Read about America's cup in' sports
friday,february6, 1987
cabrinicollege,radnor,pa. 19087
vol. xxxiii,no. 13
Reagan's proposal:
. Studentfinancialaid cut in half
by Monica R. Palko
On Jan .. 5, 1987, President Reagan proposed his trillion dollar budget for the fiscal year 1988 to Congress. To help reduce the country's deficit, the President has called for a cut in student financial aid funding. The President's proposed budget would reduce federal spending for student aid programs from $8.2 billion to $4.5 billion. This proposal is aimed to save $3.7 billion by increasing interest rates on stude~t loans and terminating federally subsidized campus jobs. The proposed cuts would deny grants to almost 1 million students. According to the American Council on Education, the Administration's budget would call for reform of the Higher Education Act, thus restricting federal grant aid and reducing subsidies of student loans. The President's proposed budget would deprive over one million students of the Pell Grant program by limiting eligibility to students with family incomes of$20,000 or less. Under the current program, the necessary income is $28,900. The budget recommends changes in the Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) program by reducing its federal subsidies and decreasing the program by $2 billion in fiscal 1988. "The number of students getting GSLs next year would be severely reduced," Arlene McEvilla-Dittbrenner, director, financial aid, said. The proposed budget calls for the elimiaation effour lllltjeraid p,ognune,-inetuding College Work-Study, direct loans, State Student Incentive Grants and Supplemental Grants. The budget summary states that these programs are unnecessary and inflationary.
'The numberof students getting GSLs next year wouldbe severelyreduced.' --· Arlene McEvillaDittbrenner,director,financial aid To compensate for the loss of these programs, the Administration would remove all limits on unsubsidized Parent Loan and Supplemental Loan programs and extend eligibility to all students and their spouses. According to the Action Committee for Higher Education, located in Washington, D.C., 75 percent of the nation's total spendings for student aid is federally funded. If Congress adopts the proposed budget, enrollment in higher education would drop. McEvilla-Dittbrenner said that the proposed budget cuts will affect not only Cabrini but all educational institutions across the country. "The only institutions that will be left if the proposed budget is adopted are the prestigious schools, like Havard, and community colleges," McEvilla-Dittbrenner said. "There is no support from the Secretary of Education," Beth- Ann Lieberman, assistant director of financial aid, said. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett, in a quote taken from The New York Times on January 2, said, "The college graduate will earn $640,000 more than the high school graduate over his lifetime. It is only sensible and fair that the beneficiary pay the cost. rather than the taxpayer." "Now is the time to lobby against it (the proposed budget)," Lieberman said. Both McEvilla-Dittbrenner and Lieberman said that students have not been as concerned as they should be with the recent financial aid cuts in the past few years. "This has been going on since 1980," Lieberman said of the decreasing support for financial aid. "It's been slowly eroding away."
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The Reagan solution... by Monica R. Palko
In President Reagan's federal budget proposal for the fiscal year 1988, the cuts in federally funded financial aid would call for students to borrow money at higher rates. To compensate for this fact, the Administration is pushing a "new" program, the income-contingent loan program. According to the American Council on Education, this program-was proposed last year and rejected by Congress. Instead, the Administration decided to try a $5 million income-contingent loan experiment for only 10 institutions.
Second floor of Sacred Heart was the fOcusOf much afMrtlbttlttes., Jan. 13, as SBK Production shot a 'Choco-Bliss' commercial there. SBK Production picked the second floor of Sacred Heart because it most resembled the 't ical' hi h school
hallway. Cabrini receive
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In the President's fiscal 1988 budget proposal, the Administration wants to expand the experiment before it begins. The ICL would be increased to a $600 million national program to 1,500 schools where eligible undergraduates couldborrowup to $17,500 over four years.
.. .,,. ••
the administration feel blissful. The commercial for Choco- Bliss, which is a new snack cake by Hostess, is scheduled to air within the next six months. (photo by Monica Palko)
According to the American Council on Education, the ICL would call for borrowers to repay up to 15 percent of their incomes after graduation and no time limit on the repayment period would be set.
Delayedmailingangersstudents by Karen Seigl Cabrini's business office once again was faced with student complaints at registration Monday, Jan. 12, due to delayed billing and mailing ofreport cards over Christmas break. Additionally, students were not allowed to sign promisory notes at the time ofregistration this year because of the new Installment Payment Plan. "They held my grades because they said I owed money I didn't know I owed," Denise Penn, senior, said. "I had no idea my grades were being held until Jan. 5, 1987." "It's a lack of responsibility on the business office's part," a senior said. "They're negligent for not sending them (grades) out. For some, it doesn't matter, but for others, they get frantic." "I wasn't aware ofit," James Keches, business manager, said. "I apologize if there were problems. We try to accomodate but we're human too. If we made a mistake, we'll fix it." By the afternoon of Dec. 23, all of the report cards were ready to be sent out by the registrar. According to Robert Fetterhoff, registrar, about half (300~400 report cards) were held by the business office or the library. Those grades were delivered to the business office to be sent to students when the outstanding bills or fines were paid. Peggy Emmerich, junior, owed no money nor did she have any outstanding library fine. However, the business office kept her report card. When she inquired about it, they said they weren't aware that it had not been mailed out. According to Keches, the President (of Cabrini) prohibits grades to be sent if there is an outstanding bill or overdue library materials and/or fees.
Keches said that if a student has no outstanding bills or library fines, it is the responsibility of the registrar to mail the report cards out. "We made an effort to get all grades out by Christmas," Fetterhoff said. According to Fetterhoff, all oft he grades were in by Friday, Dec. 19, although once delivered to the post office. they have no control over what happens to them, especially during Christmas. Leah Cascarina, junior, had several run-ins with the business office during Christmas break about the balance due on her bill. After considerable time and phone calls,
she and her parents were assured several times that she would receive her grades on time. A week before school began again, she· called twice and was informed that the business office accidentally witheld her grades. Holiday help and incorrectly reading the bill were cited as reasons. The bill arrived the next day and the the grades arrived Jan. 10, 1987. Keches said that he must look at each individual circumstance to find the reason for a late bill or report card. He said that there are a half a dozen reasons why they would be held. Students also complained that since bills were mailed so late there was not sufficient time to get the money together to pay the bill. "I just don't see why they have to wait so long to send them (report cards) out," Debbie Maida, senior, said. ''.As for the bill, I really think that's unfair because it only allowed you two or three days to get the money." "In general terms, that was the policy," Keches said. ''.A lot of people called up and they had a legitimate complaint. As we resolved them, we mailed them. When they got the bill, they knew what they owed." The Installment Payment Plan has taken the place of the promisory notes, which according to the business office, was unsuccessful because students were not paying their bills. The new installment payment plan requires ten monthly payments within a year as opposed to the balance due within one given time. The plan requires a S25 application fee in addition to the 18 percent finance charge. "When you sign an agreement, it's a more sophisticated promisory note," Keches said. "We felt we needed tighter control." There are students who oppose as well as agree with and support this new payment policy. "Students who could not pay all at once had to go on the installment plan or were told they could not register," a senior said. "Nothing ever runs smoothly," Emmerich said. "There has never been a time, nor have I began a semester when I have not had a problem with bills or registration." "Years before, we didn't have time to get money,'' Maida said. "Nov. we have time to get it. I do believe our parents were on a plan as opposed to a big bill once or twice a year."