The welfare of graduate students’ teeth was the leading topic of Monday night’s Graduate Student Senate meeting.

Several ideas concerning dental care were discussed, including a report on staffing the new Student Health Center with a dentist; however, a GSS committee discovered that staffing a dentist would not be cost-effective.

Senator Nicholas Lewin brought up the possibility of dental insurance for all graduate students.

“We want to find out what kind of support we can get from this,” Lewin said.

Lewin said a proposal from the insurance committee would offer dental insurance to all graduate students who receive 20-hour-a-week stipends for their assistantships.

Lewin said he might speak to another carrier and compare plans.

“We don’t want to implement a plan that was across-the-board mandatory,” President Kevin Ragland said. “We need something that is optional.”

The insurance committee will give a recommendation before the senate later this semester, Ragland said.

In other news

*Dean of Students Kathleen MacKay spoke about the many services available for graduate students, mentioning various assistantship offices. Graduate students may pick up applications in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs in Beardshear Hall.

*Senator Brian Boyd spoke about the Internet Job Bank for members of the National Association for Graduate/Professional Students. The site will give listings of job postings at universities, nonprofit organizations, the government and private corporations. Boyd said the site could be reached on the Internet at http://www.nagps.org/NAGPS.

*The first reading of senate bill 97-01 passed. The bill would dissolve the office of the senate elections chair and delegate it to the parliamentarian.

*A bill was passed to see that the election of new senators would be complete and verified before the end of this semester.

*The next meeting of the Graduate Student Senate will be held Monday, Feb. 24, in the Gallery of the Memorial Union.