Technician
monday october
31 2011
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
New student debt plan proposes lower payments for college graduates President Obama announces his plan to consolidate old debt and lower student loan payments. Anna Riley Staff Writer
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Sophomore in civil engineering Kristen Measimer and junior in electrical engineering Kathryn Hornburg paint designs on pumpkins at the Campus Sustainability Day on Friday October 28 2011.
Groups display sustainability University groups inform students of sustainable actions. Jessica McDonough Correspondent
Sunday marked the end of a twomonth long Awareness Campaign for Sustainability on campus. Friday, the University Sustainability Office and the Union Activities Board co-sponsored a Fall Fun Festival. Attendees were encouraged to paint pumpkins and take them home to celebrate the season. The pumpkins, as well as red and green apples, were from NC Farmer’s Market. The idea was supporting N.C. agriculture and
buying products that are locally grown would lead to sustainability. The event was originally set to take place in Harris Field, but because of inclement weather, the event was moved to the Witherspoon Student Center. Green advertising was an objective of the program throughout the past two months. They have used mostly emails and Twitter and Facebook pages to get information out to the public. The Sustainability program encouraged students to attend as many events as possible in order to get four stamps on their “passports.” The students who acquired four stamps by Friday were placed into a
Sustainability Day EVENTS
• • • • • •
Magician Palm readers Energy games Free pumpkins and painting DJ Recycled corn hole
Source: University Sustainability Office
drawing to win a unique prize: a solar powered backpack. The backpack contained a solar powered adapter for all sorts of charging needs. The charger is designed for all phones, iPods, iPads, cameras, etc.
Obama’s “Pay As You Earn” plan to manage student loan debt was not set to be implemented until 2014 but according to a White House press release, the plan will take effect in 2012. The push for a quicker start of the plan came as a result of the increasing college tuition costs and mounting student loan debt. With the debt topping $1 trillion, the highest it has ever been, Obama said the time to fix the problem is now. “In a global economy, putting a college education within reach for every American has never been more important, but it’s also never been more expensive,” Obama said. Junior in accounting Drew Joyner said he thinks the impending problems with student loan debt will cause greater issues within the economy. “I think it could be the next big financial crisis – like the mortgage crisis – that will drag down the economy and the government,” Joyner said. With the current recession making it hard for many college graduates to find jobs, Joyner said they get bogged down by their debt. Even with a degree from a credible university, lagging opportunities and a mass of loan debt make it
hard for people to be consistent with payments. “Debt is skyrocketing and people are going to start defaulting on their loans,” Joyner said. The current policy allows college graduates a six-month deferment period during which they are not responsible for any loan payments. After the deferment period, graduates are required to pay 15 percent of their discretionary income per year toward their debt. Obama said his proposed plan will drop graduate’s loan payments to 10 percent of their discretionary income. In addition, he said the plan will forgive debt after 20 years of payments rather than the current 25 year timeline. The cap on loan payments, Obama said, will make debt more manageable and the ability to consolidate debt will make it less likely for borrowers to default on their payments. Brian McConnell, a junior in sports management, said he thinks the increases in tuition are ultimately to blame for the rapid growth of student loan debt. “The government should find any means to lower tuition. Maybe they could offer more scholarships or grants,” McConnell said. McConnell said his friend’s roommate has spent more than the typical four years in college and has accrued $90,000 of student loan debt. Though McConnell doesn’t have any loan debt, he said he thinks that amount of money to pay back would become overwhelming. “At some point it’s ridiculous to have
debt continued page 3
Students plan for Halloween Hikers crowd Hillsborough All over NC State, students are getting into the Halloween spirit. Sarah Dashow Correspondent
Plans When asking about Halloween plans, students were doing everything from the Hillsborough Hike to just hanging out with their friends on the weekend and some are still getting ready for parties on Halloween night. “I’m going to the Hillsborough Hike with a few people, and then maybe downtown.” Allen Coin, a senior in English. “I’m going to be passing out candy and going to a party.” Kathleen Madden, a senior in English. “I spent this weekend at my girlfriend’s in Chapel Hill. I’m having a World of Warcraft study party” Garrett Sessions, a junior in microbiology. “I’m going to go rock climbing at the Triangle Rock Club, and maybe head to 313 for Halloween, and maybe carve a pumpkin.” Renee Baker, senior in biology education. “I went to the county fair in Wilmington because it’s fun and cheaper than the State Fair, and I ate candied apples because they are awesome. I think I’m going to a friend’s house for a party on Monday night.” Clare Smith, a senior in design and psychology. “I will dress in costume. I will be with friends. I will consume libations, or something like that.” Joe Borneman, a senior in biology. “Me and my friends went and checked out all the goings on of Hillsborough [Street] last night, and it was a very happening spot. Police were at every corner, checking the place out, keeping it under control. We pretty much looked at the costumes and thought about ideas for our own. Owen Hall has a party going on, and
I think several other residence halls are doing their own little things. So I may be going to that, having my friends over.” Brady Crawford, a freshman in engineering “I met up with some friends at the Hillsborough hike and walked around. It was pretty crowded, but I saw a lot of really cool costumes. Afterwards, I went downtown to the Flying Saucer and drank some overpriced beer. I had a really fun night hanging out with friends.” Stephen Behan, a senior in English.
Costumes As varied as the plans were, students had just an many interesting and fun ideas for costumes. “I am dressing up as a businesscasual Oompa-Loompa.” Allen Coin “I’m going as a sailor.” Kathleen Madden “Fionna, from Adventure Time.” Renee Baker “I’m going to be Bender from Futurama. I cut up some cardboard boxes and painted them, cheap and easy.” Joe Borneman “I dressed up in a masquerade costume for Halloween. I got this really great jester mask at Earth Bound in Crabtree Valley mall a couple of months ago, so I decided to make a costume of it. I went to a thrift store and bought a tux shirt, a vest, and a skirt which I made into a cape.” Stephen Behan Other students chose to go costume-less. “I didn’t dress up.” Garrett Sessions “I don’t know if I’m going to dress up. I might throw something together last minute, but I still carved some pumpkins and put up decorations at my apartment.” Clare Smith
Except for minor incidents, the Haunted Hillsborough Hike ran smoothly. Brooke Wallig Staff Writer
Crowds of super heroes, wizards and other costumed figures flocked to Hillsborough Street Saturday night as students participated in the 2011 Haunted Hillsborough Hike. The Haunted Hillsborough Hike, more commonly known as the “Hillsborough Hike,” is an event that attracts thousands of people each year. This year, the event ran from about 10 p.m. Saturday night and continued through 2 a.m. Sunday morning. Campus Police—who assisted the Raleigh Police Department on the street—spent the evening patrolling more than just Hillsborough Street as part of security for the event. According to Sgt. William Davis, threat assessment supervisor within the Campus Police Criminal Investigation Division, there were at least nine checkpoints set up from Dunn Avenue to Dan Allen Drive set up by 6:30 p.m. Saturday, where officers checked student and faculty identification to be sure the people coming onto campus were affiliated with the University. “We had deputies at different locations, mainly to control vehicle traffic onto campus,” Davis said. “The goal was to leave parking open for students and faculty. We didn’t want people coming from the outside taking [parking spaces] up when we have people working and studying.” “We didn’t want the flux coming out onto main campus for safety concerns. We checked ID’s to make sure people were affiliated with the University,” Davis said. “The campus is a big area,
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Senior in mechanical engineering, Scott Bliger dressed as Julius Ceaser, walks down the Hillsborough hike on Friday.
and we wanted to make sure it was a safe area both for people participating in the hike as well as faculty and residents.” According to Capt. John Barnwell, deputy chief for Campus Police, the number of participants throughout the night peaked between 5,000 and 6,000 people, a bit less than in previous years—which typically reached to around 7,000 people—though he said it may have been due to the cold temperature. “I think it went quite well. We had about half a dozen issues involving domestic related issues and regular alcohol issues, which resulted in a couple of arrests,” Barnwell said. “But with the amount of people out there [on the street], it was an overall success. There weren’t any major issues, and our students represented our University well.” While Barnwell said he was not at liberty to say exactly how many officers were present throughout the night, he said it was enough. “The only major issues we had
were around the 2400 block of Hillsborough Street, where several of the restaurants and bars coincided with each other,” Barnwell said. “There were so many people trying to get in to this area that it impeded the flow of traffic on the sidewalk and almost flowed onto the street. We stepped in with Raleigh Police Department and helped to thin that out and get people moving. Some people weren’t able to get into those areas, but it was becoming a safety issue.” Davis said while there may always be people who don’t follow the rules, the Hike has proven to be a worthy tradition. “For the most part, it is typically quiet, though you’ll always have a few people who you have negative reactions with. You’ll always have the few people who will become too intoxicated and want to cause problems. But it’s not bad,” Davis said. “And as long as [the Hike] can be done in an orderly fashion, I don’t see anything wrong with it.”
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