FAMILY TREE ASHES TO ASHES Terp defensive tackle Vellano following father’s footsteps SPORTS | PAGE 8
Friday, September 10, 2010
New documentary follows Joaquin Phoenix’s bizarre career moves DIVERSIONS | PAGE 6
THE DIAMONDBACK Our 101ST Year, No. 9
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Health center to add BSOS hires 22 new faculty third-party billing
With hiring freeze dissolved, admins cheer new additions to college BY LEAH VILLANUEVA Staff writer
Officials warn new system may lead to higher prices for health services BY LEYLA KORKUT Staff writer
Next fall, students will be able to directly charge their insurance companies for services received from the University Health Center, rather than having to pay out of pocket or through their student accounts, but the change may drive up service prices, officials said. Some students are also concerned about how the new policy could affect students who do not have health insurance, particularly members of the class of 2012, who were admitted to the university before its mandatory health insurance policy took effect, and graduate students who are exempt from the insurance requirement. Students may also see higher prices for health center services as a result of the administrative costs associated with a third party billing system, such as costs for new staff to process check-ins and charges, bill insurance companies and perform other associated responsibilities,
health center Director Sacared Bodison wrote in an e-mail. “The whole pricing structure will be more typical of costs in a community,” she wrote. “Those students who don’t have health insurance or have high deductibles will find that the cost of receiving help on campus will be higher than in the past.” Under the proposed thirdparty billing system, students who are insured by one of the four major national insurance companies that have contracts with the university will only have to pay their individual co-pay for all standard primary-care procedures, Bodison said. Those with insurance plans through other companies are not guaranteed such accommodations. Those students will still have to pay upfront — and sometimes in full — if their insurers do not cover the services, she said. Bodison would not name the four companies that she said the health center estimates insure
see INSURANCE, page 2
SGA strips new position of its ability to criticize
The behavioral and social sciences college may have taken its first step for ward in addressing the ongoing needs of a burgeoning yet understaffed college as 22 new faculty begin to filter into the college this year. Two years ago, a campus-wide hiring freeze stopped a search for new
BSOS faculty members in its tracks, but last semester, Provost Nariman Far vardin authorized several departments in the college to resume their searches. As a result, 22 professors were hired for the departments of criminology and criminal justice, geography, government and politics, psychology and sociology. Although Far vardin authorized new hires for many other colleges last year
during the hiring freeze, which was officially lifted in July, he said BSOS was in particular need of new faculty. “The College of Behavioral and Social Sciences has, for a number of years, had too few faculty for the growing student enrollment,” Farvardin wrote in an e-mail earlier this week.
see HIRES, page 3
Science in
motion Dance troupe combines tech and theater at CSPAC BY ANDREW FREEDMAN Staff writer
CSPAC wants to start off the year with a bang. But not just any bang — a Big Bang. A new dance piece based on research in particle physics, “The Matter of Origins,” put on by the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, will have its world premiere at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center tonight. The show’s choreographer, Liz
Lerman, a university alumna and member of the Alumni Hall of Fame, explained the mix between science and art was not unusual. “Some of the overlaps have to do with the nature of how you ask questions,” Lerman said. “[It’s] how you investigate and research, how passionate and to some extent, how both artists and scientists pursue a question for long periods of time
see PERFORMANCE, page 6
Third-party role to keep body informed of race, gender and class issues BY SARAH MEEHAN Staff writer
After a series of debates that began last spring, the SGA voted to ax a position tasked with critically examining the body’s decisions and swap it for another that will deal specifically with matters of race, gender and class. Student Government Association legislators voted almost unanimously to do away with the critical activist position earlier this month, largely due to controversy surrounding some of the responsibilities of the position, which include participating in executive meetings as a thirdparty member and ensuring that outside criticism made its way directly to the SGA floor. The critical activist, a position added in the SGA’s bylaw amend-
ments approved at the end of the last academic year, would have participated in executive board, cabinet and finance committee meetings, according to Chief of Staff Michelle McGrain. As a person unaffiliated with the association, the role was created to keep legislators in check. One of the most controversial features of the position was its transferability — the critical activist had the power to send other students in his or her place to any meeting, which could mean someone other than the appointed student was fulfilling the role, according to several SGA members. Although the critical activist would have also been required to inform the SGA on social justice
The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange rehearses “The Matter of Origins” performance in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. JACLYN BOROWSKI/THE DIAMONDBACK
see POSITION, page 3
Buildings follow Knight’s LEED New buildings will adhere to green standards BY CLAIRE SARAVIA Staff writer
As more university buildings strive to be as eco-friendly as possible, sustainable construction has turned into one big game of follow the leader. Knight Hall, home of the journalism college, recently became the first university-owned building to be certified with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold rating — the second highest
LEED standard a green building can obtain — and officials said the rating is inspiring other campus buildings to follow suit. “We have a lot of buildings on campus that are constantly being renovated to better meet the university’s sustainability standards,” said Office of Sustainability Manager Mark Stewart, noting university officials are looking forward to adding
see LEED, page 2
FILE PHOTO/THE DIAMONDBACK
TOMORROW’S WEATHER:
Sunny/80s
INDEX
NEWS . . . . . . . . . .2 OPINION . . . . . . . .4
FEATURES . . . . . .5 CLASSIFIED . . . . .6
DIVERSIONS . . . . .6 SPORTS . . . . . . . . .8
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