I admit that when I came down with what I thought was one killer cold my freshman year, the lack of sympathy on the part of my peers was quite the shock. Sure, my mom cared, but she was six hours away in Rhode Island.

So whom did I look to in my desperation – in my quest for a kind look and some throat lozenges? Well, like every other sickly Syracuse University student I walked my sorry self all the way to 111 Waverly Ave. – to Health Services – only to find it closed.

I didn’t care that it was a Sunday. How dare they not be there for me in my moment of need!

Needless to say, I stormed back to my room cursing the establishment.

In retrospect, of course they were closed – as is every doctor’s office on a Sunday. I understand now, though, that what really bothered me was the fact that I was sick and without my parents for the first time.

But like many other SU students I blamed the health center. They had failed me.

However, Health Services is not here to play mommy to thousands of sniffling students. It is a doctor’s office. Therefore, it shouldn’t be the end of the world when we find ourselves forced to make an appointment or stricken with strep outside its hours of operation – that’s how it works in the real world.

Why then, does it have such a bad reputation on campus? Even students who have never been to it complain about it and caution others not to go.

Jordan Zakarin, a junior television, radio and film major said he thinks that besides the fact that its hours aren’t really conducive to a lot of students, the health center is basically underutilized.

After talking to a number of students, the mystery began to slowly unravel. What I found is that the majority of those who find Health Services inadequate are underclassmen. Many of them told me stories of how they were sent home in a rage with only Robitussin and salt to gargle with when they had themselves convinced that what they really needed were some high-test antibiotics.

In the absence of a diagnosis from mom, everything becomes life threatening. In that case, until Health Services starts handing out body bags the student body will complain.

Health Services deserves more credit for the services they provide. The staff has been nothing but kind to me, their hours are comparable or better to other schools like Cornell and the Rochester Institute of Technology, and even though nobody wants to admit it, everyone reads the ‘orangehealth-e’ emails.

‘You can get pretty fast appointments when you’re sick and they have a pharmacy and a center for blood drawing,’ said Zakarin. ‘The people who work there are all very nice and helpful.’

Try to recognize the malcontent with Health Services for what it really is: frustration with not having someone to hold your hand through the flu, or to write you an absence note.

The men and women who work there listen to our hearts, take our temperatures, and give us flu shots. And even if we only walk away with a pat on the shoulder and a bag of salt, sometimes that’s all we need.

Meghan Overdeep is a featured columnist whose columns appear Fridays in The Daily Orange. E-mail her at meoverde@syr.edu.

Published on February 15, 2007 at 12:00 pm