Still, UHS officials at the panel stressed that the overall care provided by the service is of high quality, and that campus rumors may contribute to UHS' poor reputation.

"There are stories that seem to circulate, the same stories every year. I can never get a handle on where they started from," said Kathleen Diaz, UHS' patient advocate.

"We do investigate complaints and try and resolve them. We don't see huge numbers of misdiagnoses or malpractice [charges]," said Diaz, who works three to four days a week in the UHS office responding to students' complaints. Diaz and the other panelists said students should file their complaints with UHS quickly in order to have their concerns responded to.

Audience members asked how UHS was working to improve its outreach efforts and what the organization was doing to improve its service.

And some suggested that the panel's low turnout might have been the result of its open format.

"A lot of people are scared to talk about their problems. They don't feel like talking about it in front of everyone else," said Joanna L. Chan '02, co-chair of SHAC.

But others suggested student apathy might play a role.

"I've been really trying to tell people, 'Forum, forum,' and I've been hearing 'Yeah, whatever," said Stephanie N. Ajudua '00, SHAC's patient advocacy chair.