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THE OBSERVER August 23, 2012
News
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Seniors Face Issues with Financial Aid By RICHARD RAMSUNDAR News Co-Editor
This fall, many Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) seniors are facing issues keeping their financial aid and scholarships, leading to run-ins with the Office of Financial Aid and Enrollment Services. Some seniors have said they are having trouble keeping the aid they had from previous years. Carl Bhamdeo, FCLC ’13, said, “This year, I’ve been having problems with their Quality Assurance process. Previous years, the problem has been with other things.” Others like Nazia Kamruzzaman, FCLC ’13, have a different issue. Kamruzzaman said, “I still pay for education regardless of the scholarships and grants I have and all of my paychecks go to my loans, which leaves me with nothing. It would be helpful to have my aid cover more of my tuition.” The Office of Financial Aid at Fordham has not released an official response to the issue. Francoisline Joy Freeman, senior assistant director of student financial services, was unable to respond to questions, citing the busyness of the beginning of the semester. Jaunita John, FCLC ’13, said, “I have had to visit the Enrollment Services window a few times and make some calls to them this summer to get my scholarship infor-
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY AYER CHAN
A student expresses confusion as he visits the Office of Enrollment and Financial Services.
mation sorted out. The financial aid office answered my questions each time I approached them, but I’m still waiting to have all of the
information finalized. I would advise other students to keep checking their online account to make sure everything is updated and to
Claims Force VP to Resign BACKGROUND CHECKS FROM PAGE 1
firm representing Doe said that there were never any formal charges filed against Ligouri. Robert Hoatson is co-founder and president of Road to Recovery, a survivors network for victims of sexual abuse by priests. He was contacted by Liguori’s alleged victim in 2008 and worked with him before Doe decided he was not ready to continue with litigation. The lawsuit stems from the aftermath of Doe’s allegations. Although the Brothers stated that they could not substantiate Doe’s claims after completing their own investigation, they did offer to cover the costs of therapy, according to an article on LoHud. com. When the Brothers refused to cover more than one therapy session per week, Doe made his claim to receive the two or three sessions he believed he deserved. Hoatson said that during his time working with Liguori and the Brothers, there was nothing explicit that would hint at him sexually abusing a child. “I didn’t
have any knowledge or suspicion of him having abused anybody,” Hoatson said. “He was a climber; he endeared himself to the higherups, and was moving up the world of leadership at various levels.” The Edmund Rice Christian Brothers have made headlines recently as a series of sexual abuse allegations against them became public. According to Michael Reck, an attorney working on similar cases against the Brothers, these allegations are all coming out now because of the organization’s bankruptcy filing. With lawsuits against the organization piling up across the country, the organization’s attorneys decided that filing bankruptcy would be a better option than going to trial on all of them. As part of the bankruptcy procedures, claims against the Brothers had to be filed before Aug. 1. Reck said a little more than 400 claims came in as a result of them, including the claim involving Liguori. “One question is why didn’t someone come forward earlier,” Reck said. “The answer is because they were hurt as children. Most
people are not able to fully comprehend the nature and effect of what happened. A lot of people can never talk about this. The ones that do, it’s a little later in life.” In New York state, however, waiting has consequences. Due to the New York statute of limitations, it would be too late to litigate now something that happened in 1969. “Organizations like the Brothers will essentially placate the survivor,” Reck said, “and once they know the statue of limitations has passed, they’re essentially left out in the cold. Even if it was reported to the police, they wouldn’t be able to prosecute because the statue of limitations is so strict that if you don’t report by age 21, there’s very little you can do.” In his email to the Fordham community, McShane also expressed the seriousness of these claims. “Fordham’s primary concern is always for the victim in such cases,” McShane said. “It could not be otherwise. I know that you keep anyone who has been so victimized in your thoughts and prayers.”
call the office each time they have a question,” John said. According to Insidehighered. com, Congress cut $10 million out
of funding towards the TRIO program, a collection of federal outreach programs that is also one of FCLC’s grant programs. Congress will channel that money into grants for Upward Bound high school math and science programs in hopes of motivating more students to major in the math and science fields. These cuts may correlate to the issues some of Fordham’s students are experiencing this year. According to The New York Times, New York college tuitions have increased due to drastic cuts of state aid. The issues affecting FCLC students this year have occurred in the past. According to Lesley Massiah, financial grants such as the Pell Grant suffered a loss of 1.3 billion dollars. The Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG) program faced financial cuts as well. As a result, shortages of cash for the Pell and SEOG were expected in 2012-2013. The cuts are likely to affect both undergraduate and graduate students. Last year, Bob Howe, director of the Communications News and Media Relations Bureau, released a statement saying, “While the current Pell Grant shortfall received a healthy boost from the debt reduction package, it still faces a $1.3 billion shortfall for award year 2012–2013.”
Fordham Greets Vets VETERANS FROM PAGE 1
when they were returning home; and thirdly simply that good old word-of-mouth,” Gillan said. The FCLC campus has the highest number of student veterans in attendance in comparison to the Westchester and Rose Hill campuses. The high number of veterans at Lincoln Center can be attributed to the availability of the law school and graduate schools. In total, 264 veterans are attending Fordham as of the Fall 2012 enrollment year. The number of new veterans that are enrolled at Fordham for the Fall 2012 year is 38. “I chose Fordham, as I am familiar with the academics of a Jesuit institute, their desire to teach and my desire to learn. I chose New York for the opportunity it presented for independence, education, and culture, as well as a short ride home to my parents,” d’Aff lisio said. “The only setback is we have been to war many of us, we have seen the cold, hard face of reality. Unrelenting in miseries, we have survived, and now we are here, in a
With its Yellow Ribon Program and many veteran students, Fordham has achieved a status as a veteran-friendly institution. peaceful environment.” As part of the Fordham Veterans Initiative, a Veterans Entry Adviser assists student veterans that are interested in applying to Fordham. The role of the entry adviser is to help prospective veterans smoothly apply to their desired program, whether at Rose Hill, Westchester or Lincoln Center. In the message from the Veterans Entry Adviser, Anne Kelly Treantafeles said, “We understand your commitment to service and want to help you and your family members earn a degree that will serve you well for the rest of your lives.”
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