The Cadre + 24 March 1998

LETTERS. TO° THE. EDITOR

Editor:

I am responding to the article that appeared in the March 10 issue of The Cadre entitled “SU violates BOG health by-law.” As the student health plan administrator, | feel the article is misleading. First, 1 well address Carrie MacDonald’s comment that “Dental insurance should have been covered in my health plan...a lot of other universities cover dental and I don’t see why ours should not.” UPEI’s student health plan is underwritten by Student Benefit Trust Administrators (SBTA), a company dealing exclusively with student health insurance plans. SBTA administers sixteen student health plans across Canada, only four of which offer dental coverage. The Student Union, in choosing a health plan, must consider the needs and wishes

of students as well s follow UPEI’s by-laws. The UPEI Calendar 1996-1998 states “The student |)

medical plan is a supplement to the Prince Edward Island Medicare plan and covers the student

(Canadian and foreign) for certain benefits, not otherwise provided by Medicare [emphasis

mine]” (304). The statement that our health plan is in violation of the BOG by-law because it does not also include dental coverage is false. The prescription drug pay-direct card is one of several examples of our student health plan supplying a benefit not covered by Medicare. Four years ago, Student Council surveyed students regarding the addition of dental benefits; the survey result was that students did not wish to pay the larger premium for dental coverage--a premium that was approximately three times the cost of the present health plan's. The Student Union evaluates annually the effectiveness of its plan and the possibility of adding or deleting benefits in the best interests of UPEI students.

Sincerely,

Dianne Stevenson Student Union Administrative Assistant

To the Staff of The Cadre:

I am writing in order to clarify my Letter to the Editor, which was printed in this week’s issue of The Cadre. I realize now (and I freely admit, a little too late), that | overgeneralized in my numerous critiques of The Cadre and its staff. I’m sure that I probably gave the impression that I believed all of the articles published in The Cadre were poorly written, and that all of the writers for the Cadre were “preschoolers with impressive vocabularies”. This is definitely not the case. Overall, the calibre of writing published in The Cadre is excellent. Many writers, including Todd MacLean, Rob Maclsaac, and Eryn Fagan, submit articles which are well researched, and very well written, on a regular basis. But there are also articles which are very poorly written, such as those mentioned in my letter. My main concern, was the obvious lack of editing of those articles which so sorely needed it, including the editorial itself. I did not mean to denounce and defame the entire Cadre staff. So to those who | unintentionally stereotyped and offended, I sincerely apologize! As for the overall Editor of the paper, I would really like to help you. If you would like to offer me a portion of your salary, 1 would be glad to assist you in editing future issues of The Cadre. | hope this letter was a little more constructive than my last.

Sincerely,

Neil Barry

JR. Capone s Pizza

79 University Avenue Phone: 892-1113 North River

Phone 892-3112

fSPECIALS

17” Pizza (7 toppings) 12”Garlic fingers

lg pop $16.78+tax

2 12”Pizzas (7 toppings)

lg pop $13.60

17” Pizza (3toppings) Pome ammwerb cI $9.99+tax