Inside Today:
A mini-guide to Houston, p. 4.
Battalion
Thursday, October 20, 1977
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
A coupon book for cheapskates, p.
6.
A trip to Chicago for men’s water
polo team, p. 10.
A&M has lowest loan default rate
By GLENN A WHITLEY
Battalion Staff
Aggies may be dumb, according to the perennial
jokes, but at least they pay their bills.
Texas A&M University has the lowest default rate on
federally insured Hinson-Hazlewood loans of any other
major university in the state, says an official of the Coor
dinating Board, Texas Colleges and Universities.
Texas A&M has an accumulative default rate of three
percent in the 11 years the program has operated, 17
percent lower than the state average, said Mack Adams,
head of student services for the coordinating board in a
recent interview.
This default rate includes accounts defaulted and ac
counts presently being sued for default claims.
Robert Logan, director of financial aid at Texas A&M,
said one of the most important reasons the default rate
was so low was the amount of counseling done with each
student to make sure he understands his commitment.
“Our loans are paid the day they’re made," Logan
said. “We have the best student clientele in the coun
try.”
The type of student attending Texas A&M is probably
more conservative than at most schools, and this affects
the payback rate, Adams said. The curriculum is tra
ditionally aimed at majors that imply stability in family
income and occupation, like agriculture and engineer
ing, he said. Texas A&M graduates usually have better
chances of getting jobs and better starting salaries than
many other schools, Adams added.
Hinson-Hazlewood loans are given to students on the
basis of need. They are approved by the school, and the
state of Texas is the lending institution. Bonds are sold to
raise money to provide the loans.
Considered “large loans, these can be made for up to
$1,500 per year. After a student graduates, he has a
nine-month grace period, then he must begin to repay
the loan in monthly installments.
Hinson-Hazlewood loans have lx-en federally insured
for the last six years. If a loan is defaulted, the federal
government pays the state of Texas the amount of the
loans, and then attempts to collect from the borrower.
OTHER EDUCATIONAL loans are also federally in
sured. These loans are approved by the school and then
made by the student s home town bank. It is then the
bank's responsibility to inform the student of his com
mitment. No figures are available at present on default
rates for these bank loans.
Some universities have such high default rates that the
coordinating board in Austin has put a ceiling on the
amount of money available to lend them.
Prairie View A&M University and Texas Southern
University have default rates of 39 and 49 per cent re
spectively.
“Inability to locate is the biggest reason for defaults,
Adams said. “They leave school, relatives don’t even
know where they are. They never even make one pay
ment.” One of the terms of the loans is that students
keep their whereabouts known to loan officials after they
leave school.
“THE BIG PROBLEM is that the students are not
employed when they get out, ” said A. D. James, direc
tor of financial aid at Prairie View. “And the coordinating
board is not exercising all its resources to make them
repay.
He said 50. per cent of the students receiving loans at
Prairie View had degrees in a teaching field and could
not find jobs when they graduated. He added that most
of the students there come from povertv-level house
holds.
In Texas A&M s case, if the student doesn’t pay, the
parents pay. At Prairie View, this is not possible because
many of the parents are already on some sort of state
assistance," he said.
“Any school that is predominately black is going to
have a high default rate" said La Joy Kay, acting director
of financial aid at Texas Southern University. “Most of
our people come from low income families.” TSU is
about 90 per cent black, she said.
"A lot of students don’t ever graduate and therefore
can t repay, she said. TSU has a high drop-out rate of
students who have taken out loans, she added. After the
students drop out, they cannot get jobs that pay enough
to allow them to repay the loans, Kay said.
“People that do graduate usually do well in repay
ment, she said.
Texas A&I University is another school that has many
poverty-level, Mexican-American students, but its de
fault rate is only seven percent.
“Historically, the Mexican-American has repaid his
loans, said Juan Villarrel, director of student aid at
Texas A&I. “We do keep track of our students. We do a
hell of a lot of counseling. ”
When they get their notices (of payment due), they
do something. You don’t just ignore it (the notices),”
Villarrel said. He said one of the reasons the rate was so
low was that even though students had low incomes,
Mexican-Americans were traditionally raised to honor
debts and favors.
Students can receive a hardship or employment de
ferment if needed, said Adams. Notice must be sent to
the proper officials requesting a postponement, how
ever.
CURRENTLY, 120 days after the first payment is due
on an unpaid account, the Texas Attorney General’s of
fice sends a letter explaining the borrower’s obligation.
Another letter is sent 150 days after it is due, and if a
payment is not received 180 days later, the Attorney
General s office files suit against the borrower to obtain a
default judgement.
If such a judgement is granted, the borrower is then
legally obligated to pay before selling any real property.
Real property is any which requires a title when sold.
After a default claim is granted, the State turns over
the account to Health, Education and Welfare, (HEW),
which attempts to collect through the courts if necessarv.
The coordinating board has restricted the amount of
lending money available to schools with high default
rates. At Prairie V iew, the financial aid office has allowed
less than 50 loans this year.
Adams said the entire lending process has been tight
ened up. Financial aid officials are now required to sign
written recommendations for each borrower. Before, the
official was to be responsible for carefully screening each
applicant, but his written recommendation makes the
responsibiltiy more specific, Adams said.
School
Texas A&M
University
Number of Loans
4,715
Total Amount
$ 7,757,298
Default Rate
3%
Money Lost
$ 129,652
Southwest Texas
University
3,574
$ 5,825,703
7</c
$ 243,915
Texas Christian
University
417
$ 695,828
8Vc
$ 43,529
Texas Tech
University
4,541
$ 7,403,938
8 e /c
$ 435,654
University
of Houston
4,2.56
$ 7,815,093
17</c
$ 899,070
University of
Texas at Austin
12,403
$ 22,920,229
9</c
$ 1,280,813
Prairie View
A&M University
8,050
$ 18,828,511
39%
$ 6,142,712
Texas Southern
University
5,957
$ 12,374,558
45%
$ 4,343,659
Texas A&I
University
6,274
$ 14,542,886
7%
$ 3,206,920
Total for Texas
119,844
$210,865,056
20%
$31,294,660
A sampling of major Texas universities and the default rates on their Hinson-Hazlewood loans.
radio given two
ike Humphrey. . .
osition to committee “out of line ”
-.awyers
Student
Texas A&M University Student Senate
decided Wednesday night to give Student
Radio two months to become solvent be
fore making a final decision on its fate early
next semester.
The Student Radio Board owes an in
ternal debt of $5,783.64 to Student Gov
ernment. Wednesday’s resolution trans
fers $500 to a Student Radio Reserve Ac
count to pay any expenses Student Radio
cannot meet.
Hoyt Thomas, general manger of
KANM, said if current success in ad sales
continues, “we could make money and I
could buy a new suit every week.’
“A lot of people are turning to us” from
Houston radio stations also on the cable,
Thomas said. Based on Thomas estimates
from last spring, KAN M’s listening audi
ence is about 6,000. Several senators
noted the station provides good music.
radio training and public service an
nouncements for campus activities.
Senators also approve a resolution re
commending lighting for the intramural-
complex across Wellborn Road. The light
ing project, which would cost about
$160,000, was recommended more than
three hours into the session. Lights should
be “provided prior to the spring ’78
softball season.”
Amendments to limit scheduling foot
ball and softball after midnight and pro
hibit use of student service fees for the
lights were defeated.
Senator Bill Rademaeher said that with
out a time limit the intramurals program
would continue to expand and soon "the
same problem would build up again.”
Mike Springer, vice president for finance,
said three sources of funds for the project
are available. He listed student service
fees. Student Government reserve ac
counts and interest from those accounts.
Comparing the situation to the original
construction of the intramural complex in
1976, Vicki Young, vice president for stu
dent services, said, “If the Student Gov
ernment says Let there be light,’ I feel
there will be light without using student
service fees. Young said the intramural
complex was not built with the fees.
Senators also established an Intramural
Council to oversee operations of the In
tramural Program. Members of the coun
cil include representatives from Student
Government, RHA, Corps, the Off Cam
pus Students Association, Extramurals,
Intramural Advisory Committee (chair
man), faculty, and health and physical
education department as voting members,
and the director of the intramural program
as a non-voting member.
The council will advise on the regulation
of intramurals and its budget. At the last
Senate meeting. Director of Intramurals
Dennis Corrington requested that the
council only have advisory powers. In the
advise ‘get nasty’
more months
original draft of the resolution, the council
also had policy-making duties.
Senators created a committee on com
mittees which Will evaluate Senate com
mittees and report on their effectiveness
each year. The Senate changed a bill
passed in March 1977, which established a
similar committee, but drew its members
from the three branches of Student Gov
ernment. Now the committee is under di
rection of the Rules and Regulations legis
lative committee. The committee may re
view committees only in the legislative
branch which are not one of the five stand
ing committees (on academic affairs, ex
ternal affairs, finance, rules and regula
tions and student services).
Discussion of the measure took almost
an hour, as charges and countercharges of
the bill’s effects bounced across Senate
chambers in 204 Harrington. Senator
Mike Humphrey said the bill as passed last
semester “would be out of line” because it
may have usurped some of the president’s
powers to administer legislation. W. Scott
Sherman, former senator and author of the
bill, said, “Someone else should be able to
tell the Senate what the Senate has done,
defending his scheme of committee mem
bers from all three governmental
branches. The Senate rejected his reason
ing.
“I think it’s a shame the legislative body
is not able to form a committee to review
itself...We don’t need to call in others,”
said Young.
Allison King, vice president for rules
and regulations, said she was accepting
applications for members of the new
committee.
In other action, the Senate rejected a
resolution to put dorm directories in easily
accessible spots in dorms. The $44,919.96
Student Senate budget was almost ap
proved, but a motion to reconsider the bill
was entered into the minutes, delaying ac
tion until the next Senate meeting, Nov.
2.
Hunphrey announced A&M University
will host the spring Texas Students Associ
ation Convention. No date has been de
termined.
By LIZ NEWLIN
,(, t nasty, get tough, and write letters
‘a lawyer if you want to get results, say
I attorneys-turned-authors.
™n Striker and Andrew Shapiro advise
superthreats” to nake slow land
s' sprawling bureaucracy or bumbling
plaint handlers listen.
Ver age consumers can learn to make
pweats, according to John Striker
Andrew Shapiro, who have written
^threats - How to Sound Like a
cl Ji'r and Get Your Rights On Your
II mawson and Associates Publisher,
, $9.95).
i , e successful superthreat impresses
•atimidates the receiver, they say. It is
e with legal slang and case citations
] S , C are recommended by the authors)
has an official ppearance.
Threatening dire legal consequences
makes life miserable for the person who
has not granted your request “forthwith.’
Essential to the superthreat, which usually
follows a polite but ignored letter, is to let
the recipient think he is dealing with a
lawyer or someone very knowledgable
about his legal rights. Load the super
threat letter with headings like “Notice, ,
“Statement of Complaint,” or “Demand
for Action,” with the specifics of the case
filled in.
“It should be just threatening enough to
make the one handling it want to push the
responsibility upstairs to someone else,
just in case,” Striker says.
Tips for writing decent complaint letters
comprise the most informative part of the
book, the authors say.
“You’d be surprised how many sane, re
sponsible, well-dressed people turn out
some really bad crank letters u'hen they
are trying to get action on a Complaint,”
they write. “One glance and anybody with
any sense is going to throw one of those
handwritten six-page jobs right in the
wastebasket. People make their com
plaints much too personal.”
But don’t go too far, they warn. There’s
a difference between writing like a lawyer
and pretending to be one. “We re not ad
vocating blackmail, and we don t recom
mend making your demand so unreason
able that it’s a tossup which is worse,
the request or the threat.”
If the superthreat is too real, the recip
ient may call his lawyer to battle the
“paper lawyer who complains in the let
ter. And the suit he presses won’t be at the
cleaners.
NiailancTs army overthrows
civilian government Thursday
Thailand’s
Vp Press International
Thailand -
<>rtes ‘overthrew the civilian gov-
^ nt Thursday to form a new rev-
m a< ^ m inistration, official radio
jfW announced.
ir e " Se 'Minister Adm. Sangad
| nornina l leader of a military
r ik ct °her, again was the coup
’ ,he radio said,
I t r L ev<,luti( > n ary administration de-
] h ( e ^° n , stituti< >n abolished and dis-
0 1 me year-old government of
r,» f i nistt ’ r fan in Kraivixien and the
nkcJ Parliament.
^ een ' n power just two days
a year and reportedly was over-
lurs day because he refused a
le to reshuffle his cabinet.
J V ;k lti<mary « rou P has seized
jg his time to improve the
economic and security situations of the na
tion and to maintain the institutions of na
tions, religion and king,” the announce
ment said. “The revolutionary group will
change as little as possible.
“As of 6 p.m. (7 a.m. EDT) the situation
in the country is under control of the rev
olutionary group,” official radio and tele
vision announced. All military and civil
servants will continue their work, and no
orders are to be changed.
“Anyone refusing to obey the orders of
the revolutionary group will be severely
punished, the broadcast said.
Half an hour after the first coup an
nouncement, Tanin was reportedly in his
office at government house.
There was no sign of violence in
Bangkok. The armed forces were placed
on alert, but no trouble was reported.
Senior generals in the chain of com
mand, including Sangad and supreme
commander Gen. Kriangsak Chamanand,
appeared the leaders of the coup, as they
were Oct. 6, 1976, the date of the last
military coup.
Thursday marked the seventh major
change of government in Thailand in less
than six years, not counting minor cabinet
shuffles.
Political sources said Tanin had been
under military pressure for several days to
reshuffle his cabinet. At least nine of the
17 members were to be kicked out, the
sources said.
But Tanin, a former Thai Supreme
Court justice, reportedly refused, saying
the military had given him a four-year
mandate to run the country when he was
appointed by the generals last Oct. 22.
As a result, with an apparent impasse
between Tanin and the military, the gen
erals simply seized power in Thailand’s
fourth coup of the decade.
\ . . and that’s
Looking at the flowers in the Texas A&M Univer
sity Floral Test Garden, A&M Consolidated kin
dergarteners display varied reactions. The Idn-
the Poison Ivy’
dergarten class is studying fall flowers and trees as
one of their school projects.
Battalion nhoto bv MiYhn<>l FV«I