Page 6
NEWS
Thursday, June 14,?'
THE BATTALION
Colleges offer
credit card
conveniences
Costs may outweigh benefits
BO ST ONI (AP) — His daughter’s se
mester abroad cost Jim Campbell al
most $ 10,000, but by paying the tuition
bill with his credit card, he at least got
discounts from L.L. Bean.
1 just figured I might as well keep
the money fr>r another month and get a
few dollars towards a purchase,” said
rVaoT’nr P s y c hologist from Wake-
, ie ‘ , e used a credit card issued
by the outdo or _ Wear com p an y to p ay
the University G f Rhode Island, which
ran the stud y . abroad ogram
any students and parents have had
t e same ic ea and pressured schools to
accept credit cards for l)ig _ tllition
nicn ts. ^ number of schools accept
ing MasterCard for tuition rose 20 per
cent ast year, according to the
company, ao d simi|ar £ is t _
ed this year. n r
Other schools are backing out. The
fees they are charged have piled up,
and some colfrrr ~ r t
card is little , g S , Say P a y ment - b y-
r n ■ ni ore than a windfall for
frequent tilers
y e ^ 1 '! u skt it might help some
people at the lower economic end of
t mgs to pay i| )c j ast 1,1! 0 f ^ ees j|-1 | lc
were short o n cash .. said Jini Kol
spokesman lor Williams College, an ex-
clusive liberal arts school in
i lamstown where tuition and fees
will cost $32,470 next year. “We found
it was user almost exclusively by people
who were not on financial aid, who were
otng it or the frequent-flier miles and
other premiums ”
Credit card companies and card-is
suing banks generally charge schools a
fee of somewhere between 1 percent
and 2 percent.
1 he University of Massachusetts-
Amherst recently decided not to accept
ci edit card payment for tuition next
year, saying it could not justify the
$600,000 in fees it paid last year on pay
ments from about 5,000 students. Stu
dents there will still be able to make
credit caul payments as part of an
arrangement with an outside company.
Tufts University in Medford was fac
ing fees of $525,000, or 1.83 percent of
the $28.7 million in tuition payments
that came in by credit card, when it
stopped accepting cards for tuition in
1998. Boston University stopped in
1997 and saved $1.5 million per year.
Paul Bazylak, vice president of new
markets at Visa, said using credit cards
for tuition is a win-win deal.
Schools get a guaranteed payment
quickly, and it also benefits consumers,
he said. “Parents are saying, Tf I’m pay
ing this high tuition fee, at least I’m get
ting some benefit because I can fly my
son or daughter home for Christmas,’ ”
he said.
Credit cards can also be a conven
ience, particularly for students at com
munity colleges or schools that cater to
adults.
“Students don’t have to come into
campus and stand in line,” said Lynn
Winter Gross of die Los Angeles Com
munity College District, whose 120,000
students can register electronically and
pay by credit card. “Then they can decide
at what speed they want to pay it off.”
A number of schools, including Rice
and Stanford, have resisted.
Some schools worry that students
would use credit cards as a convenient
student loan. Experts say there is little
evidence of that.
Most students use credit cards for
books, CDs, gasoline and the like, said
Nina Prikazsky, who conducted a study
for Nellie Mae Corp., an education loan
company.
The pressure from parents is work
ing. The University of Washington in
Seattle will probably accept cards with
in two years, even though it will cost the
school $1 million, said Ken Haines,
manager of student accounts. The Uni
versity of Florida system began accept
ing cards again two years ago after a
brief hiatus, and Tufts said it may accept
them again, too.
The University of Kentucky, which
stopped taking credit cards in 1994 dur
ing a budget crunch, now accepts them
again but charges a $25 fee, as does
Kansas State University. The fee would
be illegal in some states, including
Massachusetts.
Kentucky simply wants to break
even, said Linda Bradford, director of
student billing services.
Lone star and stripes
n
Ynobe Ma
par-old con'
Kd murderi
Arolyn Dian
KoO, was ser
Friday.
■ The sever
■an jury delil
Tid-a-half h
Jrning with
■atthews, v
cL ised of rapi
jn-J 21-year-
glid sexually
0 ther worm
■id Friday i
■atthews w
■ose charge
I Because
slntenced tc
tk n, his case
jc. Ily appeal
Court of Crir
Traditior
stabbed
Clay Krenshaw and Kerri Allen take down the
flags in front of the Administration Building on
Wednesday afternoon. Both Krenshaw and
BERNIE GARZA/Tm Battuiw
Allen are security guards and are responsible
for taking down the flags in the summer when
the Corps of Cadets does not meet.
Houston company hopes to sail
messages, DNA into outer spaa
p A security
af the constr
Traditions D<
in the leg Sal
officer repo
tacked by ai
old African
who was fiv
tall and wei<
pounds.
The offic
the College
Center wher
and release€
HOUSTON (AP) — California
businessman Dennis Tito paid up to
$20 million for an eight-day trip to
space in April and May. A Houston-
based company can send you — well,
part of you anyway — for $50.
Encounter 2001 is working to build
an unmanned spacecraft, fill it widi die
DNA samples and messages from up to
4.5 million people, then blast it beyond
die solar system. The company hopes
to launch its spacecraft in late 2003.
“This is a chance for people to par
ticipate in a real space mission,” En
counter 2001 president Charles
Chafer says. “Maybe one day, it will
be found.”
For $50, people can have their
digitized photos and messages as
well as hair samples placed on the
spacecraft.
Encounter 2001 is the sister com
pany of Celestis Inc., which in April
1997 began using commercial rockets
to launch the cremated remain,
people into space.
Directory
Cathode
(BresByterum
St. Mary’s
Catholic Center
603 Church Avenue in Northgate
(979)846-5717
www.aaaiecatholic.org
Pastoral Team
Rev. Michael J. Sis, Pastor
Rev. David A. Konderla, Associate Pastor
Campus Ministers - Deacon Bill
Scott, Deacon David Reed, Martha
Tonn, Maureen Murray, Jill Bludau
Daily Masses
Mon.-Fri.: 5:30 p.m. in the Church
Sat.: 10:30 a.m. (Korean)
Weekend Masses
Sat.: 5:30 p.m. (English),
7:00 p.m. (Spanish)
Sun.: 9:00, 11:00 a.m., 7:00 p.m.
Confessions
Wed. 8:30-9:30 p.m., Sat. 4:00-5:15 p.m.
or by appointment.
Covenant Presbyterian
Church
“A welcoming community of faith who reaches out,
cares for one another
& proclaims the love of Jesus Christ to all"
220 Rock Prar ? 3 Road
(979) 694-7700
G. Thomas Huser- Minister
Sunday Service: 8:30 & 11 a.m.
Sunday School: 9:45 a.m.
Aggies Welcome!
(no Aggie Class in the summer only)
fax: (979) 696-4334
www.covenantpresbyterian.org
News in Brief
En counter’s spacecraft.vAllfe': w<:
up of a solar sail ihe size ofn fooTT
field and a small container carf®^^9^**^
the photos and messages, plusd® q ov p dc
drated hair samples with the Estate agenc
codes of 4.5 million people. of possible
ITie solar sail — die spacecrafts: stemming i
er source — is a very thin sheet ofr. forts beca
live material that will use thesuniipB° rm Alliso
tons to propel it forward, Chafer® h ave b
about rep«
pfice-gougi
Review ±^ r ;
High
winds, storms
sweep north Texas
ABILENE (AP) —Thunder
storms wreaked havoc on
North Central Texas road
ways Tuesday night, spawn
ing twisters and leaving be
hind a string of overturned
tractor-trailer rigs, downed
power lines and snapped
tree limbs.
In Mitchell County, a
sheriff's dispatcher said the
trucks were heading west
about 9 p.m. when they
overturned between two
to five miles west of Loraine.
Three injuries were re
ported.
Witnesses reported torna
does that touched down near
the Nolan County line,
southwest of Abilene, but no
damage was reported, said
dispatcher Mike johnson.
Golfball-size hail also was re
ported. Two homes sustained
structural damage.
In Scurry County, dam
age to, trees and roofs from
high winds was reported to
the sheriff's office, but no in
juries were reported, a dis
patcher said.
Continued from Pogtrevictimize
.• . ... . fflthe ffoodi
live-action movies like thelw the Texa
Jones films. Practices Ac
They did a good jobattteing excess!
ginning, laying out the fraifflpd, med’u
work for an unappreciatedscflssities dui
Milo Thateh (Fox).® :er ' The
tist,
Washington, D.C. attheberT viola tfe
ning of die 20th century who
a chance to lead an expeditt es ^ q q
find the lost civilization of f Anyone a
lantis. The movie has tondties should
Atlantis
Ctvristum
First Christian Church
900 South Ennis, Bryan
823-5451
Sunday School 9:30 a.m.
Morning Worship 10:45 a.m.
Robert D. Chandler, Minister
FIRST
►resbyterian
CHURCH
limn!
iimmrcr
,
1 Helping Aggies grow in faith
1 New Summer Hours:
I Sunday School 9:00 a.m.
II Worship 10:00 a.m.
r 1100 Carter Creek Parkway
www.fpcbryan.org
Continued from Page 3
refreshing to tell an adventure story on its own merits.”
The animation style is a unique blend of classical animation with
more than a hint of new animation styles, including Japanese anime.
“I think as artists, we are influenced by everything we take in over
the course of our whole lives, and it does have a little of everything,”
Wise said.
So how does Atlantis compare with past Disney’s past films?
“We tried to infuse the film with humor and emotion and a lot of
the values I think the best Disney films have. I think it is very much
in the tradition of Disney,” Wise said.
Star gate and Jurassic Park J^fy Generc
team of specialists is assembl&r^ y ~3928, c
a wealthy benefactor who ^Wvw.oag.s
ports Milo in his attempts to
ravel the secrets of Atlantis.
Unfortunately, the sel
the best part of the movie-
rest of the film never really
a pace. It tries to be an aft
tn re but fails because of the
ney “cute” moments.
Atlantis comes across a:
bloated vehicle without a
moment of inspired filmi
or entertainment. The
tion is impressive, but wii
an engaging storyline
cares. (Grade: C-)
1
no
Matt McCon
‘Episcopal
United fMethodist
St. Thomas Episcopal
906 George Bush Dr. • College Station, TX
696-1726
Summer services - 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.
Next door to Canterbury House,
the Episopal Student Center
A&M United Methodist
417 University Dr. (on Northgate) • 846-8731
Church at 8:50 & 11:00
College Sunday School 9:45
Sr. Pastor Dr. Jerry Neff
am-umc.org
Summers ore cool ot
First Baptist Bryan
Sundays:
9:30 a.m.
10:50 a.m.
5:45 p.m.
College Bible Study
Worship Service
Worship & Fellowships
Class of 2005!
We have a special class for you
this summer! Sundays, 9:30 a.m.
Located on Texas Ave., 4 miles North of Univ. Drive • www.fbcbryan.org