Page 2 • The Battalion
Tuesday • September 12,
Clinton denounces attempt to cut student loan
jesd
□ The president vowed to protect
federally backed student loans
yesterday while speaking at an
Illinois university.
CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — President Clinton
yesterday accused the banking industry of jeopar
dizing his college loan program and urged Con
gress to “stand up to the special interests who
want their money back.”
In a back-to-school attack on Republican budget
plans, Clinton said bankers are the only people
hurt by his 1993 program that allows students to
secure loans directly from the federal government.
“Ever since then it’s been under assault by the
bankers who made the money under the old
loans,” Clinton told a roundtable of hand-picked
students who praised the program.
“But students are better off, the administrators
are better off, the federal treasury is better off and
the country is better off because now we’re going to
have more people going to school,” Clinton said.
Under the program, student loans traditionally
obtained through banks are secured directly from
the government. The White House says the pro
gram saved taxpayers $6.8 billion by reducing
bank fees and lowered interest rates for students.
The program also allows students to repay the
loans based on their after-school income.
The students gave Clinton a T-shirt with a smil
ing face. “Why are we smiling?” it read. “Direct
loans.”
Later, addressing thousands of students on the
Southern Illinois University campus, Clinton said:
“We do not have to cut education to balance the
budget.”
“As we go back to school and the Congress goes
back to work, the question is ... will your country
meet the challenges of the 21st century or will we
cut off our nose to spite our face by cutting back on
educational aid at a time when we need to spend
more on it?”
Clinton’s speech opened a second week of Re
publican criticism built around school events. He
was in California last Tuesday, the first day of
school for most of the country, accusing the GOP of
gutting school funding.
Stepping up the blitz, 47 agency heads under
orders to knock GOP budget plans were traveling
the country this week for 70 school-related events.
Clinton’s remarks today were fed by satellite to
audiences in California, Louisiana and Minnesota.
He planned to speak to school superintendents by
satellite on Tuesday.
The campaign is aimed at pressuring a Senate
committee scheduled to vote Wednesday on a
House-passed bill that Clinton says would dramat
ically scale back his direct-loan program for college
students and trim education funding by $36 billion
over seven years.
Clinton’s budget would add $40 billion to educa
tion budgets.
will your country meet the
challenges of the 21st century or
will we cut off our nose to spite our
face by cutting back on educational
aid at a time when we need to
spend more on it?"
— President Bill Clinton
Weller was in Carbondale to meet withlat
dent William Karrow, who said he was
from a list of youths invited to talk to Clii
about the student loan program. Karrow sai
lost his spot when the White House learned!:
posed Clinton’s policies.
The White House said it interviewed
students, looking for stories that
Clinton’s concerns. Ka;
“didn’t cut the mustard,”
was never invited, press
retary Mike McCurry said
“This kid had a story
was more representative t
views of the Republican n®
ty,” he said.
More than 1,400 schools
1.35 million students tool
vantage of the program!
year, representing about 40|
cent of all school loans.
itember
k
Republicans accused Clinton of fighting for big
government and inefficient education programs
when the federal budget needs paring. .
“While the Congress is trying to decrease
the size of government. Bill Clinton is still try
ing to cling to the days when big government
was the answer to everything,” Rep. Jerry
Weller, R-Ill., said.
Clinton wants to expand it to all schools:
publicans would cap participation at 40 percc::
all schools.
Clinton said he ordered the two-week camps
to persuade Americans to “ask their Congri
stand up to the special interests who want
money back, and keep this program which is
ing for you.”
Connick: Star-filled weekend leaves no openings
Continued from Page 1
scheduled performance.
“There were just too many
problems with the proposed
date, which we needed to eval
uate,” Conway said.
“The Clay Walker concert is
on Friday, the Film Society is
presenting Species that week
end, A&M is playing [the Uni
versity ofj Houston at home
and OPAS is bringing Jesus
Christ Superstar for two
shows.”
Aside from these program
ming conflicts, there was a
lack of A&M stagehands to
work the Connick show, Con
way said.
“If Connick were to play,
then we would have to inde
pendently contract hands for
the show, which would add to
the shows expenses,” he said.
At the MSC Council Execu
tive meeting, members of OPAS
voiced their concern that if Con
nick performed Oct. 29, it
would take away from the Jesus
Christ Superstar audience.
Karen Allen, OPAS chair,
said the organization is de
pending on a good turnout for
Jesus Christ Superstar to pay
for more expensive shows.
“Harry Connick, Jr. has a
very strong pull and the audi
ence that would attend his
performance would have over
lapped with Jesus Christ Su
perstar’s audience,” Allen said.
“We rely on shows such as Je
sus Christ Superstar to cover
performances like Central Bal
let China, which are so expen
sive to bring.”
Brian Quarks, Town Hall
chair, said Connick’s perfor
mance was important to the
organization because Connick
is so well-known.
“This performance would
have been the highest profile,
non-country show that
Town Hall would have
been associated with since
I’ve been here,” Quarks
said.
Conway said that in or
der to evaluate both sides
fairly, an informal survey
of 300 students was taken.
“Several committee
members presented stu
dents with surveys in
forming them of what pro
grams would be available to
Conway said it was evident
from the survey that students
could not afford to attend all
the shows and that Connick’s
performance would have af
fected the turnout for Jesus
Christ Superstar.
“I believe we made the right
decision for this particular sit
uation,” he said.
Quarks said that although
he was upset that Connick will
not be performing, the MSC
Council cooperated every step
of the way.
University of Houston to get
much-needed campus facelift!
□ Increased state appropriations pay
for $72 million renovation of
school's deteriorating buildings.
"There were
just too many
problems with
the proposed
date."
— Patrick Conway
MSC Council president
attend that weekend and then
asking them how many and
which of the programsvwould
they attend, if any,” he said.
“We found that either they
were going to attend Clay
Walker or Harry Connick, Jr
or Jesus Christ Superstar, but
usually not combinations of
the programs.”
“Obviously we’re very disap
pointed that Connick will not
be performing, but I feel that
the MSC looked at all issues
involved and gave us the op
portunity to express our side,”
he said.
“I feel good about the deci
sion-making process. Everyone
did what was best for the MSC
and for Texas A&M.”
HOUSTON (AP) — New University of Houston
President Glenn Goerke, standing in front of a
long-broken escalator, announced Monday a five-
year $72 million project to fix nearly every acade
mic building on campus.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Goerke, who
took over as president six weeks ago, said. “You
look at a campus this age — with buildings dating
back to the ’60s and ’70s — it would be easy to
spend $100 million. What we’ve identified are the
most critical needs.”
School officials listed 1,690 individual projects.
That number makes the renovation one of the
most ambitious capital renewal plans ever under
taken by a university in Texas or anywhere else,
Goerke said.
Maintenance and repairs had been deferred be
cause the school didn’t have the money. The uni
versity now can afford the expenditures because of
increased legislative appropriations in the state’s
Higher Education Assistance Fund.
An audit of 50 buildings on the main campus
showed while most are in fair condition, the heat
ing, ventilation and air conditioning systems are
not working properly and most of the roofs of the
buildings leak.
“We had consultants come in here and take a
look at the entire campus and not only walk the
space but crawl in the space and crawl under the
space,” he said.
And although many have been renovated o'
the years, the consultants determined those rei
vations hindered the operation of the original eli
trical and mechanical systems, which were not
signed for today’s technology and building codes,
In addition, most of the structures are more
20 years old and equipment is deteriorating rapidly,
None of the buildings comply with guidelim
under the Americans With Disabilities Act andtlii
school estimated compliance with that law alom
would amount to more than $4.7 million.
“The disrepair has long been a volatile issue
us,” Dom Lewinsohn, a senior hotel and restaurant
management student and vice president of the UH
Student Association, said. “This is really exciting
news. Let’s hope I won’t be a student when the reno
vations are finished in five years.”
University officials said they have hired Hous
ton-based 3D/Intemational, an architectural engi
neering and construction management firm, to
manage the entire project rather than handled
each repair job individually.
“We estimate that right off the top we’ll see adto
5 percent savings because we won’t have to hire dif
ferent consultants for each project,” Goerke said.
“Part of our planning involves making sure the
university’s mission is not compromised,” Goerke
said, adding that transitional classrooms and lab
space will have to be found'
“All in all, the effect is to make this a better
place to teach and learn. Teaching and learning
does not go on well when it rains and water is up
to your ankles. Teaching and learning does not go
on well when the air conditioning does not work
and it’s 143 degrees inside a classroom.”
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Magic Johnson to start
profitable speaking tour
MANILA, Philip
pines (AP) — Magic
Johnson will get
$400,000 from a
Philippine company
for an AIDS preven
tion speaking tour.
The former basket
ball star will preach
the message that “any
body could get HIV,”
said Anthony Roda, a
Roda wouldn’t identify the company
paying Johnson.
The former Los Angeles Laker re
tired in 1991 after learning he has the
AIDS virus. The government estimates
that 65,000 Filipinos are infected.
Hootie awaits award from
South Carolina governor
johrson
spokesman for the government’s health
department.
Johnson will visit Manila and Cebu
City Oct. 26-28, Roda said Monday.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South^ Car
olina’s “Hootie who?” governor hasn’t de
cided whether Hootie & the Blowfish
should receive the state’s top honor.
A legislator is pushing Gov. David
Beasley to give the homegrown rock
band Order of the Palmetto awards in
time for their concert Wednesday in
Columbia. Beasley said he probably
won’t make up his mind by then.
“We do Order of the Palmettos on our
own time schedule and in our own time
frame,” Beasley said Monday.
Earlier this year, before Democratic
Sen. Darrell Jackson made his award
request to the Republican governor, the
band’s lead singer, Darius Rucker, criti
cized the flying of the Confederate flag
atop the Statehouse.
Beasley responded to the criticism by
asking, “Hootie who?”
MacDowell claims extra
weight not a heavy issue
— after each of her three pregnancies.
Playing a pregnant mother and ex
pecting her third child while filming
the movie Unstrung
Heroes, MacDowell
said she wished she
could have kept her
extra 20 pounds on
longer.
“When I was round,
after having each of
my babies, I thought I
looked really beautiful
and felt very sexy. Ex
tremely sexy,” the 37-
year-old actress told
Redbook magazine.
Former 'Saved by the Bell'
star turns down Playboy
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NEW YORK (AP) — Wearing some ex
cess weight, not silky lingerie, made
Andie MacDowell feel sexy — really sexy
The 5-8 MacDowell thought she had a
“softness” like “that seen in old paint
ings” and felt “sexy in bed making love
with my husband.”
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The movie
Showgirls is all the exposure Elizabeth
Berkley needs.
The actress, who plays a stripper id
the NC-17 movie, said she turned down
an offer to pose nude for Playboy.
“I felt with the movie out, this wasn’t
the right time because you can pay
$7.50 and see enough of me in the
movie,” Berkley told the syndicated TV
show “Extra” in an interview Tuesday.
That doesn’t mean she’ll never pose for
Playboy. “I never say never,” she said.
Showgirls, due out Sept. 22, is the
first movie since “Henry & June” to get
the NC-17 rating.
ies
Stuc
by Amy Pr
The Battai
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