Page 12
The Battalion
Thursday, March 3,
Cleaning-up their act
Lynn Booher/The Battalion
Gregory Luna cheers on Tina Blackshear as she practices for the
Custodial Olympics. A&M custodians will compete on March 1 7.
College graduates leave with diploma, debt
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Hillary
Wicai has her dream job as a tele
vision reporter, but she can't af
ford the clothes that make her
look professional on the air.
She's trying to pay off "an
enormous debt, probably $20,000
or $21,000" for the year at North
western University's Medill
School of Journalism that helped
her land the job. And that's on a
novice newsperson's salary of
$16,000 a year.
"All my clothes are gifts," says
Wicai, who works for WLFI in
West Lafayette, Ind. "Every single
thing I have for work was given to
me. My mother, my grandmother
— they shop for me for bargains."
Millions of today's students
must smirk when, studying
Shakespeare, they come across
Polonius' advice to his son
Laertes, "Neither a borrower nor
a lender be."
If they weren't borrowers, they
wouldn't in college be.
And after they get out, their
debt can influence the course of
their lives. A study finds that
many graduates in debt postpone
marriage, delay having a family/
hold down two jobs, even put off
medical care.
Much attention has been paid
to college borrowers who default,
but relatively little to the impact
of indebtedness on the 12.5 mil
lion who ploddingly, month after
month, pay off their loans.
Collectively they owe $41.9 bil
lion. Many are still in hock 10
years after graduation.
No time for these young people
to backpack across Europe; no
year off to "find themselves" —
they've got debts to pay!
"There are students who
would like to take a couple of
years of their life and go to work
in the nonprofit sector, and return
something to their country before
they mush on with their careers,"
said Victor Lindquist, director of
placement at Northwestern.
'But they feel they are unable to
do that and still meet their finan
cial obligations. The clock begins
ticking once ypu graduate."
For a variety of reasons — col
lege tuitions have soared, more
people of all incomes are enrolling
and there are more loan programs
available — more students are
leaving school in debt.
In many schools, 70 percent of
the student body must borrow.
One survey said that the average
undergraduate borrower carried
away a $7,900 debt. Those who
also borrowed for an advanced
degree owed $31,000.
And the burden is compound
ed when one student debtor mar
ries another.
"When I was in school in the
1950s, I had three jobs and
worked summers," recalled
Lindquist. "If you hustled you
could make your way through."
Joanne Peevev, director of ca
reer and counseling services at the
University of Houston at Clear
Lake, said some graduates with
loans leap at the first job offer that
comes along "rather than taking
the time to find the job that fits
their skills and interest. So they
pay a price."
Debt, of course, isn't a burden
for every borrower. Jerry Heet, a
Northwestern computer engineci
ing graduate with AT&T Bellli
oratories in Naperville, Ill.,tk
first member of his family togolt
college, finds his loans an in»
venience, but not much more.
He pays back $110.59 a monll
he knows the figure by heart. J
said he had to postpone buying
new stereo system and drove nii
1981 Nissan 220SX "basically
the ground."
"But looking at what it;
me — a great education
would recommend borrowing
rather than going to a lessei
school," Heet said.
Newscaster Wicai agreed.
"Could I have gotten thisjol
without that degree?" sheaskd
"Yes. But would I have beenis
prepared? No. I wanted tobetk
best entry-level reporter I couli
be, so I could feel confidentii
my abilities."
"My lifestyle is dictated by ta
things — my loan and my lackd
income," she said. "I could haw
had these loans and been a stock
broker and been OK. But the comb
nation means I have no social life.'
Nutrition
Continued from Page 2
• If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so
in moderation. Alcohol can block some nu
trients from being absorbed. It also replaces
nutrient dense calories needed for exercise
with empty calories.
• Generally try to increase physical exertion
and movement in all of your daily activities or
start a regular exercise plan of 20 minutes of
aerobic exercise three to five days a week.
Try these tips to incorporate exercise into
your daily routine:
1) Park farther away from your des
tination and walk.
2) Fast walk or ride a bicycle to class
instead of riding the bus.
3) Take the stairs instead of using
the elevator.
4) Plan fun group activities that in
clude exercise like swimming, tennis,
biking, or walking.
If you arc interested in more information
on diet, please contact the Health Education
Center.
EXCLUSIVELY AT FOLEY’S
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FABULOUS SEVEN-PIECE GIFT IS Y0E§S FREE Wi l l I ANY
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