Response to Podiatry coverage

To the Editors:

This note is being provided to give a more complete picture concerning the problem noted in Dr. Milner's letter. He warned Oberlin College Employees on the Select Health Care Plan administered by JP Farley that care of one's feet by a podiatrist is not covered unless the individual has diabetes. Dr. Milner is correct that this is the interpretation of covered service that is offered by the new administrator of the HMO plan available to OCOPE employees.

What Dr. Milner's note does not say is this is a change in health care coverage provided to such employees. In fact for at least five years under three different HMO/ (PPO) health plans (Metra Health, MetLife and United Health Care) one could receive care for foot problems by a foot specialist. Though the College's answer to the above is that United Health Care was covering such services in error, experience with coverage of podiatry services under the preceding plans does not indicate one had to have diabetes to receive the care. The limitation of who the insurance company would allow to see a podiatrist for medical care was not made evident until employees in the Select Plan (new in Jan. '99) attempted to make appointments with podiatrist as was done in the past. This change in care was contrary to what employees understood in October 1999. They understood that the change from United Health Care to the Select Plan would be administrative only - no changes in conditions and benefits would be made. Experience with the health plans have indicated that employees who encountered pain in their foot 3-4 years ago were able to have the problem addressed, but if today you encounter this problem you make the choice to go without medical attention or pay the medical bills out of your own pocket. Dr. Milner is correct about the other health plan available to employees - so far it has covered podiatry service for anyone needing such care. However, this plan also means an out of pocket expense. It is a plan with double co-pay - a co-pay toward the premium and a co-pay for each doctor's visit. Though the co-pays may be affordable to some they are not affordable to all. For some employees the choice is a calculated risk - will I possibly have a foot condition that will not be covered and/or I can pay for the costs I encounter or do I attempt to live on less and enroll in a more costly plan. Either way the employees may find they cannot afford the health care they need: Especially the care needed for their feet.

--Julie E. Weir, Vice Pres. Region VII, Pres 0COPE, OPEIU Local 50 2

Networking does not need to carry negative connotations

To the Editors:

This may come as a saddening shock to some of you, but you can't stay in college forever. Eventually, most of you are going to have to take that infamous next step into the "work world." As someone who has held a few jobs and gone down more career paths than your average 28-year old, I can't stress enough the importance of maintaining the contacts you're making currently with fellow students and professors, and building a network of additional resources from the Oberlin alumni family in the future.

Networking. For some, this word has negative connotations. It implies a certain degree of slickness, like you're just "building friendships" in order to further a career. A more healthy way to look at networking is to view it as part of the Oberlin package. Students are currently experiencing what I hope is an immensely positive experience at this wonderful learning institution. Some may already have discovered that this unique Oberlin experience is a commonality they share with a large network of intelligent, open-minded individuals of many age groups found in virtually all walks of life.

Don't be shy. Reach out to these individuals. I think you will find most of them ready, willing and in many cases, able to assist you. Recently, I got a call from a '98 alumnus who was beginning graduate work in Cincinnati. Now I'm a fairly recent graduate, and I don't have vast resources by any stretch of the imagination, but I found myself ready, willing and able to assist this fellow Obie. He was new in town, and needed a place to stay for a few days because his apartment was not ready, so I invited him to stay with me. It was a small gesture on my part, but one that was greatly appreciated. It saved him from incurring three nights of hotel charges. Then I found out he was looking for a music teaching job. It just so happened that I had some contacts and was able to get him an interview. I can't take responsibility for him getting the job; that was his talent, drive and determination, but I did find it very satisfying when he stopped by to thank me for helping him secure the job he was looking for.

Why go out of my way? Because a few years before, Obies had gone out of their way to help me. That's part of the Oberlin package. Not only are you getting a great education, but you're also joining a family of people who want to help you achieve great things as students and as graduates.

This weekend, you'll see lots of alumni strolling the campus during the capital campaign kick-off. I encourage you to introduce yourself. When it comes to building strong professional and personal ties, it's never too early.

--Chris Pinelo '94, At-large member of the Executive Board of the Alumni Association

Buchanan is the perfect presidential candidate

To the Editors:

Oberlin must continue with its eternal pursuit of twin goals

To the Editors:

The long-range goal of the WAVE program (Words Are Very Enjoyable) is to maximize the chances that a representative number of black children in our area will score 1400 plus on the SATs and do "A" work in school. Indeed, WAVE actively seeks to help all children, white, Hispanic, etc., excel academically.

The College has a goal to enroll and to graduate 100 black students each year. The furtherance of WAVE's goal to get pre-college children ready helps the College attain its goal. Somewhere in the 21st century, both will surely be attained if both are supported.

Oberlinians must ensure that black children obtain a first-rate education before kindergarten and work to guarantee that it continues through high school. This is true because the number of black children in America who score 700 on the verbal section of the SATs and 700 in mathematics may scarcely exceed 100. There may be 100 times more whites in this category than blacks. This black-white phenomenon I call the SAT Massacre. And it exists principally because of both historical and contemporary racism in America, surely not primarily because one race is genetically superior to the other.

In spite of the incredibly small pool of superbly qualified black children in America, Oberlin College dared to set in 1971 the goal of enrolling and graduating 100 blacks with a boldness matching that exhibited by our Trustees in the early 1800's when they decided to embark upon the convulsive and revolutionary path of enrolling women and blacks at the College in an America in which it would be many years before either women or blacks could even vote. What they did back then was right and what the College did in 1971 was just as right. Certainly, President Dye's administration is highly dedicated to pursuing the goal well into the 21st century, however elusive and daunting it is.

All previous administrators since 1970 have been supportive of WAVE. President Dye's has been the most supportive and with other College support have sustained WAVE thus far. There is, I believe, full agreement that we want to work toward making pre-college education, even that offered at the pre-kindergarten level, superb for all children. Because of all of this support, WAVE has been able to guarantee that all pre-college children, not just black, who want academic tutoring can get as much help as they wish free of charge in any subject. No other college that I know of can make such a claim.

The philosophy undergirding WAVE is that we must prepare all children, even ghetto black children, to take and pass the true tests of life, not merely the SATs. The true tests include finding a cure for AIDs, cancer, heart diseases, attaining that measure of justice and fairness in the world so that we Americans would not need a hundred thousand nuclear weapons for protection. Many supporters of WAVE believe that poor blacks, whites, Hispanics, etc. have an inseparable interest in issues of good jobs, medical care, safe neighborhoods, and the like. In a word, we believe that in time the different colors of our skin will be no more meaningful than the different sizes of our little toes. Preparing our children to pass these kinds of tests is, indeed, the most important work and goal of WAVE, and it is a most important justification for aiming to enroll and to graduate 100 black students each year.

If every city and college pursued WAVE's and the College's goals as seriously as we, there might be far fewer blacks in prisons, neighborhoods would be safer, bonds uniting different races could be unbreakable, etc. All of this might be true. But the far more compelling reason to help WAVE and the College attain their goals remains America's need to find solutions to all the world's most perplexing problems, like those mentioned earlier. WAVE believes that those answers might very well be found among the enormous, undeveloped pool of black children.

--Booker Peek, Professor of African-American Studies

Starting point for further discussion on deans

To the Editors:

This is in response to Peter Goldsmith's letter asking for input on restructuring the administration. I agree there are flaws in the current (extremely fragmented) system and I applaud his endeavor to include the entire community in the process. The solution presented would create a new set of Deans with an "all-round" picture of the student. Their responsibilities would center solely on student care.

A system where one person oversees all aspects of a student's life leaves much to that person's world-view and ideas. If you put someone who believes mental and emotional issues are "rubbish and excuses" into a position of power, great harm can be done. On the other hand, that person could be liberal and understanding, identifying problems before they occur and working with students through their stay.

Therefore, I think any system we devise requires institutional constraints on how much the "all-seeing" Dean could do. Ideally, he/she would be an advocate for a student in diverse settings - and no more. For example, he/she could use his knowledge to present a holistic and credible picture of the student to the Academic Standing or Study Away Committees.

On a practical note, it seems virtually impossible that a single person could personally know each member of a 700-strong class at a deep level. In addition, grasping each aspect of an individual's Oberlin life may require a great deal of specialized knowledge in diverse areas. So, the question is: how personal, broad and in-depth do we want this "student care" to be? If the answer is, "To the extent possible" perhaps we could create a committee consisting of the Department Heads considered pivotal. That way, the Dean could act as the mechanism by which individual students' cases or issues which affect a number of students were brought to the committee.

The heads of departments could provide in-depth information from their student files and their "specialist" perceptions, with a consensual and democratic result. In that case, the committee would be the one making strong recommendations to other bodies - and perhaps having veto power. This has the added benefit of ensuring greater coordination between departments. While this sounds bureaucratic and messy, the current system - where one office has no clue about what another may be thinking until a fragment of paper arrives - is not optimal. Making a single person responsible for 700 students is problematic. Finally, some method needs to be put forward to ensure that a student is not held hostage to a single person's views.

I can see problems with all the approaches outlined. However, this is intended as a starting point for further discussion. I wish Dean Goldsmith, his staff and the College the best in what is, at best, a difficult task.

--Jaya S. Bajpai, College senior

Thanks again field hockey

To the Editors:

As a first-time sports writer for the Review, I'd like to thank the Oberlin varsity women's field hockey team for their kind cooperation over the course of the season. Before this fall, I'd seen several field hockey games but had little real understanding of what is in fact a complex and under-appreciated sport. Head Coach Elizabeth Graham and the players she works with - nearly 20 in all - helped me every step of the way, explaining the oddities of the game and humoring me as I slowly developed my humble interviewing skills. In the words of another field hockey fan: "You are all winners!" Thanks for an exciting season - it's been a pleasure to watch and a privilege to cover.

All the best,

--Neal Schindler, College junior