PALOMAR COLLEGE, SAN MARCOS, CALIF.
MONDAY NOV. 17, 2008
FOCUSED ON PALOMAR
VOL. 62, NO. 9
the-telescope.com
Palomar launches Palomar celebrates Veterans green campaign KELLEY FOYT THE TELESCOPE
The 2B Clean and Green mission is a program designed to encourage Palomar students to make a positive impact on their environment. Student and staff can form teams receive points for certain clean-up activities around the campus. Harder tasks receive more points. The points are tallied up each month and the leading team is announced. In April 2009, the final points will be tallied up and the winner will be announced in a ceremony. “With a cleaner and greener campus, [we] will influence and affect the nature of the students and staff, as well as the morale of any representative of Palomar College,” said Armando Telles, an Associated Student Government senator and one of the leaders of the campus 2B
Clean and Green mission. “To not see cigarette butts, to not have trash in the bushes, to have just a cleaner campus, [we] would positively influence the perception and the consciousness of being from Palomar College. “It would also contribute to a greener environment.” The campaign started as an idea by Sherry Titus, the Palomar Student Affairs administrator, and Nancy Morgan, from Mission Federal Credit Union. The pair brainstormed ways that they could help Palomar students, and came up with the idea for 2B Clean and Green. Mission Federal Credit Union now funds the campaign. 2B Clean and Green runs on the activities of teams. Teams can have up to five members, and can be comprised of students and/or staff. Clubs, organizations, departments and groups of friends are
Cheerleaders are back
TURN TO CAMPAIGN PAGE 3
KELLEY FOYT THE TELESCOPE
After a four-year break from the United Spirit Association Nationals, the Palomar cheerleading team plans on entering the 2009 competitions. The last time the Palomar squad competed was in 2005, when they placed fifth. This year the team is practicing with a new coach. They said they have the talent and drive to compete in the upcoming events. The 2009 USA Nationals will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center March 29 and 30 and the event is open to the public. “Commitment is higher and the talent base is a lot better than previous years.,” The team’s head coach, Jaime Arroyo, said. “We have practice at 6 in the morning, so I think that that alone shows a lot of commitment. The potential of the team is a lot better than it was before.” Prior to 2005, the cheer team was open to anyone. In 2006 the team turned into a class and students had to have a full schedule in order to participate. Arroyo said students with little motivation joined the class. Arroyo, who has worked with the Palomar team since 2006, explained that one of the hardest aspects of building a strong team this year was YUKIE ZUILL | THE TELESCOPE “recruiting solid students with the skill and ability to be a part of the Cheerleaders prepare to cheer at sporting events TURN TO CHEERLEADERS PAGE 3 and at competition during an early morning practice.
OPINION
ENTERTAINMENT Obama: America’s change
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P!nk’s divorce inspires new album PAGE 7
KELLY RICHARDSON | THE TELESCOPE
Larry Cilestio, an Army Corps veteran from World War II and a former prisoner of war, speaks to Palomar students each year at the Veterans Day event. Palomar College has the largest number of enrolled veterans of any community college in the country.
Economic crisis hits cash-strapped students TONY PUGH MCT CAMPUS
On a recent Thursday evening, Neal Theobald, Indiana University’s vice chancellor for budget administration, received a sobering letter from Sallie Mae, the nation’s leading provider of student loans. “Sallie Mae has made the difficult decision to tighten the underwriting on all our private student loan products, which will require applicants to meet higher credit standards,” wrote Sallie Mae Executive Vice President Barry Feierstein. The lending giant also announced plans to raise its
loan pricing. At a time when student financial-aid requests nationwide are up 16 percent, Sallie Mae’s decision to make fewer loans at a higher price will deepen the financial pain of parents and students who already are struggling to pay for college educations. Historically, when the economy starts to tank, students return to higher education in greater numbers. “But with the credit crunch and money tight and the economy so bad, I think it’s going to be difficult for students and families to pay that college tuition,” said
Roger J. Thompson, IU’s vice provost for enrollment management. “I talk to parents fairly regularly, and they’re struggling.” Amanda Daugherty was just a toddler when her father died, and she was still in high school when ovarian cancer took her mother's life. Now only two months shy of her master’s degree in public health, the 24-yearold Lafayette, Ind., native owes nearly $70,000 after financing almost all of her six-year college education with student loans. TURN TO CRISIS PAGE 3
SPORTS
FOCUS Nursing is hard but rewarding PAGE 5
Women’s volleyball on a streak PAGE 8