Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023
Volume 121, Issue 6
VISTA The
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“OUR WORDS, YOUR VOICE.”
Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022
Volume 119, Issue 19
U.S. adopts protection rules against student debt Madison Simon Contributing Writer
College students are set to receive unprecedented protections against debt thanks to new regulations introduced by the Biden-Harris Administration. The U.S. Department of Education released the final rules for the Gainful Employment (GE) program on Sept. 27. The modifications made were designed to shield approximately 700,000 students each year from postsecondary programs that could leave them drowned in debt or with earnings that don’t measure up. At its core, the GE rule requires private for-profit institutions and certificate programs to meet certain standards. Specifically, the debt students incur should be comparable to their earnings after graduation. The “debt-to-earnings ratio” is defined in the regulations, the annual earnings a typical graduate must allocate to repaying their debt must not exceed 8% of their overall earnings or 20% of their discretion-
ary income. Furthermore, the rule has an “earnings premium” feature that mandates at least half of a program’s graduates to have a higher earning than a typical high school graduate in their state who didn’t pursue postsecondary education. Not meeting these standards could result in a program losing access to federal student aid. “Today’s final rules answer President Biden’s call to hold colleges accountable for rising costs and protect students from unaffordable college debt.” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. He further emphasized the importance of informing students about programs that historically lead to high debts, insufficient earnings, and diminished career prospects. “The Biden-Harris administration believes that when students invest in higher education, they should get a solid return on their investment and a greater shot at the American dream,” Cardona added. Complementing the GE rule is the Financial Value Transparen-
President Biden signed a bill protecting students from debt in programs after high school. The bill seeks to make any debt incurred a reasonable ratio to projected post-graduation earnings. (AP/PROVIDED)
cy (FVT) framework, ensuring students receive comprehensive information about the net costs of postsecondary programs and potential financial outcomes. This framework will not only inform students about the likely costs and debts they may accumulate but will also introduce an acknowledgment
mechanism, ensuring students are aware of the risks associated with certain programs. U.S. Department of Education Under Secretary James Kvaal emphasized the broader objectives of these measures. Cont. on page 5
Journalist present at JFK shooting says ethical media is in trouble Sam Royka Editor-in-Chief
Mark Hanebutt introduces Joe Carter at the 2023 Media Ethics Conference. (JAYDON SIMS/THE VISTA)
Joe Carter said he is “99.9 percent sure” that Lee Harvey Oswald killed President Kennedy. (JAYDON SIMS/THE VISTA)
Maintaining the separation between hard news and false or opinionated statements is a “chilling challenge” to modern ethical journalism according to Joe Carter, a journalist that tells the story of the Kennedy assassination from a firsthand perspective. He gave the opening keynote at this year’s Media Ethics Conference. “Is it reasonable, fair, oriented, audacious for journalism to consider maintaining a high standard of ethics?” asked Carter. “Hell yes,” he said. The process of finding unadulterated truth may also be complicated by citizen journalism with the rise of social media. Talking head commentators are often mistaken for journalists, marking an additional problem for the public in deciphering who is reporting opinion versus fact. As the nation watches a former president go on trial for fraud, Carter’s next statement was timely.
The journalist quoted a Washington Post article that stated as of January 24, 2021, Trump had lied or given misleading claims 30,573 times in the previous four years. Deepfakes and false news collide with a startling lack of media literacy at a broad level. Reporter Samuel Kozlowski covers media literacy for The Vista in other articles herein. To journalists, Carter said, “airing our own prejudices and writing news copy journalism must be above reproach,” admitting that “above reproach is a tough cow. Ask Caesar’s wife.” He emphasized the power that journalists have: the power to tell the truth. “Please let us maintain our own highest standard and test of reporting truth as best as we can determine. Leave the opinion writing to the pundits and the editorial pages,” he said. Cont. on page 5.
Political science student breaks down House Speakers’ removal Jake Ramsey Managing Editor
Rep. Kevin McCarthy was removed from his position as House speaker on Oct. 3 in the House of Representatives, after a 216-210 vote led by eight Republicans. After being removed from office by many of his conservative constituents, California Rep. Kevin McCarthy became the first ever speaker to be removed from the position, and with that comes a bit of uncertainty for what will come next. “It’s not necessarily that the Republicans wanted McCarthy out,” said UCO political science student Gareth Morton, “It was eight people in the Republican party that wanted him out, and that’s all it took.” Morton goes on to discuss why this is the first time in history that a speaker has been removed from the seat. “That is for two different reasons,” said Morton. “Anytime prior that a Speaker of the House has lost support of their party, they resigned, but Kevin McCarthy took it to a vote.” “Secondly was the motion to
vacate,” said Morton. Morton goes on to discuss the motion to vacate, which is a procedure that can be used to remove the speaker through a motion introduced by any one member regardless of party-line. Florida Rep. and Republican Matt Gaetz was the one who brought the motion against former-speaker McCarthy. “So when he finally did something that Matt Gaetz didn’t like, they made the motion to vacate,” said Morton. “Most of the Republican party voted for McCarthy to remain speaker, but obviously the democrats aren’t going to support that and the eight Republicans that were mad voted with the Democrats and he was kicked out.” The removal of McCarthy comes shortly after the risk of a government shutdown was averted by McCarthy and the Biden administration. The deal between the two is what would shock the eight lawmakers into action. Cont. on page 5.
Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy addresses the crowd. (PROVIDED)