Thursday, September 28,1995
"Belle Epoque” In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month,
Behrend is nosting an International Film Series, featuring four
films from Spain, Cuba, and Brazil. The films will be shown
Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m. beginning October 16 in the
Reed Lecture Hall. The festival begins with "Belle Epoque,"
the story of a handasome young army deserter who finds
himself in love with the beautiful daughter of an aged artist.
The film was released in Spain in 1992.
Bread Box Awards...
Alternatives for
volunteering
by Erich* Hagenbuch
CoUtgion Staff
Each foil the Second Harvest
Food Bank recognizes those who
exhibit an outstanding interest in
public awareness for hunger by
presenting The Bread Box Award.
College students are encouraged
to actively participate in the
program.
By raising money and donating
food items to give to the Food
Bank, groups and individuals may
win the award.
According to Liz Becker of die
Second Harvest Food Bank, “The
latest studies show that 111,400
area residents rely on the food
pantries, soup kitchens, homeless
shelters, and other programs
served by the Second Harvest
Food Bank.”
A surprising 49.6 percent of
those receiving food from the
Food Bank have high school
diplomas or degrees in higher
education but have had trouble
finding work.
“The good news is that for
every $1 that is donated, the Food
Bank can receive $l7 worth of
food,” Becker said. “We’ve got a
good program that can provide
food at a very low cost.”
Direct food costs are not the
main expenditure for the Food
Bank. Most items are donated by
local and national food
companies. “The Bread Box
Award encourages monetary
donations to cover annual
shipping costs, and food
donations to increase our
service,” Becker said.
Liz Becker has project forms
for any group or individual who
wants to participate in the race
for The Bread Box Award.
from FEE on page 1
Chris Rizzo, Director of
Student Activities, feels
faculty/staff guidance is essential
to long term success of the fee.
“A student doesn’t always see
what the long term effects of
funding or not funding a program
will be,” Rizzo said. “A staff
member who has been here and
will be here has seen the results
of not funding some things, and
making those same mistakes
again can be avoided.”
The activities fee proposal was
not without opposition. While
the BOT was meeting inside
Eisenhower Auditorium at UP,
student protestors organized by
the Penn State Young Americans
for Freedom and the Veteran’s
Organization held a “tea party”
and raised signs protesting
News
Cutbacks threaten
financial aid
by Sean Siekkinen
Colltgian Staff
Republican proposed cuts to
the Federal Family Education
Loan Program are threatening to
make the task of paying for
higher education increasingly
difficult for college students and
their families. For some
members of Congress, these cuts
in federal student aid are believed
to be necessary as a part of the
efforts to balance the huge budget
deficit.
Student aid funding is an
extremely controversial issue
facing lawmakers in Washington,
whose national constituencies
include 14 million college
students.
Although opponents of cuts in
student aid say that the money
eventually pays itself back in the
form of better educated, more
productive members of the work
force, some Republicans feel that
no federal program should be left
untouched in the quest to curb
government spending and reduce
annual addition to the national
debt
According to Jane Brady,
Assistant Director of Admissions
and Financial Aid, the primary
target of these proposed budget
cuts is the federal loan program,
the largest and costliest student
aid program.
Under current federal
guidelines, billions of dollars a
year are spent on student loans.
In 1993, 6.1 million college
Center offers help in learning
by R. Carl Campbell
Opinion Editor
The Learning Assistance
Center (L.A.C.), located in 203
library (2nd floor), is still in the
nrocess of organizing a variety of
lew resources, but it is open for
msiness. The center is geared
owards helping students with
;tudy skills, as well as
leveloping skills in areas such as
nath and writing.
“taxation without representation.”
Dr. Reber feels the opposition
is focused at UP because perhaps
there is less of a need for the fee
there. “Most people at Behrend
who have an opinion see the
value of [the fee] for Behrend.”
Reber also points out that the fee
concept was bom outside of UP.
University President Graham
Spanier tried to appease student
opposition and protect student
interest by working in specific
guarantees.
“The fee will not replace
University allocations for student
programs and activities and will
remain separate from tuition. The
fees raised at each campus will
stay at each campus.”
(Note: Some information and
quotations contained in this news
article were obtained from "The
Daily Collegian" at University
Park campus cf the Penn State
University)
students received $lB billion
dollars in federal student loans.
At Behrend, over 73 percent of
enrolled graduate and
undergraduate students are
receiving some sort of financial
aid. Of that 73 percent, 81
percent are receiving student
loans.
Brady says that Congress is
considering:
-Eliminating or reducing the
six month grace period for all
borrowers. This grace period
gives new graduates time to
search for a job and secure their
finances before beginning loan
payments.
-Cutting the interest subsidy
program, under which the
government pays loan interest
while die student is in school.
-Decreasing the number of Pell
Grants awarded yearly by 250,000
(The minimum dollar amount of
grants, however, will increase).
These cuts could prove to be an
almost insurmountable obstacle
between many students and a
college education.
"If families can’t access the
funds they need, it is going to
make [attending school] tougher,"
Brady said.
But Brady does not believe that
the Republican budget, if passed,
will necessarily cause a
significant drop in Behrend
enrollment
"At Behrend, we’re assisting
families in searching for
aid...students should be takine
advantage of all financial aid
Under a shared Perkins Grant
with Edinboro University, the
center has acquired three new IBM
PCs, computer software, videos,
and printer materials that can be
used by students.
"We never had extra money to
spend," said the Director of the
L.A.C., Bob Patterson. "It was
shocking to actually spend
money."
The center is offering a new
program called Supplemental In
Feminist Scholars...
Award-winning
BEHREND-Emily Arnold McCully, nationally acclaimed writer
and illustrator of children’s books, will speak in the Reed Lecture
Hall on Tuesday, October 3 at 7:00 p.m. Her presentation, “Life on
the Page: Creating Children’s Literature,” is brought to Behrend for
the Feminist Scholars Speakers Series.
In 1993, McCully won the coveted Randolph Caldecott Medal for
her book, "Mirette on the High Wire", which was also named on the
New York Times Ten Best Illustrated Books of 1992. She has also
won an American Book award nominee for her novel "A Craving"
(1982), and her short stories appear in the O’Henry Collection of Best
Short Stories of 1977.
McCully has performed as an actress and singer and in 1991
appeared in an off-Broadway production of "Nightingale." She is the
recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Award for
fiction writing and the Brooklyn Museum Award for Graphic
Excellence.
opportunities available."
Those opportunities include the
$200,000 in University
Scholarships and $300,000 in
work study as part of the total
$l2 million awarded to Behrend
students (1993-94 figures).
Brady points to the work of the
Alliance to Save Student Aid, a
group organizing students
nationwide to protest aid
reductions, as an important factor
in curbing initially proposed cuts
amounting to two-thirds of all
federal student aid funding.
Reductions currently under
consideration are aimed at cutting
one third of all student aid
funding, amounting to $10.4
billion by 2002.
Dean and Provost, Dr. John
Lilley is not able to speak on
behalf of the university, but sees
the ongoing controversy as part
of a transition period for
educational infrastructure.
‘1 think it’s a very interesting
time and a time for concern. Any
time you have change is a time
to be cautious,” he said.
Lilley sees that the dark cloud
hovering over student aid has a
silver lining. In a small part of
offsetting whatever federal aid
cuts are passed into law, state
funding for student aid will be on
the rise. Lilley is not sure how
Behrend enrollment will be
CBMmCQi
“Our experience this year is
that enrollment is larger, with
more full time students and less
part time students," said Lilley.
struction (SI). SI is a grou]
study session. The student tutor
in the group serves as a director
to get the students working with
each other. These groups are
offered to all students enrolled in
traditionally difficult freshman
and sophomore-level courses.
“Sometimes,” Patterson said.
“Students who used the center
become tutors because they’re
typically the people who
understands how it (L.A.C.)
works the most.”
author to
speak
Page 3