The Statesman informing stony brook university for more than 50 years
Volume LVII, Issue 1
Monday, August 26, 2013
sbstatesman.com
New center for masculine studies under fire By Nina Lin
Multimedia Editor
NINA LIN / THE STATESMAN
Sarah Chowske, a health sciences major, is starting her sophomore year as a resident in Roth's Mount College.
Wolfie Ride speeds into fall semester with minor bumps
By Kelly Frevele Staff Writer
Scrapes, damages and computer glitches are just a few of the recent negative reports regarding the semester-old Wolfie Ride Bike Share program. But the impairments are not as serious as they might seem. Sustainability Coordinator Greg Monaco, in charge of maintaining the bicycles, said the problems Wolfie Ride is experiencing are not out of the ordinary for such a program. “The bikes have been actively used so just like any bike it’s going to need repairs now and then,” Monaco said. He went on to say that although tires sometimes deflate and pedals sometimes fall off, these issues are not serious.
“This stuff gets fixed in a day and then the bikes are back out there,” he said. “Plus we have a whole room of bikes so it’s not really an issue of not having enough bikes.” According to the Office of Sustainability’s website, students are not responsible for damages such as a flat tire, but if damage does occur, students should return the bike to a share station and select the “repair/wrench” symbol, which immediately notifies the university about the inoperable bicycle. The only other major problem plaguing Wolfie Ride is the number of computer glitches. When asked about them, Monaco said that “the program is new but we are still learning how it works and it is getting better all the time. Plus, Continued on page 7
EFAL SAYED / THE STATESMAN
The Office of Sustainability says students are not responsible for bicycle damages but should still report them.
Affordable Care Act gives students more insurance options
By Nina Lin
Multimedia Editor
Spring 2014 looks to bring more affordable options than ever in health care coverage—for in-state students and faculty, at least. Come Oct. 1, New Yorkers at Stony Brook may find a chance to start shopping for their own health insurance sooner rather than later. Part of the new federal Affordable Care Act required states to open regulated health care exchange systems, or Health Insurance Exchanges, for uninsured residents. Packages from third-party insurance providers are submitted through these exchanges, ranked into tiers based on each plan’s overall coverage and are priced accordingly before they are presented to shoppers looking to purchase individual insurance plans. For a state like New York, well-known to have some of the most expensive premiums in the country, a health benefit exchange is a boon rather than a burden. Already, the state exchange is set up with participating insurance providers promising rates at half the price of current individual insurance plans. Since state legislation makes it so all applicants are accepted regardless
of their health and other identifying factors, premiums slashed in half are more affordable for most uninsured New Yorkers. According to the New York State Department of Health, residents can enroll in the exchange Oct. 1, with coverage to begin the following January. “New York’s health benefits exchange will offer the type of real competition that helps drive down health insurance costs for consumers and businesses,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a press release. “The opportunity to choose among affordable, quality health insurance options will mean improved health outcomes, stronger economic security and better peace of mind for New York families.” So far, 17 companies have had their submitted rates approved for the new exchange. According to a table of rates comparing provider plans by tier, premiums can range anywhere from MVP Health Care’s $153.45 catastrophic plan, to United Healthcare’s $913.99 monthly bill at the platinum level. Aetna Life Insurance—the company that provides coverage for the Student Health Insurance Program (SHIP) at Stony Brook Continued on page 7
Few college press releases have web notoriety like the one released in May on Stony Brook University’s new Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities. Already, the internet is stacked with articles, comments and online petitions decrying the new center. Some authors were women. Most of them were men. Financed by a $300,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the fledgling center is meant to promote the study of men and the male gender through academic research and publications. Led by Michael Kimmel, a professor of sociology at Stony Brook and bestselling author of “Guyland, The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men,” it is to be established by a 2015 international conference—followed by the world’s first Master of Arts program in the study of men and masculinities by 2017. The center and the program will be under the aegis of SBU’s sociology department. There are no plans, however, to consolidate Men and Masculinities studies into the graduate level Gender Studies program like the Women’s Studies department. Even if he uses “feminist theory and queer theory to understand the experience of men and masculinity” in his work, Kimmel maintains that the center, and the program, will stand apart from the current Women's and Gender studies program at Stony Brook. “All over the world there are people who are engaging men in gender equality,” said Kimmel in a phone interview. “The vision of the center is to bring together activists who are engaged in projects all over the world to engaging men with academic research with this issue.” It would certainly explain the center’s current advisory board. Rife
PHOTO CREDIT: SBU
Kimmel says the new center will differ from the Women's and Gender Studies program. Continued on page 7