong about you I’ll post it in bold type as I’ll have no problem admitting it, but I have a hard time remaining idle when I feel someone is purposely attempting to sabotage my school…I SMELL A RAT! SMU has come a long way in a relatively short period despite a few rough times, which to my knowledge every school in the Caribbean has had. Since the school relocated to Grand Cayman, the school administration has been extremely stable and very attentive to what the student body wants and needs in order to get a great medical education and quickly get back in the states for clinicals, residency, and licensure. These are a few of the reasons why our relatively young school is considered one of the better options for a Caribbean medical education.
“JohnSGA”, if you are going to post again, make it factual. Negative topics do come up and although they are not fun to deal with they must be addressed, but no school needs a dishonest person spinning lies for some ulterior motive.
To the many people working hard and wishing us the best for a quick recovery, thanks so much. Thanks also to the school administration for the incredible job that you are doing. A friend of mine that graduated from UAG in the early eighties said that years from now, where we went to school will be not nearly as important as the fact that we went to school, and that being a student from the Caribbean creates a unique camaraderie with students from any of the other schools down there. He also said that the experience of living outside the country teaches things that make us much more prepared for life. I’m not sure if that’s enough reasoning for me to choose a foreign school over a stateside one, but I have always made the best of the situation, first the island and now a big city, and so far I’ve loved it, as over the last three years I’ve had some of the best times of my life.

Best of luck and to “JohnSGA”, I look forward to hearing from you soon,
MS3

I can't say much that hasn't already been said by the people above.

Except, of course, that not even I have the ACCM's contact info. I'm very impressed you do.

The setup in Maine is fine, legally and logistically. As I stated before, we have permission, nor do we plan to stay there once the emergency has passed. I did not know that Ross had done the same thing, but I did know that SGU, AUC, and ourselves have all been forced to temporarily relocate classes to the States in the past.

If you disagree with what "JohnSGA" is saying, we appreciate the support.

I would personally take it with the same amount of seriousness as the AAIMG.

Have a great day.

__________________
JP Yates
St. Matthew's University
jyates@smucayman.com
Visit www.stmatthews.edu, home of the official SMU Forums.

as always, JP, you rock!!!!

It's obvious that JohnSGA's intention was to get the student body riled up. I'm glad that we're all so sure of our school that we are willing to stand up for it in the face of such ridiculous accusations. I was looking for a school with community spirit and a sense of loyalty and it is obvious that I have found it. Thanks to everyone who has posted against the ridiculous accusations. Let's make the best of what's happened to all of us. Three cheers for SMU.

im sorry ....but having a semester in the states sounds pretty good to me. i wouldnt mind if i could pick up AUC and have classes in he states for a while. i think st matthews really deserves credit for picking up everything and continuing with the semester in such little time.

however...dont be fooled...... it is maine and in the winter soooooooo..... bundle up and good luck :P

__________________
Dr. Scott
Internal Medicine
PGY-1

AUC Forum Moderator