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alton — east st. louis — edwardsville
vol. LXIX no. XXV
INSURANCE IMPASSE
Lack of coverage affects faculty, staff morale
KIAH EARL Alestle Reporter
Ranked ninth on the list of the top ten reasons to work at SIUE, the promise of excellent employee benefits is falling short for some faculty and staff members. With negotiations between the state of Illinois and state workers’ unions at a stalemate, members of faculty and staff are left in a whirl of wage freezes, budget cuts and increasing health insurance coverage problems. Four years ago when mass communications assistant professor Mark Poepsel was hired, he said he was offered both Healthlink and Coventry health insurance packages. According to Poepsel, he was told to stay away
from Healthlink by other faculty members because of its bad reputation when it came to paying bills. Medical insurance associate professor at SIU School of Dental Medicine in Alton Jeannie Carpenter said she was recently rejected from long-term providers because of her current insurance coverage plan, Healthlink, which is one of the insurance options provided through the state to faculty and staff. Faculty and staff are presented with a contract package that includes health insurance coverage. This means that while some people are experiencing issues, they cannot opt out of their current coverage or stop payment on premiums. The only time one’s coverage can be changed is during
the open enrollment period that happens annually in May. However, changing coverage does not ensure payment nor cover backdated services. “We’re being rejected by our own providers,” Carpenter said. “My husband and I have been going to the same dentist for 15 years, and now we are concerned that we will have to either find another dentist or just neglect our dental care altogether.” To prevent having to wait on reimbursement from the state, health care providers like Carpenter’s dentist are now charging state employees upfront for services. This is forcing faculty and staff to either pay the full amount for services and wait for the state to reimburse them, or just not receive the services at all.
“In October of 2016, my husband was denied at CVS for a flu shot,” Carpenter said. “Not because we didn’t have the insurance, but because of the history the state has of not paying. CVS said they wouldn’t take the risk.” Carpenter has been working for the university for four years and said these issues are hurting staff morale. According to Carpenter, there are some staff members who are looking for other jobs with more reliable health insurance coverage. “People are worried,” Carpenter said. “[Illinois Gov. Bruce] Rauner is proposing that our premiums skyrocket. It could cost as much as $600 a month for my husband and I to have full medical coverage — and that’s almost an entire paycheck for me.”
According to English professor Charles Berger, the combination of wage freezes and outof-pocket medical expenses could eventually mean some faculty members begin looking at job opportunities outside of SIUE. Berger lives in St. Louis, and said he has not personally experienced any issues with health coverage through SIUE, but knows other faculty that live in-state who have. “The state of Illinois is behind in terms of reimbursing health care providers,” Berger said. “The providers are asking people to pay upfront for services and that can be a tremendous hardship for a younger professor or someone with young children.” INSURANCE | pg. 3
Students, admin collaborate in town hall meeting
TRENT STUART Alestle Reporter
In response to the student-led Unity Rally in November 2016, administrators, faculty and students gathered in the Morris University Center Conference Center Jan. 30, to discuss the concerns some SIUE students have had over the last few months and what the university can do to help. The meeting was open to the public for members of the SIUE community to come have conversations with administrators about ways the university can be a safe and inclusive place for all students. The event was organized by senior mass communications major and Sankofa Vice President D’Amonti Batton-Jackson, of Peoria, with the help of historical studies professor Jessica Harris. “The main takeaway is that students have a voice and have an important role to play in making inclusion a real part of our community,” Harris said. The administration used the meeting as a way to listen and interact with the students who have concerns. Batton-Jackson said he hopes to see some changes take place sooner rather than later. “Hopefully, some of the recommendations are put into action. That’s always the ultimate goal,” Batton-Jackson said. To make sure participants’ voices were heard, small groups of students and administrators sat at tables to discuss recommended solutions for six topics brought up in the meeting: sustained dialogue; student engagement; training and programming; recruitment and scholarships; recruiting and retaining faculty, staff and administration; and student success. Administrators engaged in conversation with students and wrote down the students’ opinions about the recommended solutions. After the topics were discussed at the tables, there was an opportunity for attendants to
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On-campus rape of St. Louis girl prompts police investigation CAITLIN LALLY Alestle Editor-in-Chief
choose from in Dining Services. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Jeffrey Waple announced there have already been steps taken to make this a reality in the near future. Chancellor Randy Pembrook closed out the meeting by talking about what he has learned from the meeting. He left the attendants with one challenge: to be nicer to others. “If this group does that, we’ll take a step toward what I think everyone wants SIUE to be — a place where we appreciate each other and we learn from each other and we create an environment that is SIUE,” Pembrook said.
University Police are currently investigating the report of a rape that occurred Jan. 28, on the 500 side of Cougar Village. The victim, a 17-year-old female, and the two male suspects, a 19 year old and a 20 year old, all from St. Louis, were visiting a student’s apartment in Cougar Village when the assault took place, according to Police Chief Kevin Schmoll. None of the individuals involved have any affiliation with the university. University Police have spoken with both suspects and the victim, who was referred to Call For Help and transported to the St. Louis Children’s Hospital for a sexual assault forensic evidence kit test, Schmoll said. Under the Clery Act, higher education institutions are required to distribute notifications to the campus community in the case of an ongoing or serious threat to the campus community. However, by the time police received the report from a friend of the victim, Schmoll said officials knew the suspects were no longer on campus, and therefore determined there was no longer a continuing threat to SIUE. According to Schmoll, this is why students, faculty and staff did not receive a timely warning about the assault. University Police will present the case to the Madison County State’s Attorney upon finishing its investigation, Schmoll said.
Contact TRENT STUART Call 650-3527 Tweet @tstuart_alestle Email tstuart@alestlelive.com
Contact CAITLIN LALLY Call 650-3530 Tweet @clally_alestle Email clally@alestlelive.com
School of Nursing Dean Laura Bernaix listens to the table discussion during the town hall meeting Jan. 30, in the Morris University Center Conference Center. | Allison Gregory / Alestle
share their ideas with the entire group. On the topic of student engagement, senior political science major Reginald Hamilton, of Chicago, shared ideas about how University Housing can give students the opportunity to interact with people of different backgrounds. Hamilton said that he was assigned to room with three white students while in University Housing. Hamilton described himself as the “black sheep,” but said he grew close with his roommate and suitemates throughout the year. “They opened my mind to actually getting to know that not every Caucasian is out to get me, and they can actually relate to me too,” Hamilton said. Participants also weighed in on ways the university can main@thealestle
tain conversations similar to the ones discussed in the meeting for students across campus. Some possible solutions included building sustained dialogue into the already required courses or adding a cultural competency course as its own required class in the curriculum. Additionally, the group discussed how the university can better communicate their ideas and events to reach and impact more students and staff. Some students suggested the “required mailing list for SIUE students” emails are not enough. Their solutions included advertising these ideas through BlackBoard or utilizing the electronic bulletin boards around campus. Another topic that was discussed was giving students more halal and vegetarian options to @thealestle
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