Thursday, November 20, 2014

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THE

BROWN DAILY HERALD vol. cxlix, no. 114

since 1891

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2014

Students raise mental health concerns at forum UTRA program adds raise questions interdisciplinary projects Attendees about University outreach Initiative aims to involve more first-years, humanities concentrators in research with faculty By CASSANDRA COLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

As students grapple with funding their research, the University will expand the Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards program by unveiling the new Interdisciplinary Team UTRA in December, said Oludurotimi Adetunji, director of Science Center outreach, associate dean of the College and director of the UTRA program. The I-Team UTRA program will build upon the existing UTRA program, which allows students to work with faculty members on research or course development. The current UTRA program requires students to come up with projects and apply for awards to work with specific faculty members. In a deviation from this model, the new program will allow

professors to propose UTRA projects, and students will be able to express interest by contacting the professors, Adetunji said. The deadline for faculty proposals for I-Team UTRAs was Nov. 15. Once faculty proposals have been selected by the committee in charge of designating UTRAs, the program will be advertised to the student body around the third week in December, at which point undergrads can contact professors whose projects they are interested in. Faculty members will have until Jan. 15 to present their chosen team of two to six students to the committee, Adetunji said, adding that the committee will notify faculty members and students of their decisions by Feb. 1. I-Team UTRAs will be renewable for up to two semesters, providing the potential for a year-long project, Adetunji said. One goal of the new program is to increase the diversity of UTRA participants across age groups and » See UTRA, page 2

to students on leave and mental health policies By CAROLINE KELLY SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Administrators who work on mental health issues addressed student concerns over the University’s leave-taking policies and mental health resources at an open forum Wednesday hosted by the Undergraduate Council of Students. The guest speakers at the forum were Associate Dean of First-Year and Sophomore Studies and Associate Dean of the College for Health and Personal Issues Carol Cohen, Director of Counseling and Psychological Services Sherri Nelson and Director of Student Support Services in the Office of Student Life Maria Suarez. After brief introductions, the administrators opened the floor to questions about their respective offices. Casey Poore ’17, who is not a UCS member but attended the meeting to share her views, noted concerns she has heard from friends about mandatory minimum one-year leaves and the handling of taking leave for psychological

RYAN WALSH / HERALD

The Undergraduate Council of Students open forum Wednesday night featured three administrators who work on mental health issues. versus other medical reasons. “The recommendation is one full year — that’s a recommendation, not a mandate,” Suarez said in response. An interdisciplinary committee meets twice a year to determine which students on leave will be readmitted to the University, she said, adding that it does “not discriminate between physical leave and mental health leave” and that doing so would be illegal. “The last mandated medical leave was about two years ago,” Suarez said. “If you are not an imminent risk to yourself or others, we cannot mandate a medical

leave.” Kavya Ramanan ’15, who is also not a UCS member, described her experience taking a medical leave for psychological reasons after her first semester. “For me, going home was not a really healthy place to be,” she said. She applied for readmission after one semester but was not approved to return. Upon her return later, administrators failed to note that her reduced course load was due to psychological reasons, and she wrongly received a warning that she was in poor » See UCS, page 3

State insurance exchange reopens for enrollment HealthSource RI director says health plan costs have fallen due to greater competition, transparency By EMMA JERZYK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Chafee reflects on career in public office Concluding term as R.I. governor, Chafee cites economic recovery, health exchange as successes By DUNCAN GALLAGHER STAFF WRITER

As evidenced by stacks of papers, file folders and empty spaces on walls that suggest recently removed wall decorations, Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 P’17 has been preparing for an imminent move out of his office in the Statehouse when his sole term as governor comes to an end this January. Chafee’s governorship is the most

inside

METRO

recent installment of a political career that has taken him from the city hall of Warwick to the U.S. Capitol, then back to the Ocean State as its chief executive. Though he faces low approval ratings today and largely stayed on the sidelines during the 2014 campaign to elect his successor, Chafee leaves the governor’s office having served as a key player on Rhode Island’s political stage over the past couple decades. Successes and setbacks Chafee said he has some ideas of what he’ll do after leaving office, though he did not elaborate. “I want to make sure I don’t get distracted with thoughts other than finishing my term well,” he said, adding that this will entail “handing off the administration in the best possible

shape that (he) can,” and addressing the outstanding costs in some state departments’ budgets. He and Gov.-elect Gina Raimondo, a Democrat, have “pledged to be cooperative in every way,” to ease the transition to her new administration. While he has no intention of interfering with the next administration, Chafee said he hopes to see policies, including the gateway beautification initiative — a project to make the points of entry into the state more aesthetically appealing — and the implementation of the state’s health care exchange, HealthSource R.I., continued. Wendy Schiller, associate professor of political science and public policy, praised Chafee’s handling of health exchange implementation under the » See CHAFEE, page 3

Commentary

Metro INSIDE

METRO

Providence CityArts wins award for arts education of city’s youth and promotion of local artists

Tennis ’14.5: Provost Vicki Colvin’s lack of communication is troubling

Editorial: Executive action by President Obama will not solve nation’s immigration woes

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HERALD FILE PHOTO

Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 P’17 has served as Warwick mayor, a U.S. senator and Rhode Island’s governor. He began his career as a Republican before becoming an Independent and, in 2013, joining the Democratic Party.

HealthSource RI, the state health insurance exchange, opened its second enrollment period Nov. 15 to allow individuals and families not insured by their employers to renew their coverage. The enrollment period will last until Feb. 15, 2015 and includes options from United HealthCare, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, said Christine Ferguson, director of the exchange, adding that some plans are 14 percent less expensive than they were during last year’s enrollment period. Since United was added as an insurance provider on HealthSource RI, the increased competition and transparency has allowed individuals and families buying insurance on the exchange to manage their expenses more effectively, Ferguson said. After its opening, the exchange has received the number of enrollees anticipated by officials. But the sum of walk-in appointments and customer

service phone calls exceeded expectations, which led to some bottlenecking during the enrollment period. But uncertainty about the exchange’s future has kept some small businesses from using it, Ferguson said. When it was signed into law in 2010, the Affordable Care Act required states to either set up their own health insurance exchanges or buy into the federal exchange. But funding from the federal government, which has financed the entire implementation of HealthSource RI, will run out in December 2015. As a result, Rhode Island in the future can either finance the exchange itself or buy into the federal health insurance exchange, HealthCare.gov, which notoriously encountered many technical flaws during its first enrollment period. The federal exchange opened again this month with fewer glitches. In May, HealthSource RI ranked second in the country for its enrollment rates and is considered one of the most successful state health insurance exchanges. Currently, 13 states and the District of Columbia run their own exchanges. The governor’s office currently has decision-making power over HealthSource RI. Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 P’17 decided to leave the decision of whether or not to fund the exchange » See INSURANCE, page 3 t o d ay

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