"SICKO"
A Michael Moore documentary
7 p.m. Wednesday, Room 109
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THE UNI HIGH Activism Club will sponsor a showing of the Michael Moore documentary “Sicko” at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Room 109.

A communitywide panel discussion on health care issues will follow in January. The date has yet to be determined.

“Sicko” investigates America’s health care system and its for-profit health insurance and pharmaceutical industries.

Almost 50 million Americans lack health insurance, but as Moore tells it, even the millions who are insured often find out their coverage is inadequate when they put in a claim.

The documentary compares and contrasts these aspects of the American system to the universal, nonprofit systems of health coverage found in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Cuba.

"Sicko," which runs 123 minutes, was released in the United States on June 22 and earned $4.6 million in 441 theaters on its opening weekend, the second-highest total for a documentary. Only Moore's 2004 "Fahrenheit 9/11" did better. As of Oct. 24, "Sicko" had earned $25.6 million in U.S. theaters.

The film premiered May 19 at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation. The DVD version was released on Nov. 6.

“Sicko” is the latest in a series of documentaries on social and political issues that Activism Club plans to show this year. The previous documentary was “Race to Execution," shown on Oct. 30.

The idea of a panel on health care issues began with seniors Shara Esbenshade, Eunice How, and Rachel Hurley, who were inspired after attending the Health Care Design Intensive Conference, held Oct. 11-14 in Urbana to discuss ways to improve the U.S. health care system.

Their initial idea was to use the panel to follow up on the short discussion that was to take place immediately after students and others viewed "Sicko."

“We were going to have a panel of local people involved with health care who had opinions about the subject, along with some people who attended the workshop,” said senior Marika Iyer, one of the presidents of Activism Club. “It just ended up growing into a bigger thing, and it’s now going to be communitywide and televised.”

Other plans for Activism Club include a nightlong book pack-a-thon (similar to a lock-in) for Books for Prisoners. The club also hopes to join with fellow clubs Students for a Better World and Unicef Club to put together a hunger banquet.

Said Iyer, “We’re just trying to get people talking and more aware.”