LETTERS: Med-school rankings, oil dispersants and more

Med-school study gives faded snapshot

Newsday reported on a George Washington University study of medical school classes nationwide that provided rankings for schools, including Stony Brook University's School of Medicine, based on how well they meet a "social mission" .

By looking back 15 years, the story does an injustice. Although Stony Brook's underrepresented minority enrollment was below the national average in 1995 and 1996, the years studied, subsequent efforts to address this were successful. By the mid-2000s, underrepresented minorities entered the medical school at a rate about 50 percent above the average, and the rate continues to be above average.

Snapshots can be misleading; it is progress that counts.

Dr. Norman H. Edelman

Stony Brook

Editor's note: The writer is a professor at Stony Brook University's School of Medicine and was its dean from December 1995 to November 2005.

Use of dispersants masks spill's damage

By using chemical dispersants, BP is effectively covering up its mess in the Gulf, making it less visible while being even more toxic to the environment . This is like sweeping dirt under a rug.

Dispersants make the oil soluble, causing it to sink and creating oil plumes that are better able to poison sea life under water. Of course, this will reduce oil slicks and tar balls on beaches, and fewer birds will be coated with oil. However, the birds' food is more likely to be toxic.

BP is more interested in cleaning up appearances - including its own image - than in cleaning up the mess.

Charles A. Hersh

Amityville

Lohan's behavior takes the cake

Well, now I've heard everything. Dina Lohan, mother of actress Lindsay Lohan, got into an altercation requiring police response over a free ice cream cake . I have a few questions regarding this incident:

1) Once Lohan realized she couldn't use her daughter's Carvel promotional card, why didn't she just pay the $15 for the cake?

2) Who is paying for the police to answer this call?

3) Don't the police officers have more important things to take care of?

4) Why is Carvel giving free ice cream to millionaires?

5) I am a single mother of two children with Down syndrome. Can I get a free ice cream card, too?

Edith Heinsohn

Malverne