acuity forum Dr. Jerry Covert "Kids these days!" "When I was your age I had to work my way through college." "Now you expect everything to be given to you." Well, times have changed! Many of our students still work "their ways through college," but with a high unemployment rate many are finding it dif ficult to get a job. With an in flated cost of living, part-time wages don't cover educa tional costs. What has evolv ed over the years (since FDR? ) is a system of grants in-aid, work-study programs and low interest loans, available to most students. The Reagan economic pro posals will shut off the flow of money to many students. The decreased money flow will be felt by all those students that Budget Proposal Losses for PSU Students Pell Grants SEOG CWS NDSL (BEOG) 1982-83 4,100 995 1,150 ($3.7 million) ($ 8 6,000) ($ 1 . 3 million) 1983-84 , 6,600 2,900 - 914 1,230 ($5.9 million) ($2.5 million) ($1 million) ($1.2 million) Is the campus book store a friend or foe? By Bill Boyer All students realize that textbooks come only at great expense. This realization is reinforced each tri-mester as we stand in line at the campus bookstore and watch our predecessors and then ourselves shell• out $50.00, $lOO.OO, or more for books. While outwardly appearing as the villain, the campus bookstore actually has a small but significant part in the fight against rising text book costs. Whereas the pur pose of the campus bookstore is to , meet the specific needs of students, the purpose of commercial bookstores,. by their very nature, is to make a profit.. While the campus How much of an affect will the 'deep cuts in Federal Grants and loans to college students have on their ability to pay tuition costs or their educational plans? are supported by Basic Educational Opportunity Grants ( BEOG or Pell Grants), Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants ( SEOG ), National Direct Student Loans (NDSL), College Work Study (CWSP) and Guaranteed Stu dent Loans. How many Penn State students does this affect? Of the 54,500 students that attend Penn State, 43,600 students receive 51,600 financial aid awards. That translates into $84,800,000 at present. With the cuts proposed for Fall 1982 Penn State will lose 12,240 grants or $20,600,000. By the Fall of 1982 the number of awards will have been cut by a total of $25,500,000 (17,640 grant reduction). What affect will these reductions have on your education? Will you be able to get a job to put yourself through college? Only you can answer these questions! ! There is an alternative! Write to your Congressmen and Senators. Let Washington know how you feel about your future. Data from an Informational Report of the External Af fairs Committee, University Faculty Senate, Appendix "C"., 3-9-82. bookstore also turns a profit, a low priority is placed on do ing so by the manager, Ted Imbert. I quote Mr. Imbert: "My only concern is that each student• has a book at the beginning of each term." Mr. Imbert jokingly adds, "The state doesn't want me to lose money either." Because publishers charge the same rate to both commercial and college bookstores, the sav ngs passed on to students is minimal. Another cost-saving feature of the campus bookstore is us ed books. Once a year, usual ly in the spring, used books can be sold by students to either one of two companies, New Jersey Book or the Missouri Company. This represents a savings in itself. These companies then resell the books to college bookstores who then place the books on their shelves at a discount. Book prices are consistent with each other on campuses nationwide. Every Penn State Campus bookstore charges the same price for books, with the exception of University Park, which charges 2542 less. I'm glad that in these times of budget cuts and tuition in creases I can buy textbooks at the lowest price anywhere. So, the next time you think that you're shelling out an ex cessive amount of money for books, grimace, groan, but try to grin and bear it. By Pat Zubritsky The proposed cuts in federal student aid would ap pear to have a devastating ef fect on a large number of students if the bill is passed. By 1983, Pell Grants, which provide the majority of federal aid to students, would be reduced by 45%. Funding for other federal aid ad ministered through Penn State would be either eliminated completely (Sup plemental Educational Op portunity Grant), drastically reduced (College Work Study Program), or funded at its present level (National Direct Student Loan). In ad dition, the Guaranteed Stu dent Loan Program, which is currently available to any student regardless of family income, would be restricted to those students who show a documented need. At the Hazleton Campus alone, projections indicate that if these cuts are approv ed by Congress, total federal aid to students enrolled here would drop by over one million dollars during the next year. Needless to say, these cuts will have a serious impact on a student's ability to pay for his or her education and may even force some students to drop out of school unless steps are taken to avoid such drastic results. Those students whose goal is to obtain a college educa tion and who have a genuine belief in the ability to achieve that goal will not hesitate to take the necessary steps to reach that goal. A major step students should take at this point, before the legislation is actually passed, is to write to Congressmen (a list is Campus outlook is still optimistic By Je Trenti Last issue, I wrote an editorial that took an op timistic look at this campus, unfortunately, some failed to see the main point of the arti cle. These people seemed to have not been able to "see the forest from the trees." Sure, the editorial started off rather sarcastically, but by the end I went on to explain that all the issues I had men tioned were relatively minor, and that things do work on campus. For those that misunderstood my editorial; in no way was it meant to blast the Maintenance or Security Departments on Campus. As a matter of fact, it even praised Maintenance Pat Zubritsky . available in the Student Af fairs Office) to express con cern about the proposed cuts. If, in fact, the bill passes through Congress, students will then have to make alter nate plans to finance their college education. A tighter personal budget can be developed and, in many in stances, students will be forc ed to obtain full-time summer jobs and part-time jobs dur ing the school year to fund their education. Many students may elect to schedule more credits each term in order to ,complete their education in a shorter period of time and, thereby, reduce costs. For many students and prospective students, a decision may have to be made regarding college location, which may result in students enrolling in colleges closer to home and/or enroll ing in colleges with lower tui tion costs. These are just a few ex amples of concessions which may have to be made if the proposed financial aid cuts are passed. Each student will have to develop his or her own plan of action. But those students who have a definite objective, a definite goal to achieve a college education will do everything possible to reach that goal. for the fine job they do of removing snow from the main roads on campus. The editorial did receive favorable comment too. I think this enforces my belief that not all editorials have to be negative, and it is my wish that all editorials not be treated as such. Do not read something bad, into an arti cle, that is not there. Just that the editorial drew comment is inspiring. Now take the next step and put your feelings into writing, We more than welcome editorial responses. In closing, I stand firm by my editorial of last issue, and restate its theme, "things are working here on the Hazleton Campus." And to the many clubs and organizations planning events tits Spring thanks.
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