There were also complaints regarding lengthy and inefficient OIE reporting processes. One of OIE’s main goals is handling complaints as equitably as possible, Seney said in a sit-down interview with The Daily in April. “I would say the overarching mission really is to make sure that the University is responding fairly and appropriately to concerns that exist,” Seney said. “Then, of course, we also have a role in preventive and educational work as well. So, I wouldn’t limit our overall mission to just responding to particular concerns, but I would say that is where we spend a lot of time and effort and that’s a significant priority.” Seney also spoke about OIE’s priorities with regards to investigations in the April interview. She noted how the department is tasked with dealing with reports efficiently and ensuring the safety of everyone on campus. “I would say our priority of course is always to address all of the matters,” Seney said. “And as quickly as possible, which is difficult to do, especially as we’ve had really significant increases over the last couple of years and the number of reports that we’ve received, and to do them in that fair and appropriate way, make sure that people are supported.” A public health junior, who has chosen to remain anonymous due to ongoing legal action surrounding her case, went through a Title IX investigation last year. She said Seney didn’t work directly with her case but interacted with her throughout the process of the investigation. Given how she said her situation was handled, the junior was upset to learn Seney had been named Title IX coordinator. “Basically, she completely disregarded how we were feeling and didn’t take us seriously for a second,” she said. “I’m not very happy that she’s the Title IX coordinator.” The Public Health junior said OIE’s processes were not as fair as Seney had described them to be in the April interview. “Seney, OIE and the University as a whole (have) taught me throughout this process that they don’t care about the claimants getting justice or even having fair investigations or fair hearings,” she said. “All they only care about is not getting sued, and doing whatever it takes not to get sued.” Nevertheless, University spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald commended Seney’s past work with OIE and expressed support for her new position. “Elizabeth Seney has served our university community very well as deputy Title IX coordinator and as interim Title IX coordinator,” Fitzgerald wrote in an email to The Daily. “It was clear she was the best candidate for this important leadership position within OIE.” Clinton and Condoleezza Rice, former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power. The Public Policy School posted the schedule of dates for the upcoming speakers last week, with lecture topics ranging from U.S.-North Korean relations to security in the Persian Gulf. John Ciorciari, director of the WDC and associate professor of public policy, said the idea for the WDC began last summer and was well-received by the Weiser family from its conception. “Last summer, we started a conversation with the Weisers about the prospect of doing something a little bit larger around the theme of practical training in foreign affairs, and also around the theme of policy engagement with the diplomatic community,” Ciorciari said. “They share a priority that we have to train students not just in the classroom, but also in a variety of ways outside the classroom.” While the speaker series will bring strong figures from the world of diplomacy to the University this fall, the WDC staff itself also boasts top leaders and experts in foreign policy. WDC Senior Adviser Melvyn Levitsky served as the United States Ambassador to Bulgaria and the United States Ambassador to Brazil. WDC Program Coordinator Zuzana Wiseley previously served at various foreign missions and was an Assistant to the Ambassador of India in Bratislava. As the WDC grows and student interest increases, the center is planning to expand the international policy focused curriculum within the Public Policy School. Levitsky explained the importance of having a hub for foreign affairs in the Midwest. “A lot of the schools that teach this kind of work are in Washington, D.C.,” Levitsky said. “I think we’ll offer an alternative of being away from inside the Beltway, and having good instruction, both from our regular faculty and from people like me who are former practitioners, and we’re looking forward to it.” Ciorciari also mentioned the value of the WDC’s location within the Midwest, mentioning the University as a leading force in the field of foreign policy. Beyond the continuation of leadership in the field, Ciorciari said the goal of the upcoming speaker series is to introduce more students to the WDC and the robust resources the University has to offer. “We really want to be a visible leading hub in the Midwest for engagement with foreign affairs,” Ciorciari said. “We hope that this big launch series will help to broadcast to prospective students, to friends of the University, to the general public, to policymakers, that U-M, which has always been an important contributor to conversations on global policy issues, is going to be even more central going forward.” The WDC also recently announced the inaugural cohort of Weiser Diplomacy Fellows. The fellows receive support for up to two years of study within the fields of diplomacy and foreign affairs and can be rewarded up to $20,000 per year. Marianna Smith is a Master of Public Policy student at the Ford School and is one of four fellows in the cohort. WDC Fellows are responsible for promoting and advocating for the center on campus and assisting the WDC staff in contacting potential speakers for upcoming events. Smith’s goals as a fellow include diversifying the field of diplomacy and utilizing the WDC’s resources to further her career. “My goal would be to promote the fellowship to minority or underrepresented groups in diplomacy, to make our campus more diverse, and to make any career in diplomacy more diverse,” Smith said. take place on the U-M Dearborn campus. Hani Bawardi, an associate professor of history at U-M Dearborn, said even though CBP was the agency that called campus, any DHS presence on campus can be a legitimate cause for fear. “It’s no surprise that the students would be very concerned given the current situation,” Bawardi said. “ICE is a very powerful government agency with a six-billion-dollar budget. It is sort of a byproduct of a merger between the former Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Customs Service under the umbrella of Homeland Security, and it has almost unfettered powers.” ICE Presence in Michigan According to the 2018 Enforcement and Removal report, ICE made 158,581 administrative arrests in the 2018 fiscal year, as opposed to the 143,470 arrests made in 2017. The number of arrests rose partly in response to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13768, signed Jan. 25, 2017, which stated sanctuary cities not compliant with ICE orders could be denied federal funding. In the past two years, CBP enforcement has increased, too: In 2017, more than 500,000 total enforcement actions were taken, including apprehensions and administrative arrests at U.S. points of entry, while over 1,000,000 were taken in 2019. Bawardi said the rise in arrests and apprehensions at the U.S. border sparked conversations at universities nationwide about the best ways to protect students who may be worried about their immigration status. “Since the consolidation of government agencies and the erosion of civil liberties overall, the question now is, ‘what happened to our institutions?’” Bawardi said. “‘Are they still safeguarding the rights of their constituents? Do students’ rights still matter to the university on the administrative level?’ That, frankly, is not clear.” Vikash Mehan, LSA senior and co-president of the Ann Arbor campus’ American Civil Liberties Union chapter, said it can often be difficult for universities like the three U-M campuses to offer support to undocumented students when federal funding is involved. “The University does express a lot of support for these groups, but part of the issue is federal funding and stuff, and we (the University) can’t really go against what the federal government wants,” Mehan said. “So, a lot of (the work) would have to be support of the community around Ann Arbor and around Dearborn, and them giving support to the immigrant populations.” University Action In 2017, U-M President Mark Schlissel signed a “statement of support for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program and our undocumented immigrant students” along with nearly 70 other university administrators across the country. The statement was drafted by Pomona College and called for universities to resist Trump’s attempts to terminate the DACA program. According to a 2017 statement from U-M Public Affairs, the three U-M campuses also comply with a 2011 DHS policy that defines universities as “sensitive locations.” Essentially, this means enforcement actions require special permission from DHS leadership before being carried out. Maria Ibarra-Frayre, a volunteer with the Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights and a School of Social Work alum, said even with these protections many undocumented students live in fear of CBP or ICE being present on campus. “Regardless of whether or not they called to set up operations or to do a training, for undocumented students and undocumented people, the threat of ICE in general or border patrol being present is scary enough,” Ibarra-Frayre said. “So, they see a border patrol car or an ICE car around, they’re not going to know what they’re doing. But that in and of itself causes a lot of fear.” She added that the University’s public actions in support of undocumented students are important, but there is still more work to be done to make sure all students feel protected on campus. “I really appreciate that the universities are taking a stand, and that they’re going public even when it’s a difficult thing to do,” Ibarra-Frayre said.. “Universities are so powerful, and the rest of the state really is looking to the University of Michigan to what is possible to do.” The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com News Tuesday, September 3, 2019 — 3A CBP From Page 1 CLINTON From Page 1 while cutting costs. In the announcement, UHS noted this change was necessary “to keep the health service fee unchanged this year, despite significant increases in expenses, including providing greater financial support to other student life units.” Dr. Robert Ernst, executive director of UHS, said these billing changes come with an increased pressure to create multiple revenue streams for UHS. “In the context of being asked to stay creative stay innovative and hold increases in the health service fees to a minimum, the easiest first step is to let the hospital bill what they’re doing, instead of us just paying for them,” Ernst said. Before this policy change, more than half of UHS’ nearly $300,000 yearly laboratory testing costs were from student STI checks, according to Ernst. According to the UHS website, for students who have Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medicare or any University of Michigan funded health care, bills should be covered. If a student has another type of insurance, coverage is not guaranteed. “It is ultimately the decision of your insurance company whether they will pay UHS,” the website reads. “If we do not receive payment from your insurance company, UHS will bill you and you will be responsible for payment.” UHS wants to help uninsured students enroll in Medicaid and has also released a new health insurance plan, Ernst said. CSG Vice President Isabelle Blanchard, an LSA senior, said CSG is planning on releasing a list of other options for STI testing, as well as a survey to monitor student concerns. “CSG has already begun communicating with students about this change, and plans to release a survey to the student body to learn more about how this might affect the student experience,” Blanchard wrote to The Daily in an email. Alternative options for inexpensive STI checks include Planned Parenthood or the Washtenaw County’s Sexual Health Services building. Neither offer free testing. Some students have expressed concerns about STI testing showing up on their parents’ EOB. A student who has requested to remain anonymous for this article said in a strict religious family such as her own, there would be consequences for her education if her parents knew she was tested. “Billing such tests to personal insurance removes that sense of safety a student gets from knowing their parents don’t know about their sex life,” she said. “Personally, I come from a highly orthodox family and if they knew I was having sex I would face pretty serious repercussions, the lowest of which would be pulling me out of school.” If students are concerned about their parents seeing the EOB for an STI test on the insurance bill, they should consider buying their own health insurance, Ernst said. “If a student is seeking confidential healthcare that they don’t want their parents to be made aware of, they might be individuals who might be interested in exploring their own personal student health insurance plan,” Ernst said. “At just over $1,700 a year, it might actually be more affordable for them than the extra cost to stay on their parents insurance, and then it would be certainly very confidential.” Parental disapproval is just one of the reasons students are worried about this new policy. Betsy Stubbs, Art & Design junior and SAPAC volunteer, said having free STI checks on a college campus eliminated barriers to getting tested. “People are already very reluctant to get tested for STIs,” Stubbs said. “There is such a negative stigma surrounding STIs that it makes it very difficult to work up the courage to get tested. U-M was taking steps in the right directions allowing testing to be free because that eliminated one more barrier. Handing out condoms can’t be the only thing this University tries to protect student’s sexual health.” Rackham student Kaley Makino, who is passionate about sexual health advocacy, said this also adds financial barriers to students in addition to the stigmatization. “Privatizing sexual health screenings will undoubtedly lower affordability and access to students who may or may not have personal insurance willing to cover the cost of the testing,” Makino said. “This will further discourage students to get STI screened because they will likely have to pay some portion out-of- pocket, which is an added expense many cannot afford.” All students interviewed for this article stated they were unaware these billing changes included the loss of STI tests previously-covered in their tuition. The anonymous student said she heard of the change from a reddit thread. I would say the overarching mission really is to make sure that the University is responding fairly and appropriately to concerns that exist. The second enrollment period covers Jan. 1, 2020 to Aug. 23, 2020, while the third enrollment extends from May 1, 2020 to Aug. 23, 2020. Each enrollment period charges a different fee. Burchett said the new plan includes the benefits from the AETNA plan — such as emergency room visits and an annual vision exam — but for a better price. “What we said is ‘we want the same plan that we had last year,’ in other words with the same benefits, but we were looking for a better price, and so Blue Care Network just did it for less than the other insurance companies did,” Burchett said. Under the new plan, students must use a Blue Care Network provider in the state of Michigan, and a Blue Cross provider outside the state, in order to be considered “in-network.” Essentially, if the student wants to receive coverage in the state of Michigan they must use a Blue Care Network provider but outside of Michigan must use Blue Cross. Still, Burchett doesn’t anticipate this will cause problems, since the company is nationwide and a big company. The Blue Care Network full- year plan for domestic students is $1,709 annually with a $100 deductible for in-network and out-of-network care, whereas the AETNA plan charged a $2,084 annual fee with a $500 deductible. However, the new plan could prove more expensive if a student required costly medical care. For example, under the new plan, the out-of-pocket maximum a student might pay would be $3,500 in-network and $7,000 out-of-network. The maximum was $2,500 under the AETNA plan. Engineering senior Gabriel Shlain uses the University- sponsored student health insurance. Shlain said the new plan works for him as a relatively healthy person, but it may hurt those with expensive medical conditions. “I assume that there are definitely other students here who have, probably outstanding medical conditions that I’m not aware of, and they might need more personalized care and more costly care that might cost more now with this plan, but for me that’s just not the case,” Shlain said. “So unless something actually bad were to happen to me or I run into a serious health condition, I prefer the plan right now, because for at least a yearly physical, testing, bloodwork, it gets the job done.” Benefits of the new plan include prescription drug coverage, clinic visits, mental health, annual vision exam, hospitalization, emergency room visits, ambulance service, dental coverage and more. According to the Domestic Student Health Insurance Plan website, the plan was negotiated by a Central Student Government student health insurance committee. CSG President Ben Gerstein said the plan serves as a good option for students and is excited to see how the plan works for international students, specifically. “I think the plan seems like a good option for students in terms of what it offers,” Gerstein said. “It covers dental, which I know is something UHS is excited about. I believe the significant change was that they put the international student plan and the domestic student plan under the same umbrella. I’m interested to see what the effects of that will be, and obviously communicate with international students to make sure they feel the UHS plan adequately covers their needs.” Around 1,600 students were enrolled in the new plan as of Aug. 27, while around 2,900 were enrolled in the AETNA plan during the third enrollment period, previously. Burchett said she expects the number of students enrolled in the new plan to increase throughout the year as more students hear about it or age out of their parents’ insurance plan. INSURANCE From Page 1 STI From Page 1 TITLE IX From Page 1