TECHNICIAN
thursday july
18 2013
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Oregon combats student loan debt
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Jason Katz
payments would be based on how much a graduate would make. Collectively, student debt The percentage, duration of in the U.S. totals more than time needed to pay back the a trillion dollars, and some loan, and details on any salanalysts say it could lead ary requirements have yet to to financial disaster for the be determined. economy as a whole in the The program will be called future if it’s not addressed. “Pay Forward, Pay Back,” and In response to those dire will be crafted by several Orpredictions, Oregon’s state egon education groups. The legislature passed a bill earlier final program will be considthis month ered by the that could 2015 legislachange the ture. way ma ny Although students similar tupay back ition stratetheir college gies are beexpenses. ing used in In a unanAustralia, imous deciO re gon i s Krista Domnick, director of s i on , O rthe first state scholarships and financial aid egon’s state in the U.S. legislature to attempt a decided to develop a pilot change of this nature. This program that could allow new initiative passed in the future students to attend same week that federal subcollege without having to sidized student loan interest pay up-front tuition or take rates doubled from 3.4 to 6.8 out student loans. In this percent. program, students would be In a similar Australian able to go to college for free plan, called “FEE-HELP”, and then pay a percentage the percentage of what one of their income to repay the pays is based off of how much state over a set number of they make. If a student makes years after graduation. less than $51,309 a year, they Although many details are do not have to pay anything. still in the works, the idea When they reach that mark, here is that students would they will have to pay 4 percent not have to be burdened by large student debt because LOANScontinued page 2 Correspondent
*Among public land-grant universities
GRAPHIC BY JAKE MOSER
NCSU leads national ranking Chris Hart-Williams Correspondent
N.C. State is in the spotlight after a new national ranking recognized it as a top institution in science, technology, engineering and math education. U.S. News & World Report reported that N.C. State was the highest-ranked public land-grant institution among top national colleges and universities that award substantial numbers of bachelor’s degrees in the STEM fields. The new list of the nation’s top STEM
schools was published June 18 in conjunction with U.S. News’ STEM Solutions conference. Schools on the list ranked in the top half of the 2013 Best Colleges list, which included 281 national colleges and universities, and awarded a third or more of their undergraduate degrees in STEM fields throughout the 2011-2012 academic year. Only 39 institutions of the Best Colleges group made the cut to be on the list. Last year 48 percent of the bachelor’s degrees awarded at N.C. State were in a
STEM field, placing it 17th overall and seventh among public universities. It was the highest-ranked public land-grant institution on the list. Dean Daniel Solomon, head of the new College of Sciences, said STEM students at N.C. State get the opportunity to be among other highly motivated students while to engaging in hands-on, cuttingedge research. Emily Van Schagen, a junior in human biology, said she decided N.C. State
STEM continued page 3
“As of right now, I don’t see it as a magic bullet to fix any problems ... ”
Tax bill awaits McCrory Tim Gorski Deputy News Editor
After much debate among lawmakers concerning Republican-led tax reform, the House and Senate have signed House bill 998 which has now been sent to Gov. Pat McCrory for final approval. T he G ove r nor w i l l l i k e l y be in favor of this proposal. The bill was passed 77-38 in the House and 32-17 in the Senate. Most voters cast straight ballots in support of their respective parties on this bill, and only two Democrats were in favor of the new provisions. Under this tax plan, corporate income tax would fall from 6.9 to 5 percent and personal income tax would decrease from 7.75 percent to 5.75 percent. These rates are less ambitious than the original Tax Fairness Act proposed by Phil Berger earlier this year, but are nonetheless a considerable win for Republican legislators.
The implications of Fair Tax oriented plans such as this bill are a polarizing subject of debate among Democrats and Republicans nationwide. Republican advocates of the tax plan argue that bill would lower tax rates to be competitive with surrounding states and shift the burden of taxes from income to sales taxes. Republicans emphasize that this plan will benefit small businesses and help stimulate the economy. Democrats claim that Bill 998 would disproportionally shift the tax burden from high income earners to lower income earners, a strategy which they claim is unfair and not proven to facilitate economic growth. According to policy analysts, over a third of the total income tax cut applies only to the top 1 percent of income earners who have average incomes of $940,000 a year. Democrats also criticize the bill for lowering the amount of annual tax revenue, not broadening the tax base and failing to close corporate tax loopholes.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NEWS & OBSERVER
About 100 protesters were in downtown Raleigh to protest the acquital of George Zimmerman.
Protestors take to streets after Zimmerman verdict Jake Moser News Editor
People in cities across the United States have protested the verdict of the George Zimmerman trial since it was handed down Saturday, and Raleigh is no exception.
Zimmerman, of Sanford, Fla., was acquitted of manslaughter and second degree murder charges Saturday in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American high school student. Many claim Zimmerman
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racially profiled Martin for walking around the neighborhood where they both lived in at the time. Zimmerman got in his car and followed Martin, against police orders, and they got into
PROTEST continued page 2