Baseball: Rough series for runners Page 11
Letter to Editor: Should Romo resign? Page 5 Comic: Who are those extra students on test day? Page 4
Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio
March 30, 2010 Rowdy needs“The Bird Seed”, Page 4
Volume 42 • Issue 10 • 12 Pages
Page 7
Story Updates
What about the shuttle fee vote? The proposal to increase the shuttle fee by $10 did not pass the student vote. 56.61 percent of those that voted or 1057 students were against the proposal.
Graham Cull / The Paisano
Who won the SGA president election?
Students gathered in the Sombrilla to protest recent increases in tuition that will bring UTSA’s Fall 2010 tuition close to the current total at UT Austin.
Students outraged at tuition increase
Quiet turnout outside Sombrilla. Misha Yurchenko
paisanonews@sbcglobal.net Students gathered in front of the Sombrilla last Tuesday to peacefully protest the increase of tuition that was recently passed by the UT System Board of Regents. The rise in tuition will affect the majority of students in the UT System. The group of students who protested were not part of any organization. Instead, they were a congregation of concerned students who recently heard
about the tuition increase and decided to have their voice heard. When asked what sparked their interests for protest, many of the protestors mentioned that they had previously read an article in The Paisano about tuition increase. They protested for several hours, holding up large signs and megaphones, and offering a petition that people could sign in opposition to the increase. “We’re sending the petition to as many House, Senate, and education board reps as we can,” said protestor
Bradley Banks, UTSA engineering major. In fact, many of the students at the protest were graduating seniors or had tuition paid through federal aid. These students were concerned about current and prospective UTSA students, not themselves. Jason Dhroiyer, senior, said “I have children who will be affected by this tuition increase.” Prospective UTSA student Lena Banks was raised in Scandinavia,
Derek Trimm has been elected student government president. Approximately 1280 students voted for Trimm. He received 68.4 percent of the total votes for SGA president. Trimm said that he plans to take a different approach than Matt DeLeon had as Student Government Association (SGA) president. He said he plans to change the structure of SGA. “I plan to loosen the now strict policies of student government,” Trimm said. He will also work on streamlining the SGA committee recommendation process.
What about the accident at UTSA Blvd? On March 29, a black 2003 Volkswagen Jetta was traveling east on UTSA Blvd. The vehicle attempted to turn onto Roadrunner Way, but was struck on the rear passanger side by a 2009 Honda Civic traveling west. The Jetta then slid into a 2005 Honda Civic that was sitting at the light. There were no major injuries. The driver of the 2009 Civic did suffer a minor wrist injury and the driver of the Jetta did receive whiplash.
See TUITION, Page 2
Robert Calcagno
paisanonews@sbcglobal.net With President Barack Obama’s signing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, along with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, the method in which Americans receive and control their health care has been dramatically overhauled and the distribution and repayment of student loans has also been altered severely. Although most of the effects won’t take place until 2014, there is still a lot of information you should be aware of. Hopefully, this will help answer some immediate questions. WHAT EXACTLY DOES THE BILL DO? The health care bill extends coverage to 95 percent of the American public while subsequently eliminating or altering many provisions such as denying coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions. Among other significant changes is the creation of health care exchanges where citizens can compare multiple plans, the subsidization of insurance premiums for qualified individuals and families, subsidies for families of four or more with an annual income of $88,000 or less, allowing children to remain on their parents’ plan until they are 26, companies with 50 or more full-time employees being required to cover their workers’ insurance, and citizens being required to have insurance policies of their own. Most of these changes won’t take place until 2014. It is also projected to reduce the federal deficit by $132 billion over the next decade
and $1.2 trillion in the next. HOW DOES IT AFFECT ME RIGHT NOW? Beginning in September, children and young adults can remain on their parents’ plan until their 26th birthday; however, if you are a full-time employee, then your company’s health insurance would supersede your parent’s policy. Children with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage effective immediately. Insurers will be prohibited from dropping their policyholders and will be restricted in their enforcement of annual spending caps and will be completely prohibited by 2014. Starting in June, adults with pre-existing conditions can qualify for a temporary high-risk pool before the provisions kick in 2014. WHAT IF I DON’T WANT INSURANCE? Beginning in 2014, every American citizen will be required to have their own insurance policy. Although many Americans will be covered by their employers, the group that will likely be the most affected by this will be young adults. The first fine would be $95 and the maximum fine would be capped at $695, which is roughly the cost of a minimum insurance policy to begin with. Financial aid packages beginning in 2014 may have to take into account additional funds to cover the insurance of their students. IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY OF THE BILL BEING TURNED OVER? It’s very unlikely. In Congress, it would require a two-thirds vote to repeal the bill; so even if the Republicans
were to win back the Senate and the House this winter, they would still be short by several votes. Through the court system, Texas is among fourteen states that filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the recently passed bill, in particular the individual mandate requiring all citizens to have health insurance. Although the likelihood of the lawsuit reaching beyond appeals is doubtful, federal law would still supersede state law. However, when it comes to the medical field, state law has won out at times. For example, several states prescribe medical marijuana even though it’s technically outlawed by the federal government. As well, Idaho and Virginia have already passed state bills prohibiting the individual mandate policy. WHAT CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO STUDENT LOANS? The provisions are similar to the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act that was passed by the House in September, with some minor changes. The bill saves $68 billion, of which will be used to increase the Pell Grant program, assist Medicare, and create additional funding for community colleges and minority schools. It ends the process of the federal government giving out subsidies to banks to give out student loans, effectively ending the Federal Family Education Loan Program beginning July 1st. As a result, all loans will be directly from the Department of Education. Beginning in 2014, those who qualify can cap their loan repayment each month at 10 percent of their discretionary income and their loans will be forgiven after 20 years. See HEALTH, Page 3
Burk Frey / The Paisano
Healthcare bill changes student loans None of the parties involved suffered any serious injuries, though two cars were heavily damaged.
UTSA plans to introduce online surveys Fall 2010 Robyn Lorkovic
paisanonews@sbcglobal.net Starting Fall 2010, UTSA will implement the end-of-the-semester course surveys online to satisfy the requirements of a new bill passed by the Texas legislature last spring, requiring colleges to publically post student survey results online. The new surveys will replace the printed IDEA surveys currently in use and will be created and administered internally. The survey will involve two to four questions to be used university-wide. Each college, department and professor may add a number of questions tailored to their particular discipline and course. The current surveys, conducted through the IDEA center, are considerably unpopular with students and faculty alike. The new surveys, however, are not free of problems, with potential issues such as student participation and survey anonymity, being considered. Administrators at the Office of the Provost,
Paisano-Online com
as well as the Faculty Senate, are determining ways to eliminate these issues before the new surveys are piloted this summer. The most significant concern is student participation. “Students don’t realize how important those evaluations are in the hiring and firing of faculty. The power students have in the process is very real,” Mansour El-Kikhia, faculty senate president, said. To maximize student participation, university officials and faculty senate have discussed a variety of incentives. “We were considering giving bonus points for participating, but decided the results would be too uneven and it wouldn’t be a good way to go,” Dr. John Frederick, the provost and vice president of academic affairs, said. “We’re looking at making it so that the students who do the survey will get earlier access to their grades.” The survey results also have a considerable effect on professors’ tenure, raises and promotions. “The surveys are used in the annual evaluation process but only about 30 See SURVEY, Page 3