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This is almost surely related to the insurance policy PSU has for official clubs. If the Outing Club could get liability insurance for itself, I doubt that PSU
by nimish 9y ago
This is almost surely related to the insurance policy PSU has for official clubs. If the Outing Club could get liability insurance for itself, I doubt that PSU would care. If it wants to use the university's policy, it plays by the university's rules, no matter how stupid they are, because it's really the insurance company's rules. Because the university is a giant cash cow that's target #1 if anything goes wrong, and what the Outing Club does has a high chance of injury (try getting travel insurance that covers what these guys do -- it's way more expensive).
This article just feels like clickbait. No analysis of why the university might have taken a decision that on the surface is bizarre but is reasonable given a moment's thought.... ironic given the name of the site.
- snowwrestler 9y agoIf it is related to insurance, I don't think that makes Penn State look any better. Far smaller universities and colleges have outing clubs that are covered by the institutional insurance policy. Some schools like Middlebury even run officially sanctioned and organized outings for matriculating students. This is not impossible or expensive coverage to get.
- nimish 9y agoPSU has unlimited coffers as a state school and the Outing Club is very popular, and also run by amateurs. A perfect storm for e.g. a rich international student to get injured or killed and then have their parents sue Pennsylvania for megabucks. This is 100% related to liability reduction. No insurance company would cover a high-risk activity group without demanding conditions like being able to call 911 or medevac. The condition demanded here is 100% reasonable given the risk. Reason is complaining about people wanting to do risky things and have other people pay for them which is par for the course for libertarianism these days, I guess.
- wtallis 9y agoYou might want to look into the insurance coverage that the Boy Scouts of America has, with what is a shoestring budget by comparison. There's no way reasonable insurance is difficult for Penn State to obtain or afford.
- snowwrestler 9y ago> the Outing Club is very popular, and also run by amateurs. This is true of hundreds, maybe thousands of colleges and universities in the U.S. It's not unusual to have a college outing club that is led by students. > No insurance company would cover a high-risk activity group without demanding conditions like being able to call 911 or medevac. This is just incorrect. Backcountry activities are not necessarily higher risk than other activities, and insurance companies will certainly cover such activities. Again: many, many colleges and universities already have coverage for their outing clubs.
- SimbaOnSteroids 9y agoI guarantee that's why the Rugby club is allowed to stay. Having previously played organized rugby in school you pretty much have to sign away your rights to sue and acquire rather comprehensive insurance for injuries obtained as a result of playing. Additionally the game was strictly monitored for dangerous behavior such as high tackling and collapsing the ruck/scrum/maul. If the outings club were able to obtain such insurance and get trained supervisors for their outings I doubt they'd have trouble getting the official seal of approval.
- crystaln 9y agoThe university insures their football and ruby teams. Surely they can get insurance for other clubs, even if it means losing some money. Students do after all pay record tuition.
- smsm42 9y agoSo insurance didn't exist for 98 years the club existed? Or how comes it existed for 98 years doing all the same activities, but now suddenly it can't do the same thing they did for all those years?