Friday, January 30, 2004

by Greg Leiserson
News Editor

With the college’s acceptance into the health care consortium
PAISIG, Philadelphia Area Independent Schools Insurance Group,
Swarthmore has introduced a new benefit plan for faculty and staff that
will “preserve and enrich the college’s current benefit offerings”
according to Martin Cormican, HR Manager of Compensation and Benefits.
The new plan will take effect in April. Melanie Young, Associate Vice
President for Human Resources, announced the plan at the most recent
all-staff meeting.

PAISIG currently includes 76 educational institutions in the
Philadelphia region. By combining the negotiating power of the
different institutions, the group is able to purchase health care at
lower costs to the member organizations. A technical advisory committee
for the association makes recommendations about health care decisions
each year. While not the only factor motivating the benefit plan
change, the college’s acceptance into PAISIG was instrumental in
allowing for the low cost of the improved coverage.

Cormican described the most significant quality changes in the new
plan as “an upgrade in our base health care plan from the Keystone HMO
to the Keystone Point of Service (POS) plan [and] a new dental plan
that has a larger network of dentists.” The college also added an
option for faculty and staff to buy an upgrade for vision care.

A decrease in benefit bank payouts for some members of the college
community represents the only cost of the new plan. Benefit bank
payouts are payments which faculty and staff can take as additional
salary or use in flexible spending accounts for health and dependent
care. These options for their use will remain the same under the new
plan. For single employees who choose the point of service plan, the
monthly payment will drop from about $190 to just over $150.

Other factors motivating the new plan were the need to address the
affordability of family health care in the long term and the desire to
make the college’s contribution equitable for all individuals.
Including benefit bank payouts, people choosing single coverage had
been funded at more than 170% under the old plan. Family coverage had
been funded at 66%. With the new plan those figures will change to 150%
and 75%.

The new plan was developed based on recommendations by the Faculty
Staff Benefits Committee after an initial period of research in the
Human Resources department. Tentative recommendations were discussed
with faculty and staff in open sessions and group meetings beginning
last Spring.

Health care costs were a key point of contention in tuition
projections made by the college last fall. At the time it was estimated
that health care costs would increase at a rate significantly below the
average in the past few years. While Cormican was not comfortable
making a precise prediction of the increases in health care costs at
this time because of factors beyond college control, mentioning
government activity and inflation in particular, he expressed
confidence that the rates as a member of PAISIG would be superior to
those the college faced as an independent entity and hope that
membership would also reduce the volatility of rate changes.

*****

by Jonathan Ference
Living & Arts Editor

Hey, you! Yes, you. I saw you bashing your head against your chem
book in Cornell last night. It’s the weekend, and it’s time to give
your textbooks a break–and what better way to do so than to break out
of the mold and get off campus? Ladies and gentlemen, boys and
ghouls–grab your loved ones and hold onto their hats, or something
like that: it’s the weekend roundup!

Friday:
You’re missing out unless you take some time out for a visit to this
writer’s favorite Philly jazz club: Ortlieb’s Jazz Haus, located at 847
North 3rd Street in Philadelphia. Get there early because you have to
eat to hear the jazz, but this place is legendary. It’s a former
bowling alley converted to a bar/restaurant, recognized as a veritable
Philly institution. The food is only a bit above average, but you won’t
care when the tenor saxophone player takes his first solo. This Friday
is Larry McKenna on tenor backed by the Mickey Roker Quartet, starting
at 8:45, but, again, think about getting there early, or even making
reservations for some night down the road. The number’s 215-922-1035;
make sure you have good directions because even though the club is in a
safe area of Philly, it’s a bit remote from the parts most students are
used to.

* With the race for the Democratic presidential nomination underway,
the seven remaining candidates gathered for a debate last night in
Greenville, South Carolina. Rhetoric remained peaceful with most
criticism directed towards President Bush and his administration. The
candidates sought to differentiate themselves through criticism of
current policies on the war in Iraq, terrorism, the economy and
international trade. Senator John Kerry (MA), the front-runner after
claiming wins in both Iowa and New Hampshire, claimed that Bush
exaggerated the threat that Saddam Hussein posed on national security.
Speaking to the moderator, Tom Brokow of NBC, he said “they are really
misleading all of America, Tom, in a profound way.” Former front-runner
Governor Howard Dean of Vermont emphasized his longstanding opposition
to the war. He claimed that Vice President Cheney had coerced
intelligence officials into producing incriminating information for
Bush. Retired General Wesley Clark, whose strength is on national
security, blamed the President for failing to protect the nation from
the September 11th attacks. Senator John Edwards from neighboring North
Carolina emphasized that the current administration’s foreign policy
has sacrificed domestic concerns. On international trade Senator Joseph
Lieberman from Connecticut took the most conservative position by
defending the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade
Organization. House Representative Dennis Kucinich (OH) took a far more
liberal stance in promising to reject both. Dean suggested significant
revision of agreements for the sake of the environment and worker’s
rights. Kerry emphasized the need to protect American jobs.
Confrontation between the candidates was limited to an attack by Dean
on Kerry over health care policy. Dean compared the success of his
health care bill for minors in Vermont to the failure of eleven of
Kerry’s bills in the Senate. He said “If you want a president who is
going to get results, I suggest that you look at somebody who did get
results in my state.” Just over ten percent of available delegates for
the Democratic nominating convention are at stake in the next nine days
as primaries are held across the nation. Neither Clark, Lieberman,
Kucinich nor civil rights activist Al Sharpton admitted plans to drop
out of the race any time soon. All four expressed confidence that they
would claim their first victory in this next week. The next scheduled
debate will be held before the Wisconsin primary on February 17th.

* The U.S. Department of Defense released little information about
the release of three teenage inmates from the American military base in
Guantanamo Bay. The boys had been held for one year on charges of
assisting the Taliban. Neither their names nor their countries of
origin are being released. More than 600 prisoners have been held at
the base since the War on Terrorism began in late 2001. Civil rights
groups have criticized the detention of prisoners at the base without
trial. Administrators and military officials have referred to national
security concerns, executive privilege and judicial precedent for
justification. Two boys were captured during U.S. military raids on
Taliban training camps. The other was captured while trying to obtain
weapons for Taliban fighters. According to the BBC, the Department of
Defense said “the boys no longer posed a threat to the United States,
and they had no further value as suspects for interrogation.” The boys
were given special treatment during their detention. They were held
separately from adult prisoners, and given lessons and incentives for
good behavior. Non-governmental organizations will assist in
reintegrating them into their societies of origin.

*****

Friday:

Anime/Manga Club Screening: “Revolutionary Girl Utena”
Kohlberg 228, 9:00 p.m.

Lecture: “Honky-Tonking: Migration, Marginalization, and Whiteness in
Southern California”
Kohlberg 226, 3:30 p.m.

Movie Screening: “School of Rock”
LPAC, 7:30 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.

Movie Screening: “Casablanca”
Science Center 101, 10:00 p.m.

Olde Club Show: Need New Body and The Capitol Years
Olde Club, 10:00 p.m.

Saturday:

IC Forum on Social Justice and Activism
Kohlberg, 12:30 p.m.

Sunday:

Quaker Meeting Student Breakfast (Krispy Kreme donuts, juice, hot
chocolate, tea, fruit)
Quaker Meeting House, 9:30 a.m.

Catholic Mass
Bond, 11:00 a.m.

Adult Religious Education: The Social, Political, and Religious
Atmosphere the Early Quakers Dealt With
Whittier Room, 11:45 a.m.

Super Bowl Study Break
DU, 4:30 p.m.

Super Bowl Meatfest
Mephistos Lounge, 6:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Today:
There are no contests scheduled for today.

Tomorrow:
Women’s Basketball hosts Bryn Mawr, 2:00 p.m.
Swimming hosts Gettysburg, 2:00 p.m.
Men’s Basketball hosts F&M, 4:00 p.m.

Sunday:
There are no contests scheduled for Sunday.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Anyone nit-picking enough to write a letter of correction to an
editor doubtless deserves the error that provoked it.”
–Alvin Toffler

*****

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