The Mercury 08/25

Page 1

August 25, 2014

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The scoop on substance abuse & new center for students in recovery opens

A breakdown of UTD soccer: by the numbers Inaugural freshman class struggles in first year

THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

News

Resident restrained, robbed

9

11

Life&Arts

Int'l student health insurance plans fall short

Perpetrator enters victim's apartment under false pretense

Miscommunication from healthcare officials leaves insurance customers confused

ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS Managing Editor

A female student reported to UTD PD that a man dressed as a construction worker entered her UV apartment on Aug. 11, physically restrained her and stole personal property. Chief of Police Larry Zacharias said the student indicated the perpetrator entered the residence under false pretense, stating he was there to make a repair. The incident occurred at approximately 3:30 p.m. The student described him as a Hispanic male in his mid-20s wearing grey, paint-splattered pants, a white t-shirt and a yellow safety vest. He had short dark hair, was clean-shaven and was approximately 5-feet-8 inches tall with a medium build. “What he said was that he was there to make a repair,” Zacharias said. “It just so happens that she needed a repair to be made. So that could’ve been just a ruse that he used.” Zacharias said the suspect was not in the typical blue shirt residential workers wear, and he never showed her any worker identification. He said the police are currently going through as many of the construction workers as possible to see if anyone meets the description given. After the incident, the student ran from her apartment all the way to the police station to report the crime, Zacharias said. “She couldn’t call, and she was just focused on getting to the police station,” he said. He said students should practice safety, despite how safe the campus might seem. Zacharias said students have a tendency of not locking their door on campus because they feel it is such a safe environment. He also said incidents where someone breaks into a residence on campus are rare, with only about three or four apartment burglaries a year. UTD PD has not yet identified the perpetrator and his affiliation with UTD or contractors on campus has not been verified or denied. Zacharias said university policy dictates all

He was planning on flying back to India in the summer of 2015 after two years. Late this June he found out, he wouldn’t be able to go. His health insurance premiums for 2014-15 are going to cut into his savings, leaving him and his wife with very little to travel halfway across the world. “Since we are international students; we have to visit our family once in a while and now we are … unable to go to India; that’s a big disappointment,” the student, Somdeb Sarkhel, said. But Sarkhel, a computer science doctoral student at UTD, is perfectly healthy and has not used his health insurance once in the past three years. So why is his annual premium going up by almost a 100 percent? According to the updated UT System Regents’ Rule, all international students — more than 16,500 in the UT System — must now have health insurance that is compatible with the Affordable Care Act. This means that while coverage will improve, students have to enroll in UTD’s student health insurance plan, or SHI, unless they are able to find comparable coverage through the federal marketplace. They can also opt out of the plan if they are sponsored by their home country. However, the rule was updated in May and the plans were locked down by the UT System in late June, three months after open enrollment for ACA ended. There are some positives to the new plan and the ACA, Sarkhel acknowledged, because the coverage is much more extensive and includes pre-existing conditions and contraceptives, among other benefits. “That’s great but the way capitalism

→ SEE ROBBERY, PAGE 25

→ SEE HEALTH, PAGE 25

ANWESHA BHATTACHARJEE Web Editor

DON'T SHOOT DALLAS

Staff Writer

Demonstrators came together in downtown Dallas August 20 to show support for protests in Ferguson, Mo. See page seven for more photos.

ACA timeline: what really happened vs. what should have happened Ideal events Actual events March 2012 The Federal government announced gradual implementation of the Affordable Care Act starting July 1, 2012, phasing in until final regulations kick in Jan. 1, 2014.

October 2013 ACA upheld by Supreme Court and set to come into effect completely January 2014.

Regents' Rule updated early spring 2014.

Open enrollment ends March 31, 2014.

Students informed of SHI changes and new requirements within open enrollment

Students continue to buy third party insurance from AIA, PSI, ISOA at prices ranging from $500 $1,500.

Students waive off $1,859 annual premium for cheaper ACA plans.

Regents' Rule not updated until May 2014. Students not aware they were eligible for ACA. Students notified late June of new requirements

Students compelled to purchase $1,859 Gold Metal Tier Plan from BCBS. LINA MOON | GRAPHICS EDITOR

Student moonlights as stripper PABLO ARAUZ

PABLO ARAUZ | STAFF

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Sports

It all started as a joke. Shane’s friends noticed that he was pretty comfortable without any clothes on. Shane — who’s real name won’t be disclosed here — is a part time psychology student and part time exotic dancer. He first got the idea from his friends after they jokingly suggested that he’d make a great stripper. He enjoys various athletic activities, which gave him the courage — and the body — to do it. “I was used to wearing very little clothing around a lot of people and I had to get comfortable with it. Changing in locker rooms never really bothered me,” Shane said. After some thought, he decided to go to a strip club with a friend to see what it’s like to work as an exotic dancer. “It was a female strip club, and I saw what they were doing there, I saw what was expected there and I remember I walked up to one girl I found attractive and she’s up on her stage and she starts doing what strippers do,” he said. At first, the female dancer was taken aback. But once he told her he was interested in working in the industry, her personality completely changed. That night, they spent the whole night talking about what it’s like to work as a stripper. Later on, he went to a male strip club to see for himself.

“I asked about dancing there and they told me that I could get on a pole and try it out. So, I did for about half an hour. I made good money, and they hired me,” said Shane.

MIGUEL PEREZ | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

During the day, he works on his academics and enjoys various athletic activities. At night, he goes to the club to dance and make a little extra money. At a small club in a low-key part of

the metroplex, he woos customers with his dancing and pole tricks amidst the neon lights and churning smoke machine. He’s danced for corporate executives, lawyers and he’s got plenty of other weird stories. He said one night, a customer kept giving him dollars while making airplane noises, as if he were hand-feeding him. The man continued to do this for the better part of the night. Shane said that’s just one of the stranger experiences he’s had. “It was disorienting at first. To have people come up an approach you in a completely different way than anyone’s ever approached me before,” he said. For a while, Shane took a step back after watching the film “Magic Mike” which was about the life of a male stripper. The film highlighted the pressures of the industry: being able to spend money frivolously, illegal drugs and just plain debauchery. “I realized that my life was becoming too much like that movie. I was being extremely irresponsible with school,” he said. “So I took some time off.” Shane dropped out of school for a semester. He afforded a trip to visit his girlfriend in the Carribbean and spent the time to study himself. He said he’s been clean for about a year now. Eventually, Shane went back to

→ SEE STRIP, PAGE 25


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