.Editorial Student insurance should offer more The ASl'O group health 111sur.in< e plan olfered through Thu Prudential (!o om r seemed like .1 great deal for .ill students Iml rising premiums and falling benefits have made il less attractive The reasons for all tins have been documented in depth ("between The Hock and a Irani place ODE, ()i t 2). and the current deteriorating situation paints a downbeat picture for the future ol the AM ’() Prudential plan. It s easy to understand Prudential's need to in crease the premiums lor the last two years in whit h Prudential has offered the plan, the company has lost money l ast year it lost more than $21)0.000 You also have to credit Prudential for working with the Student Health Insurance < ommittee When negotiations began to settle this veai's plan. Prudential was asking toi more than a 150 percent ini lease in pre miums at loss tin' hoard After working with SI 11( . that increase was lessened to about a 50 percent hike loi students \\ ith no dependents Hut students are students and rate iiu reuses are rate increases II this group plan is going to Ik. the people purr basing the plan have to feel thev re getting their money s worth It has been pointed out that the AS! < )'s group plan is not a good linanri.il venture lor Prudential, bet ause the only students purc hasing the plan are those who most need it and are therefore more likely to collect Students able to sec ure another, better-paving agree ment will certainly go elsewhere As the rates increase, the number ol part it ipants in the ASl’O Prudential group plan will decrease, and dec reasing pool of partic ipants will make the whole system less and less tenable. The only wav this system will work, if Prudential continues to raise the premium, is if the 1 ompany t an offer better services. There are two weaknesses to the ASl’O Prudential plan that have been roundk 1 rili cizeil: 11) Contrary to what is implied in the1 brochure, there are no refunds foi students w ho wish to leave the plan, and (2) students are required to pay a lump sum for the insurance, and t annul pay in monthly install ments. Adding these two services would go a long wav to ward easing the concerns of foreign students, who art1 required to have health insurant e to stuck here, and graduate teac hing fellows, who are lacing c atastrophic financial t rises These two services would also help re store the damaged reputation ol P1udenti.1l as a compa ny willing to work with students Without that reputa tion. students defer ting to other bettei plans will chip away at The Rock until the plan ceases to exist not again ■mis CHEMICAL WEAPON WAS BOUGHT RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE WHITE HOUSE! Rape awareness week, right on target (dnupus student groups are again e\ pressing their corn ern. interest ami imukr menl in soi i.11 issues I Ills \\t'l'k (he ASI () Women s ( (‘iitrr is sponsoring a rape aware ness week (ailed "(dealing a Rape I lee I11 vironmenl Although tile title of the week may lie more ol an ideal than a realitv the effort these people are making is more than net es sar\ Rape is nothing new m our sot iet\ and ,is we enter the If 1st century. more informa tion about rape is t.timing to the siirfat e An ini reuse in violent crimes against women mm be part of the reason for a change in attitudes In the past feu years women have been arming themselves with handguns, getting trained in how to use them and carrying them on their person Sell-detent e t lasses ol all sorts have been till the rise and women are the inujoi part it i p.mis There is even a free self-defence class t ailed Self Defense for Women, whit h is til lered on t ampus Women are t,iking some serious at lion to protet I themselves. Since the early Iliads there has been a drastic change in women's roles in society The stereotype al fem.de role of mother, u ife .iiui homemaker is no longer a realiU lor mam women in America. Many women now see themselves as all ot the above in ad dition to career women As women have tak en on more individual responsibilih it is possible that men's roles have changed in the process This mav have caused men to harbor some aggression and resentment to ward women and it seems th.it little etfort has been made to help men adjust to the slidt in roles. We as a community need to address the dillerences caused In sexual role changes and there are groups in the area that are working to solve the problem of rape, such as the Rape Crisis Network. Womenspace and Men Against Rape Community forums counseling and events such as this week's "< beating a Rape l-'ree Knvironment" make a great deal of difference in ( ommuniU aware ness of rape The \\ omen's (lentwr is to be i ommend ed for i renting and sponsoring such a valu able event It has produced a schedule wTii h includes sin h topic s as sexual c rimes and the judicial system, self defense, date rape and sexual assault. Letters— Not thought out I llllllk Mill lilt till' 11.1 iI mi till' lie.ill In titling I ’.it i u 1.1 I .mi belts letter [01)1 Sept 2T| Stereotype ” t)iii i* again. tlif (’.reek svsti'in is tlif target ol i i itii.isin th.it was oln imish onl\ half n.iv thought nut I .1 g 11 "l • tll.lt till' SVStelll nt Kush used In snrnritii's tnd.n is nut III dull' .mil lU'i'ds to Ilf If fV.ilu.itfd I .dsn bflifVf til.it thfsf women v\ hn .iff our lu tun* leaders deserve .i morf digtulifil introdui linn to the ( ill'I'k s\ stf 111 .lllll w li.it it i .in nfff r them llmuivrr, I vfhfnifntlv dis agree with, .mil vfiv much re sfiit. thf implication that he i ,msf .i woman is .i sororitv ineinher. or Ihh ause a woman i hotisi's to dress .i i frt.iin \va\ . shf is going to hf the vie tint ol rape K.ipe does not oi t III due to sexual desire, blit rather it is an at t ot violent e. and no one spe i iln group ot women is singled Dill I also leel sliongly about tin i oinmritt tli.it llir "sorority Hirl" imago is .1 staple ut pur tlographv Is it our tault tliat tins industry lias perverted and exploited what hi1 stand lor? I’nlortuuatelv. it is very hard to hrisik Irei' ol llir nnsi 0111 ep lions and storeoly pus which have been impost'll on soi n't\ Yet anyone who really knows ns realt/es that we are In no means sorority girls We are women who share the 1 onnnon bond ol a sorority and yye are striving to meet the higher and broadet demands ol mature life whit h 1111 lodes battling tin fair stereotypes Kac hue I I ester Kappa \!pha Theta No justification I apprec iated avowed "con servative” Mark Salvo’s views 1 DIM Sept JH| regarding the madness ut assault rifle availa bililv However uni- statement Sal vu made bol hurt'll me vm mm h. and I i an t let it pass 1 le said, ini tit mi t it will all good in tention. that "nubod\ can pisti l\ am sort of domestic assault rdli’ use llii' implication is that non-donu'stii (i c outside our national borders) assault ri tie use ma\ be justifiable It is well past time to i ballenge that assumption Rambus gor\ exploits not withstanding. 1 think we owe it to ourselves to vividly imagine the effei Is of assault weapon proje< tiles on innocent human llesh. and realize that these oc cur with horrendous regularil\ around the globe Often, genuine and net essarv liberation struggles are nranip ul.ited through I in rative weapons imports into bottom less pits of self destruction tor those oppressed peoples lo them, certainly, the effects of these weapons are 'domestic U ea polls like IDIISI lulls ness enslaving drugs (to make ,i distinction). are simply tools u! i hnice lur ,i world view rooted in thr notion ot ilm primal \ ot violfiu c lhere is .inothi'r para digm another wav to regard uni roles and possibilities on I mill a wav that does not re suit in the use ot weapons against llesh and psvi he Students ot lite w ho wish to i onsuier the alternative may w ish to i hei k out War Kesisters League U'l l.afa\ette St. \'i t 10(112 It s one of the oldest and most effective pai itist or gani/ations in the world V ip Short Kugene Sit down I would like to eni.ourage freshmen, and anyone else, to sit down and examine the kinds of groups they could he involv ed w ith this year There are iii