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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1987)
ij,-.., t^ou.tciiioiiy wcawesaay, reoruary i^tt'/ Opinion The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Loren Steffy, Editor Marybeth Rohsner, Managing Editor Mike Sullivan, Opinion Page Editor Jens Koepke, City Editor Jeanne Isenberg, Sue Krenek, News Editors Homer Jacobs, Sports Editor Tom Ownbey, Photo Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper oper ated as a community service to Texas A&M and Bryan-Coilege Sta tion. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board or the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Depart ment of Journalism. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $17.44 per semester, $34.62 per school year and $36.44 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on re quest. Our address: The Battalion, Department of Journalism, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4111. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, De partment of Journalism, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843-4111. Not a prayer The high court can’t seem to keep itself from swinging its mighty gavel in the face of American morality. After two lower federal courts struck down a New Jersey law al- 7 id lowing a minute of silence in public schools for “quiet and private contemplation or introspection,” U.S. Supreme Court justices have said they will consider the constitutionality of that law. But, accord ing to the Constitution, there’s not much to consider. The Constitution specifically says that state and church are sepa rate entities. Certainly the debate will center around the exact pur pose of the minute of silence in the classroom. The obvious way around the Constitution is to claim the minute of silence is for per sonal purposes and not necessarily prayer — a tactic the supporters of the stricken law are now using. Rev. Carl Mclntire, pastor of the Bible Presbyterian Church in Collingswood, N.J., spoke God’s truth when he told USA Today, “This will ultimately lead to a constitutional amendment to allow school prayer.” Buying contraceptives acceptable shoul Mclntire followed his proclamation with rhetoric about problems teenagers face with drugs and sex, and he claimed the reason for the problems is that the Ten Commandments can’t be put up on school walls — thus keeping students from praying. Until now, the issue of school prayer had been laid to rest. The constitutionality of the issue hasn’t changed, but the thinking of the U.S. Supreme Court has. If the Supreme Court’s new ultra-conser vative thinking successfully changes the Constitution, the separation of public education and personal beliefs doesn’t have a prayer. When I was 16, one of my friends got his girlfriend pregnant. The girl was 15 and too afraid to tell any one about her problem. She waited until the middle of her sec ond trimester — about five months — to have an abor tion. My friend told girlfriend had never used contracep tives because they were too embarrassed to buy them. They opted instead to play the odds. The girl’s parents, who were ardently moral people, never found out about their daughter’s traumatic expo i- Mike Sullivan me that and Solving the mystery of financial aid at A&M A recent issue’ of The Battalion carried a “Wal do” cartoon im plying that qual- Taft E. Benson Guest Columnist ifying for financial aid — particularly a student loan — was something of a mystery. The big question asked by the cartoon character was “I wonder how they decide who can get a loan?” Thousands of similar questions from students, parents, and some University faculty and staff members are received by phone and in person by the Financial Aid Department reg ularly. The recent passage of the Reautho rization Act and Tax Reform Act have generated new questions regarding fi nancial aid and scholarships. A combi nation of federal laws and regulations through the U.S. Department of Edu cation, state regulations, institutional policies, scholarship donor selection criteria and Internal Revenue Service tax laws can indeed cast an aura of mystery over student financial aid. The purpose of student financial aid and need-based scholarships is to help students obtain adequate funds to meet the cost of higher education, regardless of family financial circum stances. The primary financial re sponsibility for meeting this cost rests with the student and family. Need- based funds provided through finan cial aid are provided only after the student and family’s resources have been considered. At Texas A&M, the staff of the Stu dent Financial Aid Department is committed to carrying out that re sponsibility in the most friendly, help ful, efficient and responsible manner. In fact, we realize that without the stu dents who need our help, there would be no need for us to be on campus. We provide some form of short- or long term financial help to some 16,000 students in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. We pro vide advice and information to an other 10,000 students and parents an nually. Funds provided to students total more than $50 million annually. Students are fortunate to have fine organizations, individuals, private business and industry and, yes, fed eral and state governments to provide this help. As stewards of a major portion of this financial support, it is our respon sibility to see that these funds are used wisely to help the maximum number of students today, tomorrow and in the future. We also are committed to efficiency and fairness in administer ing the combinations of programs available to help students. Although most of the 16,000 stu dents follow necessary rules, regula tions and procedures and receive funds in a timely and efficient man ner, some have problems obtaining help. Sometimes these problems ap pear mysterious and unfair. Long-term loans are need-based and must be applied for through the Uniform Methodology Need Analysis System. These loans, including Guar anteed Student Loans, are a part of a federal program and are governed by the rules, regulations and laws of Con gress and the Education Department. Banks and insurance companies can not make a federally subsidized loan (low interest and payable after grad uation) unless the Financial Aid Office certifies that students are eligible. Students are classified as indepen-, dent or dependent. If students are considered independent, only their own income and assets are considered. If students are considered dependent, their parents’ income and assets are considered as well. aid offers are made and disbursed; employment on campus started after financial aid packages are made and disbursed; and outside scholarships awarded after financial aid packages are made. A copy of the prior year’s tax Another surprise for some students is that their grades and hours earned affect their financial aid. Federal reg ulations require recipients of federal funds to maintain satisfactory aca demic progress. That generally means a 2.0 grade-point ratio and comple tion of 24 hours per year for under graduates and a 3.0 GPR and comple tion of 18 hours per year for graduate students. Loss of aid results when stu dents do not meet these standards af ter a semester of probation. Recent passage of the Tax Reform Act has created another mystery in the minds of students. This Tax Reform Act of 1986 makes scholarships, fellowships and grants taxable. It al lows degree candidates to exclude re quired tuition and related expenses. The University will report the total award on a Form 1099, and the stu dent will be responsible for justifying and documenting the allowable ex penses to be excluded. Scholarships, grants and return is the most commonly used and reliable source of data to verify informa tion submitted for both students and parents. Stu dents often are surprised when financial aid awards are re vised, resulting in loss of funds. Federal regula- fellowship awards made be fore Aug. 16, 1986 are not tax able regardless of when they are disbursed. A step-by-step guide sheet is in cluded in each financial aid ap- plication ob tained from the Financial Aid Department to help students tions, state regulations, University pol icy and donor requirements prohibit overawards. Overawards are funds provided through the University that exceed the student’s demonstrated need and/or the cost of education. Because of limited funds and the large number of students needing fi nancial assistance, it would be irre sponsible for funds to be provided to some students beyond their need while others go without help. The most frequent cause of these overawards and revisions are Univer sity scholarships, fellowships and assistantships awarded after financial understand the process. I hope these comments will clear up some of the mystery that prompted the cartoon recently run in The Bat talion. Taft E. Benson is the director of stu dent financial aid at Texas A&M. Columns submitted for Farmers Write should be be tween 700 and 850 words. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit for grammar, style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each column must be signed and must include the major, classification, address and telephone number of the writer. Only the author’s name, major and classifica tion will be printed When I was 19, the same thing hap pened to another friend. He, too, bowed to senseless social tension and re fused to make a purchase that, depend ing on your beliefs, could have saved a life or at least a great deal of mental and physical anguish. About 4,200 abortions are performed each day in America, more than 1.5 mil lion annually. I am not going to get caught up in a futile discussion about the morality of sex and adolecents, abortion or prema rital sex. However, 1 do have a theory about the high number of abortions — which are tragic no matter what your stance on the issue. The number of abortions would be less than half of what it is now if buying contraceptives wasn’t so embarrassing. In a country so hypocritically preoccu pied with morality and wholesomeness, social pressure effectively keeps com mon sense from common man. Unfortunately, minority groups claiming responsibility for the upkeep of American moral standards mistake the embarrassment of buying contra ceptives as an effective deterrent of what they believe is immoral sexual ac tivity. But the embarrassment, which weighs most heavily on conscientious adolecents, has yet to prevent anything but the purchase of the products. Touting abstinence as a viable solu tion to the fear of becoming pregna- nant, the moral minority breeds distress into the hearts of young people who might otherwise make a responsible de cision to protect themselves. It was disheartening to read in the Jan. 31 issue of the Houston Chronicle that conservative groups successfully are maintaining the shroud cast over condoms specificallyi'M tractpt i\«-> gruciallv. A p part “T^> opponents of t h.mpc hau J *3 the major networks and moakJH stations that a< b ( a nsint> (Diur bad taste. However, most of these same LI regularh ad\< itise tampons, J luInt panty liners, sanitary napkins, e bladdar control products, supptAjQ, ( and ait progi ams that borderpo spoke phy. all in t li<‘ name of good un- As of tin sc stations also have begr: inmat using i ontraceptive productsot i me!l1 condoms — with no qualms akllP^ taste. F< >i the life of me. 1 car -j ^ their distiiu tion, especially when pem- ering that the surgeon general a Ln onuncnded sexually atlive pec more condoms to prevent the spreji' AIDS. ■ TV is the most powerful mei|| • America. It dictates such norms A; ion, lif estyles and, to some exter'H sonal values. If any mediumotH/ viate the intimidation people ^ teenagers) feel about buying con®' lives, TV can. But the people who are even* f ken about the personal valuesolH neighbors believe that contrail® commercials wall single-handed!'! down the morals of our sodetil foolishly mistake social tensionfotj ality. They mistakenly believe thatsiti vertising will send a messageotl lance to the youth of Americaj such ads will encourage children : gage in sexual activities. Planned! thood puts the average age ual activity at 16. The kids already are havings& they need to know that it’s al protect themselves. Once the gone, the morality of it all can tided intelligently and individi like adults. ( i Mike Sullivan is a senior joufi major and the Opinion The Battalion. Mail Call Join the Army EDITOR: In response to the column written by Jo Streit, I would like toofferlic 1 ! and any other graduating journalism major an excellent position. This position offers a competitive salary, great opportunities for advancemeni locations worldwide, excellent medical benefits and a career field specM oriented toward journalism and public relations. Being a graduate of Te7 A&M (a noted military school) is a definite plus in this organization. Witb some reservations, this offer is also cordially extended to Karl Pallmeyer For details please call 1-800-USA-ARMY. Be all that you can be. Maj. Robert L. Welo, Graduate Student Fresh air EDITOR: I would like to congratulate The Battalion’s Opinion Page Editorandt colleague, Karl Pallmeyer, on their attempts to breathe some life into this campus. It seems the only time anyone responds to anyt hing is either to complain or to disagree, whether it is abolishing the Corps, art at A&M(1 never knew there were so many qualified art critics here), or people wanu 1 to sacrifice their bodies by running across Kyle Field during midnightyei practice. The Opinion Page is for opinions, and if everyone agrees that h A&M is a unique place, whaf s wrong with someone trying to be unique: By the way — as Dick Cavett says, “What is a hamburger, chopped ha® No, it’s chopped steak.” Jeff Miller ’89 Letters to the editor should not exceed 500 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the rig - ~ ’ ’ " mustbesr for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter mxist include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer.