NEWS
UC SHIP in the Age of ObamaCare
OPINION
IN THIS ISSUE
SF Brunch Review
Mission Beach Café serves up Is your health insurance about high-quality classics. » PAGE 9 to change? » PAGE 7
News Briefs » PAGE 3 Journal Club » PAGE 5 Puzzles » PAGE 11
Synapse The UCSF Student Newspaper
Thursday, October 24, 2013
synapse.ucsf.edu
Volume 58, Number 7
MIND&BODY
NEWS
Fitness-Focused Med Students Feel the Burn Affordable Care Act at UCSF: What You Need to Know By Brian Shaw Staff Writer
T Photo by Jeffrey Chen/MS1 First-year medical students Brennan Vail (left), Solomon Lee, Donald Goens and Joy Lin scramble up a Kezar Stadium hill at a recent session of Tachycardio, a tri-weekly circuit workout led by classmate Onur Yenigun.
Second Years Are Up and Running
First Years Call In the Marine Corps
By Yi Lu Editor
By Dennis Zheng Staff Writer
or Libby McNiven, a second-year medical student at UCSF, reaching out to a friend to join her for a workout at Kezar Stadium was simply a means of motivating herself to stick to her training regimen. Now, McNiven posts nearly every week to a Facebook group that has swelled to 36 members, suggesting workouts ranging from the difficult (sprints) to the insane (laps of walking lunges). On one particularly sunny day, six MS-2s took advantage of a free afternoon and met at Kezar Stadium for a high-intensity workout. The day’s session began with five minutes of dynamic workouts, which had the students jumping, lunging, kicking and skipping on the track, past the jogging lunchtime warriors. The group then regrouped and decided on a sequence of sprints, push-ups and one-legged squats, with ample modifications for the uninitiated and unfit. After half a year of track meet-ups, McNiven and a core group of regulars have infused the workouts with their own fitness interests and goals. Given the diversity of the workouts, McNiven has a hard time picking what she likes best about the group. But the same spirit of camaraderie that inspired her to start these workouts still motivate her today. “I think I like doing things with people that I wouldn’t do myself,” said McNiven. “A sprint Tabata is 20 seconds of sprints and 10 seconds of rest, repeated eight times. It’s four minutes of really hard work. When you’re done, you feel so good for having done it. But I would never do it by myself.”
he second-year medical students aren’t the only ones putting in work — and getting worked over — at Kezar Stadium, where first-year UCSF medical student Onur Yenigun leads a tri-weekly workout aimed at strengthening his fellow classmates both physically and mentally. The former Marine Corps squad leader has brought a taste of boot camp to campus, and first years, whether fit or a little flabby, have responded in kind. His Facebook group, the aptly named “Tachycardio,” now boasts more than 50 members. “When I was in the Marine Corps, I noticed how going through tough workouts and tough situations together builds camaraderie and teamwork,” said Yenigun. “I thought that by doing this, it could bring us all closer together.” At a recent session, Yenigun welcomed about 15 students to “Lunge Hell” (future punishments include “Upper Body Blast” and “Full Body Torment”). Some were assigned laps; others leapt up from a squat over and over; and the rest crawled up a grassy knoll on all fours. Under Yenigun’s command, no area of the stadium was spared. Groups ran the bleachers, sprinted down the track and, of course, struggled through sets of lunges — all with little time to rest. Later, sweaty pairs first squatted against each other’s backs until the point of collapse, then carried each other on their backs. Participants were honorably discharged after an hour of the circuit, and most anticipated at least one more tour of duty. Tachycardio’s bulkier version of Richard Simmons has no plans for stopping, either. “If I’m feeling the burn, I’m sure everyone else is,” Yenigun said.
Yi Lu is a second-year medical student.
Dennis Zheng is a first-year medical student.
F
T
his fall marks the third year that UCSF students under the age of 26 have had the option of staying on their parents’ health insurance plan instead of switching to university coverage. The gargantuan Affordable Care Act (ACA), known by its popular moniker ObamaCare, includes in its many provisions the possibility for young adults to stay on their parents’ health insurance plans. “I didn’t want to have another $3,000 of debt,” said first-year medical student David Ramirez, of his decision to stay on his parents’ health insurance and not to enroll in the University of California Student Health Insurance Plan (UC SHIP). Despite the savings, he has had difficulty establishing medical care in a new city without a connection to providers. Fellow first-year medical student Jill Hagey, on the other hand, enrolled in UC SHIP both because of its convenience and its
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT » PAGE 7
ARTS&CULTURE
Science and literature collide at Litquake 2013 By Jenny Qi Executive Editor
“Y
ou know what it is? It’s a golden handcuff with the key thrown away,” wrote John Steinbeck of San Francisco. Oscar Wilde echoed this sentiment, noting, “Anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco. It must be a delightful city and possess all the attractions of the next world.” Writers and booklovers have long been drawn to our foggy City by the Bay. Unsurprisingly, it is now home to the annual literary festival dubbed Litquake, the largest literary festical on the West Coast. What began in 1999 as a daylong series of free readings in
LITQUAKE 2013 » PAGE 8