Monday, December 7, 2009
The health-care debate is plastered all over the media.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the average KU student understands it.
Cara Smith and Stephanie Atwood sure didn’t. So, as co-coordinators of Concerned Active and Aware Students, they decided to do something about it.
“We were just thinking about how there’s all this news about health care and reform in the media now, but neither of us really knew what any of it meant,” Smith said. “And I got the impression from other people I talked to that they didn’t really know either.”
To help students navigate the debate, CAAS will hold a Health Policy Awareness Campaign today and tomorrow in front of Wescoe Hall. Co-coordinators Smith, Topeka sophomore, and Atwood, Topeka junior, have organized the campaign to present the issues and facts of health-care reform with nonpartisan intentions.
Atwood said that the presentation of the issue was often too complicated or biased, which made it difficult for students to make informed choices.
“We want students to be well-informed, to have opinions about the issue and then do something about their opinions to shape how Kansas senators vote for the bill,” she said.
Atwood said a common misconception about the bill was about the public option. She said many Americans viewed this as the equivalent to a government takeover of health care. Atwood said she didn’t know what the public option meant until she started researching it, and found that, in reality, the public option would be available alongside private insurance.
Raising student interest in the debate
Students may not be interested in the debate because it is too complicated to understand.
Jen Welch, Michigan sophomore, who works at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, offered another explanation. She said many students weren’t concerned about the health-care debate because they were still on their parents’ insurance plan.
Welch said the Dole Institute held an event during Homecoming Week this fall to refute the top-10 myths about health-care reform. Only two people showed up.
“They’re not really worried about what it all means for the future,” she said. “It doesn’t really affect them now, so they don’t really care.”
Welch said students should care about this issue because they won’t always be on their parent’s plan. One day, they will be responsible for their own insurance.
Smith said CAAS would be handing out fliers with all the information laid out in simple, concise language. She said CAAS would also chalk the facts on sidewalks all across campus.
“We’re just trying to promote awareness,” she said. “We’re also giving out information on how to contact senators, so if students do feel they’re opposed or for the bill they can contact their senator and let them know what their opinions are, and hopefully they can decide what they want to do about it.”
— Edited by Brenna M.T. Daldorph
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