Arbiter, August 25 Students of Boise State University
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Boise State University ScholarWorks Student Newspapers (UP 4.15) University Documents 8-25-2003 Arbiter, August 25 Students of Boise State University Although this file was scanned from the highest-quality microfilm held by Boise State University, it reveals the limitations of the source microfilm. It is possible to perform a text search of much of this material; however, there are sections where the source microfilm was too faint or unreadable to allow for text scanning. For assistance with this collection of student newspapers, please contact Special Collections and Archives at [email protected]. SIN C E 1 9 .1 3 B 0 I 8'E . 8T A TE • S INDEP.ENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPE'R CELEBRATING MONDAY 70 YEARS AUGUST 25, 2003 / Howard Dean in Boise Sports- 6 'A&E-9. -page 3 Broncos fight Kings of Leon: Q&A with Tim Gilligian Southern fried rock -page 6 till! polls ...again VOLUME 16 ISSUE 3 FIRST COPY FREE KUSTRA ERA BEGINS New president wants to take Boise State to the next level , '..::.~ I c I consider this I 1 I to be the capstone )) , I of my career. -President Bob Kustra ' BY ANDY BENSON the ring and was subsequently selected by the Idaho State Editor-in-Chief Board of Education to replace out-going President Charles The Arbiter Ruch. Kustra said he doesn't plan any immediate changes at ew BSU President Bob Kustra plans to Boise State, though be did say he wants to increase and turn Boise State into a respected research improve graduate programs. Kustra also said he was happy institution and his political skills might with the senior administrators he inherited from Ruch. help him pull it off. And his first challenge "I'm pleased with the people I work with directly," Kustra is to convince Idaho legislators and the said. ".. .I inherited a team that's very dedicated to the State Board of Education to help. improvement of this university" "Boise State aspires to be a metropolitan research Kustra said he doesn't have any plans to restructure university of distinction in the west," Kustra said. ".. .In order Boise State, saying he didn't see a problem with the college to get there, legislators and the State Board of Education structure. That's in sharp contrast to his experience at must see evidence ofBSU's potential." Eastern Kentucky where he reorganized colleges and senior Kustra conies to Boise State with an impressive resume. administrators .' After receiving 'his Ph.D. in Political Science from the Despite his political background, Kustra said he will stay University of Illinois, he held faculty positions at University out of the political arena. ' of Illinois-Chicago, Northwestern University 'and Loyola "I promised myself! would leave my partisan labels behind University. me and focus on being a good president," Kustra said. He Kustra served as a member of the Illinois House of added that the issues that divide legislators aren't issues that Representatives from 1980 - 1982 and as an Illinois state a university president needs to get involved in. senatorfrom 1982 - 1990. Kustra said he spent his first weeks on campus focused on From 1990 to 1998, Kustra served as Illinois It. governor, contacting state policy-makers to stress the importance of and then was hired as president of, Eastern Kentucky Boise State to Idaho and the region, University. In 2001, Kustra left EKU to be the president ofthe " I'm dedicating myself to getting to know the policy Midwestern Higher Education Commission, an organization makers in the state," Kustra said. " ... My major task is to of 10 states seeking to advance higher education through 'improve the Boise State image in the state and across the PHOTO BY MARY DAWSON/THE ARBITER resource sharing and interstate cooperation. region." During Kustra's tenure at the MHEC, the president's To-help accomplish that goal, Kustra said he is inviting New Boise State President Bob Kustra plans to transform BSU into position at Boise State opened and Kustra threw his hat into" See Kustra page 3 a respected research institution Mandatory' health insurance, increasing AccOanUng30& premiums-students "lntllnDodlatcAceoIl1l1lllU BaslooSJ COIllIlL 208 BusloDSJ COIllIl1llllICBtlOD T feeling the pinch BIISIDDSJ C81l11D.TodaV & II BusIDDSJ StaUsUcs 208 ' BYJESSICAADAMS Managing Editor The Arbiter Many Boise State students who in the past chose to opt out of the Student Health Insurance Plari are finding themselves hit with a double whammy this year. Beginning this semester, SHIP enrollment is mandatory for full-time students due to a policy recently enacted by the Idaho State Board of Education. Under the police. only students able to prove they carry comparable health coverage may waive Boise State's health insurance. In addition to the mandate, SHIP premiums rose by about 50 percent since last year-up from $243.50 to $369.50 per semester _ now averaging out to $92 per month. Ferd schlapper. executive director of Health Wellness and Counseling Services said the new mandate plus recent premium increases reflect underwriters' concern for cost-effectiveness. "Voluntary plans don't work. Statistics show that only 2 to 8 percent INRJRMA110N GRAPHIC BY DAVID HABBEN will enroll in a voluntary plan. Those people are ones who know they'll use it and that creates a high risk pool," Schlapper said. Boise State's former SHIP underwriter North Carolina Mutual, like many underwriting firms .in the nati~n, is withdrawing ~r~m ~e 'Online book-swap' offers cheap textbooks voluntary student health insurance business due to low participatton and high risk. In the last two years, the former SHIP underwriter the accompanying chart. ~': posted a 90 percent loss ratio on premiums. Usually about 70 percent BY ANDY BENSON BSU Bookstore Director Kim Thomas said while online _ of premiums go toward claims in the-health insurance industry. Editor-in-Chief The Arbiter prices are often cheaper then Bookstore prices, the sellers are Mandatory participation will create a lower risk pool. thus making individuals selling single copies. As the number of students the contract more' desirable to health insurance underwriters. Frustrated with the cost of books this semester? You buying' online increases, the prices should raise accordingly .. According to Schlapper, competitive bidding from underwriters will might consider checking the Web to curb your textbook Thomas added that online sellers. couldn't match the result in lower premiums and more comprehensive coverage. budget. The trend of online book buying in recent years advantages offered by the Bookstore, which stocks books for While SHIP covers emergency health care and referral, Health has provided students with several options in comparison- Wellness and Counseling Services provide primary care on campus. all classes offered at BSU. L see it as a competitor in the marketplace. but as a This fall, HWC Services addedto primary care services on campus with shopping. In addition to the reliable standbys Amazon and We Barnes & Noble, several new web sites such as half. com and competitor that doesn't provide the same level.ofseJVice as one more full-time physiciari and a part-time nutritionist. Last year addall.com have sprung up to help consumers find the best the Bookstore," Thomas said. ' ... :." HWC expanded to include a variety of se~ces ranging from massage Thomas also said that theBookstorechecks'ninces therapy coverage to needle-free HIV-test1Ilg to semmarson vanous values. The Arbiter used the class schedules of two Arbiter staffers, against online prices to ensure they remain comp "..t.•.', ....,. -. health-related topics. - Interim Business Manager Ben Martin and Photo Editor "We do price-comparison every semester,Qnb«>Qill,over, Students pay a $25 fee per semester for primary care from the Health , Mary Dawson, to see what kind of savings are available for 100 quantity.' and our, prices are consiste~9't, ~et,l" ":', Center. Funding forWellness and Counseling Services comes from the students online. We checked the Bookstore costs,using what you can find on the web," Thomas said. H •.~: state. ' conceded that those prices don't beatindiVidua} The increase in on-campus primary·care reflects a nation-wide trend used book prices when available, and compared themwith a in the way s~dent health care is done, as it's morecost-effectiye to search on addall.com ~a metasearch site that retrieves prices from several Web bookseller sites. For detailed price info, see provide morCiprimaiy c,are services oil campus than to refer-patients: . .', Sec Insurance page 3 GeoeBehing, isa ldgh-~ti ',: a troosDrelnmt, hot.~tiijbiiY'. ':::;fr8:sht%i~day; ---_.- BYALINB MCKENZIB a needle in a haystack. ,The ·thomasons have~ a. The Dallas Morning News "You can be looking for . trademark trinket:· a little 3 i something that's only or en.ameled.pin of a ferret They PlANO, Texas • scott and 4 inches, and it might be leave one in every cache they DebraThomason are gingerly camouflaged," says Debra .find; ,even if theY.d.0n'ttake Thomason, 36, of Fort Worth, making their way through the 'anything. .".- brush at Arbor Hills Nature Texas. "1 really don't care anything She and her husband, Preserve. They're so used to about the goodies," Debra watching out for polson ivy accompanied by 4-year-old Thomason says. "I'm a puzzle- that they have a nickname for lullanna, finally find the tiny solver.... 'People put Ii lot of round tin, painted in woodsy it: "P.!." ingenuity andtime and outright colors, well off the trail in a bed They do this for fun. -sneaklness into if." of poison ivy. They carefully They're looking for a small ., As they look for another cache retrieve it and signthe miniature tin that mayor may not contain at' Arbor Hills, they keep their logbook inside, chalking up tiny prizes.