3.4.16 by Iowa State Daily

ISCORE addresses race issues By Jeanette.Van Zomeren @iowastatedaily.com

Emma Kelley/Iowa State Daily

Heather Hackman talks at a pre-conference workshop for the Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity on Thursday.

ISCORE, the Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity, is a conference that takes place at Iowa State where students and faculty can come together to address issues on race and ethnicity. It models NCORE, which is the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity. The NSCORE-ISCORE Project, now renamed the Thomas L. Hill Iowa State Conference of Race and Ethnicity project, designates ISU students, faculty and staff to attend the NCORE conference and share the information gathered from the conference at the ISCORE event.

The conference has taken place at Iowa State for 17 years. Last year, 120 faculty and teachers attended the pre-conference, and 650 people, including faculty, teachers and staff, attended the main conference, which will take place the next day. Japannah Kellogg, NSCORE/ ISCORE project director and program coordinator for the student support services program, speculated that the attendance this year will increase. “Probably more important than the numbers [in attendance] is the balance of participants so that we have increased in faculty participation,” Kellog said. Kellog made it clear that getting more teachers and staff involved

this year is the conference’s main goal. By introducing the ISCORE champion, which is a year long sponsorship for the colleges, Kellogg hopes faculty involvement will increase. One faculty member who will be speaking at the pre-conference this year is Margaret LaWare, associate professor of English. LaWare started going to the conference to support her students who attended but finds the conference to benefit her as well. “I feel it’s important to really hear what different people are experiencing here around campus, particularly issues around race,” LaWare said. “Also, thinking about ways to take that into teaching and being a community member.”

The conference takes place to hear students and faculty discuss race and ethnicity issues that arise because of Iowa State’s diverse campus. “We recruit a diverse population to enhance our student body, but we need to put things in place to allow an inclusive environment for everyone,” Kellogg said. “ISCORE allows for at least the conversations to be had.” The ISCORE pre-conference took place from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union, which is open to all university employees. The ISCORE 2016 conference will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday in the Memorial Union and is open to all students and faculty.

FINISHING THE RIGHT WAY

Lani Tons/Iowa State Daily

ISU strives to ‘finish’ going into Big 12 Tournament

Men not feeling pressure entering season finale

By Luke.Manderfeld @iowastatedaily.com

By Ryan.Young @iowastatedaily.com

The rhetoric around the ISU women’s basketball team near the end of this season has been about finishing the right way. ISU coach Bill Fennelly even has it written on the board inside the team’s locker room. As the regular season dwindled down and the Cyclones’ hopes of grabbing an at-large bit into the NCAA Tournament dwindled with it, Fennelly has continued to preach the importance of finishing. He especially stressed it to his young players who will carry this team next season and for seasons to come. But now that the regular season has come to a close and the team is prepping for the conference tournament, finishing is as important as ever. Iowa State (13-16, 5-13 Big 12) will play in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament against Texas Tech (12-17, 3-15 Big 12) at 6 p.m. Friday in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Cyclones are the eighth seed in the tournament, and the Lady Raiders sit in ninth. “It’s always the same when you get into postseason tournaments,” Fennelly said. “It’s a win-or-go-home mentality. We just want to play to the best of our ability, and when the last game ends, whenever it is, you know you played it to the best of

While many teams in the Big 12 are still jockeying for position as the regular season winds down, Iowa State isn’t feeling that pressure. No. 21 Iowa State (21-9, 10-7 Big 12) will head to Lawrence, Kan., on Saturday to take on No. 1 Kansas (26-4, 14-3 Big 12) in the final game of the regular season. As for seeding in the Big 12 Tournament, though, the Cyclones likely won’t move much. Regardless if Iowa State wins or loses Saturday, it will likely be the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament. While who they play is still to be decided, chances are still high that the Cyclones will be the sixth seed. Kansas seems locked into the No. 1 seed for the Big 12 tournament, too. Because a loss wouldn’t affect the Cyclones much, point guard Monté Morris said they’re just going to have fun with it. “We’re just going to go in there and play loose; have fun with it,” Morris said. “Don’t try to go in there and play too tense. Just play basketball and let the chips fall where they may… I’m going to have fun. It’ll probably be one of my funnest games I’ll play here.” Senior Jameel McKay knows they don’t have much to play for seeding-wise,

WBB p4

MBB p4

Medicaid privatization has small effect on state students By Thomas.Nelson @iowastatedaily.com The state of Iowa is moving forward with the “modernization” of Medicaid in the state, effective April 1, but the effect on students should be minimal. The plan allows for three private health care providers to manage the care of those with low incomes and those who are disabled. Gov. Terry Branstad has argued the plan will save the state money, while Democrats have said the move would put low-income Iowans at risk of worse care. The plan will likely not have

much of an impact on ISU students. “It’s only going to effect students that were on Medicaid,” said state Rep. Lisa Heddens, D-Ames. Even students who were on Medicaid shouldn’t have problems because the university offers health insurance to students who are taking at least five credit hours, which they are free to switch to. The SSHIP plan, or the Students and Scholar’s Health Insurance Program, offered by Iowa State, offers health coverage for ISU students. “Six thousand or so students are signed for insurance with the university,” said Edward Hollands,

director of benefits with University Human Resources. The SSHIP plan isn’t the only health insurance program for students. Iowa’s 509A13B law allows students to continue to be covered by their parents until the age of 25. Mack Shelley, university professor of political science, said the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, might also benefit students. Passed in 2010, the ACA allows for full-time college students to remain on their parents’ insurance until they’re 26. The plan to privatize or “modernize” Medicaid was delayed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The

original implementation date was set for Jan. 1, but CMS said Iowa was moving too fast. Currently, three Iowa groups will provide Iowa Medicaid, according to the Iowa Department of Human Services website. Those groups are the IA Health Link, Medicaid Feefor-Service and hawk-i. Some students can still be affected by the change in Medicaid, but those students still have the option to use the SSHIP program at Iowa State if they can’t be covered by their parents’ insurance. Opponents of the new measure argue that privatization could lead to the three companies holding an oligopoly over prices, Shelley said.

The Iowa Senate also voted 3218 on an oversight bill for the new Medicaid plan Wednesday. “The success or failure of Medicaid managed care in Iowa depends on proper strategic planning and strong oversight, and the incorporation of the core values, principles, and goals of the strategic plan into Medicaid managed care contractual obligations,” according to the bill, Senate File 2213. State Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, voted for the oversight bill. In an earlier interview with the Daily before the start of the legislative session, Quirmbach said he was concerned about the entire process of privatizing Medicaid.