Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE South Carolinianna Library USC Campus Columbia 29208 VOL. LIV NO.South Uarol.ina UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, COLUMBIA. S.C. 29208 Feb. 28, 1914 mJ S.C 290 Feb. MM III I | | Law Sti BY FRANK DEIA)ACIHE A great deal of discussion has risen concerning the mandatory student medical fee and the student hospiitialation insurance. But nothing was ever done to answer the questions raised. George Frooks, a second year USC law student, is questioning the fairness of the university in surance policies toward the students. Frooks hurt his hand while playing volleyball recently and went to the Student Health Center for treatment. He had purchased the $25 student hospitalization insurance and assumed it o would pay his im firmary bill for the x-rays. Frooks was shocked to find the policy did not pay for any service rendered by the Student Health Center and decided to investigate why. he filed a complaint with the South Carolina Insurance Com mission making reference to a number of discrepencies in the policy. Roger Smith, deputy com missioner of the Consumer Affairs Division, said some ruling on Frooks' complaint would come this week. Frooks charges the insurance pamphlet issued with the in surance plan is -deliberately or negligently misleading and am biguous. The card is given at tached to the pamphlet The card an insured student is given at tached to the pamphlet to carry tells him to go immediately to the imfirmary if at school, but the in the second exclusion in the same pamphlet says the policy will not cover any infirmary services rendered. Frooks also says the student infirmary is now handing out last year's insurance pamphlet in the place of the current pamphlet which is written by a different insurance company. Frooks says the pamphlets are different in their coverages. He says the older pamphlet misleads the student intio into thinking he.is covered for student infirmary charges other then malpractice, while the new pamphlet provides no coverage for any infirmary service rendered. M. I). Tavenner. director of Personnel and Institutional Research. is the man responsible for negotiation with insurance brokers bidding for the right to pro'.ide the university student insurance policy. lie is also responsible for approving the coverages and premiums defining the student hospitalization in surance plan. Once he has agreed to a certain plan. he submits it to (Chark's HI. Witten. vice p)residtent for Student Affairs. 'There's nothing peculiar about our student hospitalization plan. It's really similar to many other insurance plans all across the counmitry." Tavenner said. "The whole policy is designed to protect the student body from costs in curred' hv major hospitalization. tdent C( not minor charges received at the infirmary, as it says on the pamphlet. It all boils down to a matter of how much can you ex pect for the amount of money you pay." According to Tavenner, charges for medical treatment at the in firmary are so small. that no in surance policy would cover them. To try to insure such small amounts would only boost the insurance plan's premium up tremendously. "I want to have a separate and distinct world between the Student Heath Health Center and the the student hospitalization insurance," Tavenner said. John Coiner. Furman University assistant business manager, confirmed Tavenner's claim that standard student insurance .ti. Construct Gibbes Green Nall NewM BY DAN TOWEIY One of the older areas of land on the USC campus is un derkoing a change. The area of land located between McKissick Library and the Pickens street bridge will soon be thew sight of Gihbes Green Mall The mall will consist of sitting walls such as those in front of the Russell House, new land scaping and paved sidewalks. Harold Brunton, vice president for Business Affairs, said the mall will give a touch of class to that part of campus which is often nothing more than a mudhole and network of "cowpaths." Working on the mall project witn Brunton are Bob lat-r Naughton, projects coordinator. and John C'aliff, the architect. "Nlany of the students have a micnepntion about the con. mtestsi policies exclude the smaller charges incurred from infirmary services. "To my knowledge that is the general rule. Under Furman's policy with Liberty Life Insurance Dompany, the first 20 per cent of charges incurred are excluded from coverage." Coiner . said. "I have two sons going to college in other states and their insurance coverages are the same or similar. My first son went to Luther College in Decorah. Iowa, and then Graduate school at Iowa State. My other son goes to Ohio University in Athens. Ohio. They both have.the voluntary insurance plans offered." Coiner said. Tavenner sees no difference' in the newer up-to-date pamphlet and the older pamphlet now being ,iven out in its place. "This new J..9 ion Begins On (;ibbes Iall Comib itruction which is presently underway.'' Birunton said. "About two weeks ago. a group [)f concerned students met with \lac'Naughtont'aliff and myself amd wanted to understand what wa-: gomng On. "'one of the students said he had -heard on goodi authority tat the land under con .ruio watob eniev ave an ae n, soesr reail .aCuhon com ~truction hchtnus" eenl unenrsai. "Weno haid.ee Socrond tudent theat with md a ~ihaf yeas.an ysl Ther waner towertn wat 'roblem o the stuants aoding hn hend ThLande a('oh rnsuran policy is just more explicit and detailed in its description of the policy coverage," Tavenner siad. "The master policy that both the pamphlets represent have the same coverage. Unless you can sit down and talk to each individual about the policy coverage there's bound to be some misun derstanding." There is nothing misleading about the current pamphlet either, according to Tavenner. "You can't' make an assumption on any coverage provided by a policy. The exclusions are there to be read and accessibility (to the master policy) is still there." Tavenner said. One master policy is kept at the Student health ('enter and one is kept on file by the ad ministration. Tavenner apologized th to the students who have y a Ma1I. Soon land from McKissick to Petigrew that would not hold grass and was constently a mudhole when it rained and the "cowpaths" which meandered in all directions for the students to travel. While the (ihbe.;reen project will take care of these problems. Brunton said it will also take care of the pipes p)resently extended from the Pickens Street Bridge. The pipes will run under the mall to the horseshoe and to the new .>uilding to be built next to the Russell House. These pipes will provide .air conditioning for these buildings. Once completed the mall will have sitting walls ap proximately three and a half feet high. The walkways will have a driveway decor and will be made from concrete and (Sec (annSa MA.. Pa... 2 ce Plan received the older, out-of-date pamphlet and called it a careless error that he would correct im mediately. "I see no ambiguity in the this new pamphlet. If anything, the mistake should be called redun dancy in that the same thing has been said twice." Tavenner said. "The disagreement the student has with the policy is more of a 'philosophical misunderstanding than anything else." Frooks was not shaken by Tavenner's reply to his questions. He said that there is a good possibility that court action will follow providing the party at faoul fault does not give in to the charges made. "They are just digging themselves into a hole," Frooks said. Barriers Abound At USC BY MERRY BATEMAN You have the potential of becoming handicapped from an illness or an accident which might set you in a wheel chair for a few months or a lifetime. Have you ever thought what barriers might exist for you as a student at USC? Architectural barriers to the handicapped are abundant at USC. I)r. Hay Allen, coordinator for rehabilitation, stated most of the buildings on campus are inac cesible to handicapped students. "When the Coliseum was built, the handicapped studen'ecomesa backdoor citizen. He had to use the freight elevator to get to class. His first problem was getting out of the parking lot. Now the building has one curb ramp to get into it." According to South Carolina and Federal Law, any federally funded building must meet the standards for accessibility to the han dicapped. USC is not technically meeting this standard. Most of the buildings were here before the law was established. "We want to guarantee that the new buildings are barrier free," Allen said. "Any architect knows what devices need to be put into a building. The only was to have a barrier free campus is with our new buildings." Allen sees the need for external accessibility with curb ramps and entrance ways. Internally, elevators and bathroom facilities are needed. 96 per cent of han dicapped people can not use drinking fountains or public telephones. The university is becoming more aware of the needs of the han dicapped student. The first (See BAnnItl.:n, Iage.-n