The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 02, 1993, Image 1

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The Battalion
Vol. 92 No. 150 (6 pages) 1893 - A Century of Service to Texas A&M - 1993 Wednesday, June 2,1993
A&M considers NSI pilot program
Clinton's National Service Initiative to help students obtain, pay for loans
By JENNIFER SMITH
The Battalion
Texas A&M students may have
the opportunity to be involved in
President Clinton's new student
loan program by the end of 1993 if
the University chooses to partici
pate in a pilot program.
The National Service Initiative
(NSI) is two pieces of legislation
that may change the way students
pay for college. The first bill of the
initiative, the National Service
Trust Act, will allow students to
pay back loans with one or two
years of community service.
The second bill, the Student
Loan Reform Act, will allow stu
dents to borrow money directly
from their college.
Jack Falks, assistant director of
Student Financial Aid at Texas
A&M, said schools have until Oct.
1 to decide whether or not they
want to be a pilot school for the
program, and A&M is currently
deciding whether it wants to be
involved.
Falks said the major drawback
he sees with the program is the
schools will face the added re
sponsibility of being the lenders .
"The schools will have more
work to do," Falks said. "We will
absorb the majority of the respon
sibilities and liabilities.
"If we have a bad loan, we
would be stuck with the responsi
bility of collecting it," he said.
Falks said the loans would be
awarded to the students directly
through the schools.
"This system will be a lot more
streamlined," he said. "It really
will simplify the entire process.
"It is supposedly going to be a
lot quicker for the students," Falks
said.
Secretary of Education Richard
W. Riley said in a press release
that the primary objective in re
vamping the student loan system
is to serve students better.
"A new streamlined system
will simpli
fy the ad
ministra
tive tasks
of educa
tional insti-
t u t i o n s ,
make the
system eas
ier to un
derstand, provide students with
greater choice in repayment plans
and lower costs to taxpayers and
students," he said.
Student body president Brian
Walker said he is skeptical about
Clinton's program.
"1 would like to see a pilot pro
gram go into effect first," he said.
"If this shows that the system
works better without the middle
men, then there's no need to have
them.
"But if all the lenders are taken
out and it goes to a direct loan
from the University and some
thing goes wrong, there's nothing
to fall back on," Walker said.
The middlemen, or the lenders,
are not excited about the new pro
gram.
"The lenders have a lot to
lose," Falks said.
Another option of Clinton's
program is to allow students to
borrow $10,000 for two years of
service. This service could be
done before, during or after the
student attends college.
Falks said high school students
could pay for their loan before
they even attend school.
"It would
be a loan
that is al
ready for-
given,"
Falks said.
Riley
said, "Under
this pro
gram, stu
dents who wish to take low-pay
ing community service jobs ... will
be able to repay their loans as a
small percentage of their income
so that they will not be overbur
dened by debt."
Opponent of Clinton's plan
have said students with a degree
are too qualified to work in this
type of service positions and
could benefit the nation more
working in their respective fields.
"The money they have to pay
off might be easily paid with their
income," Falks said.
Falks said Clinton's program is
geared toward students with de
grees that offer a low starting
salary after graduation.
"This will make it easier for
students with low incomes to re
pay their loans," he said.
Other opportunities will be
available for students attending
schools that cannot originate this
type of loan.
"I understand that not every
institution will be able to originate
loans, and some will not want to,"
Riley said. "In these cases, an al
ternative originator will be avail
able at no cost to the institution."
A U.S. Department of Educa
tion press release stated colleges
and trade schools would use fed
eral capital to make loans directly
to students and their parents. Ac
cording to the release, "An esti
mated $4.3 billion could be saved
through fiscal year 1988 as a result
of lower government borrowing
rates and the elimination of lender
subsides."
"Students and taxpayers will
benefit from a less expensive pro
gram and students will enjoy low
er interest rates, with simpler,
more flexible repayment options,"
Riley said. "By cutting out mid
dlemen and eliminating excessive
profits, billions of dollars can be
saved."
The NSI is still in subcommit
tee. When both the U.S. House of
Representatives and Senate ap
prove the same versions of the
bill, it will be submitted to the
president for approval or veto.
Since this is Clinton's program, he
will almost surely approve it.
"This will make it easier for
students with low incomes
to repay their loans."
-Jack Falks,
asst, director of financial aid
Schedule
Friday (Bracket One)
#1 Texas A&M vs.
#8 Kansas
#4 Long Beach vs. #5 LSU
Saturday (Bracket Two)
#2 Arizona St. vs.
#7 Wichita St.
#3 Texas vs.
#6' Oklahoma St.
Poor school districts attack
latest funding reform plan
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — The state no sooner presented its latest school funding
reform plan to a judge Tuesday than property-poor school districts an
nounced plans to challenge the measure.
"Poor districts will suffer tremendously" under the law, said lawyer
A1 Kauffman of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational
Fund.
State District Judge F. Scott McCown of Austin said he would pre
sume the new law is constitutional until such challenges are filed, then
set a hearing. He is allowing state aid to flow to schools this summer.
McCown, who oversees the long-running school finance case, said it
is likely that schools will operate under the new plan over the next
school year because of the time needed for courts — and if necessary,
lawmakers — to act. He said challenges should be filed by July 15.
But lawyers for property-poor school districts want quicker action.
Kauffman said he planned to file his challenge June 9 and hopes that
a hearing will promptly be scheduled.
He and other lawyers for poor districts cited as a top concern the
way state funds are to be distributed beginning next school year. Lead
ers have said the new measure does not include enough state funds to
keep up with growing enrollment.
RICHARD DIXON/The Battalion
John Heffington, a senior at A&M Consolidated the Central Texas Junior Golf Tournament. The
High School, practices golf Tuesday afternoon on tournament will be held at 8 a.m. Thursday at the
ihe A&M golf course. Heffington is preparing for A&M golf course.
Serbs bomb Sarajevo civilians
during soccer game, killing 15
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegov-
ina — Serb mortar crews targeted
a pickup soccer game on a Mus
lim holy day Tuesday, killing at
least 15 people and wounding
dozens in one of the war's worst
attacks on Sarajevo civilians.
An hour after two shells
slammed into the crowd of specta
tors, the soccer ball remained on
the parking lot near Sarajevo air
port where the game was played,
surrounded by the victims' blood.
Bosnian radio had warned resi
dents that besieging Serbs might
launch a heavy attack on Kurban
Bayram, a holy day that commem
orates Abraham's willingness to
sacrifice his son to God.
About 200 Sarajevans gathered
on the Dobrinja suburb field any
way for the soccer game.
"It wasn't a very good idea,"
said Sead Bajric, his right leg
bloody and bandaged from the at
tack, as he lay in a field hospital
nearby. "But ... people will gather
and live their lives normally."
Three days earlier, residents
had shown their defiance and de
sire for normalcy by holding a
beauty pageant, crowning a 17-
year-old as Miss Besieged Sarajevo.
Bajric said he had a message
for "these savages on the hill" —
the Serb gunners positioned on
the slopes around Sarajevo: "They
will never kill our morale, no mat
ter how many of us they kill."
"People started screaming,"
Bajric, 20, said. "Shoes were flying
around. There was a lot of blood."
Bosnian television said 15 peo
ple were killed. Attending physi
cian Youssef Hajir said 25 of the
almost 80 wounded had "life-
threatening injuries," Hajir said.
"It's one of the saddest days in
Dobrinja since the beginning of
the war," Hajir said.
President Alija Izetbegovic
urged his people to have courage
and faith as he joined fellow Mus
lims in dawn prayer.
Reports of desperate battles in
northern and eastern Bosnia
added to the gloom on a day re
served in better times to celebrat
ing the "Feast of Sacrifice."
Serb shelling in the north Bosn
ian city of Maglaj on Tuesday
killed two Danes and a Bosnian
who worked for the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees. Five
other Danish drivers were
wounded, one seriously.
In the eastern Muslim enclave
of Gorazde, ham radio operator
Mustafa Kurtovic reported that
the "ground is shaking" from ex
plosions.
Medjedja, a village 12 miles
northeast of Gorazde, had fallen
to the Serbs who had torched it,
Kurtovic said.
University fights research criticism
Research, teaching related. Gage says
By LAURA HALEY
The Battalion
In the past two years, re
search-based universities, such as
Texas A&M, have received in
creasing criticism for spending
too much time on research and
not enough time on teaching.
Dr. E. Dean Gage, A&M senior
vice president and provost of aca
demic affairs, said the research
conducted by professors can add
to the classroom environment.
"Without research and scholar
ship, the faculty does not grow
and learn, and this affects what is
done in the classroom," he said.
There is an interrelationship
between research and teaching,
and the problem is that many re-
search-based universities tend to
over-emphasize either research or
teaching. Gage said.
When research is not done, ed
ucation becomes obsolete, he said.
Dr. Robert Kennedy, A&M as
sociate provost for research man
agement, agreed.
"In general, the best re
searchers make the best teachers
and vice versa," he said.
Many professors carry over
their excitement from research to
the classroom, making the learn
ing experience fun for everyone,
he said.
Kennedy admits, however, that
too much time spent on research
not used in the classroom can be a
disadvantage.
Student body president Brian
Walker said although research is
an important aspect of the teach
ing process, many professors do
not mention their research in the
classroom.
"They (professors) have never
said I'm teaching you this
through research, but I assume
they are," he said.
If professors do acknowledge
their research in the classroom, it
may not be helpful to the student
or pertain to what the class is
studying, he said.
Gage said some initiatives have
been taken to keep a balance be
tween teaching and research at
A&M.
A new faculty reward system
is being used to help the balance,
he said.
In this reward system, faculty
will be commended in the area of
their expertise, whether it be re
search or teaching. For example,
teachers will be rewarded for
their classroom ability instead of
having to compete with re
searchers, Gage said.
A classroom communications
enhancement program developed
by the University two years ago
focuses on emphasizing and im
proving teaching at A&M. The
program helps the teaching
process by ensuring students are
able to understand what is being
taught in the classroom.
"A research-based university
adds to the quality and prestige of
the degree because it reflects the
quality and knowledge of the fac
ulty," Gage said.
Sports
•Baseball: Aggies pack a
punch with batting lineup
•Sullivan: Choosing athletic
role models
Page 3
Opinion
•Editorial: Concealed gun
referendum necessary
•Column: Vasquez agonizes
over summer school
Page 5
dent
tomorrow in
Preview:
Teyti J\iusic
Review:
Stephen Coonts' novel
"The Red Horseman"