Friday, Nov. 18, 2005
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www. theLoquitur.com
Radnor.,Pa.
VolXLVII, Issue 11
Housingconditionsconcernresidents SHANE EVANS STAFF WRITER SME722@CABRINI.EDU
The living conditions for residents here at Cabrini are seemingly deteriorating. From Xavier hall to the apartment complex, students have voiced their disdain over conditions that have gotten progressively worse as the year has gone on. Students argue that the state that the dorms are left in after the housekeeping service is finished working is simply unacceptable and something needs to be done. Members of the administration, in particularly, facilities, disagree saying that the reason things may not to be perfect is because too much time is taken to do other jobs. Director of facilities Howard Holden understands that wi!h a new housekeeping company on hand, there is obviously going to be a "learning curve," but they are still doing an excellent job. Holden accredited the impeded progress of the new company to
JESSWEl8iPHoro Eoook
Marie Ann Gerace, a new res resident, is forced to dry her hands on her shirt because there is no paper towels availablein the bathrooms.
the fact that they have to take time to do other chores beforehand. "Services provided by both housekeeping and the facilities
department often become hampered due to intentional or careless misuse of the facilities. When staff find themselves constantly repairing broken entry
doors, cleaning up trash cans that have been dumped into a toilet and flushed, repairing the same window screen 10 times or replacing the same exit sign six
times, a significant amount of labor is diverted from making progress to just trying to maintain." Because of this, things ostensibly just do not get done. For example, those 'things' in the Dixon House (House 2), are the lack of band soap on a regular basis. the fact that the bathrooms are not cleaned on a daily basis and just the overall appearance of the house is not what you would expect for a private college's dorm. Marissa Simeone, a sophomore graphic design major, lives in house 2 and had this to say, "Our housing conditions should really be improved. The bathrooms in House 2 have no soap; there is never any toilet paper and the showers are rarely clean. Sometimes when you go into the bathroom it seems like they do a poor job just to get done and get out. If we are having a cleaning staff, then I think that they should be cleaning and Housing, page 3
'Keep the Change,' turn it into dollars BRITrANY LIBERATORE STAFF WRITER BCL722@CABRINI .EDU
The Bank of America is introducing a new way for Visa debit card holders to save money when using their debit card. This new program is called "Keep the Change" and it is predicted to save debit card holders approximately $250 a year. When a person purchases an item and pays by debit card, the total amount of the purchase is rounded up to the nearest dollar. The difference in change is put directly into the person's savings account. For example, if a person makes a purchase for $8.75, the sum can be rounded up to $9 .00 and the extra 25 cents will be deposited directly into the person's savings account. This may not seem like much, but as the person uses his or her debit card more and more the extra change
will add up. The change will not go into the person's checking account, rather it will be added to their savings account. Bank of America is also proposing another way to increase the amount of money in their Visa debit card holders saving account by matching the amount they save from the "Keep the Change" program. For the first three months-Bank of America v.ill match the consumer's savings at 100 percent. After the first three months are over, Bank of America will continue to match five percent every year. This new program sounds very rewarding to some people. Sophomore Chris Sweeney said, "The ''Keep the Change" program, in the long run, is designating specific amounts of money to your savings account, little by little. Then at the end of the year, you have a nice sum of money." Sweeney compared this
idea to saving all his pocket change. He said, "It'll all add up. I saved my pocket change for three years one time. When senior week came around I cashed it in for $351l" John Heiberger, associate professor of business, took a similar view on "Keep the Change" as Sweeney. Heiberger said, "As students in my per- . sonal finance class learn, the secret to financial success is in doing small things." Heiberger also thought that the important aspect of "Keep the Change" is that it encourages people to save. He said, "Americans are generally poor savers which create all kinds of problems for our economy in general and them in particular." However, there are some skeptics who see some negative aspects to "Keep the Change." Some believe that the only reason that Bank of America is ere-
afing this program is to encourage consumers to use their debit card. This will benefit Bank of America because every time a person uses their debit card. the bank receives a profit. Ed Mierzwinksi, consumer advocate and program director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, agrees with the claim that the bank is trying to gain profit. Mierzwinksi said, "The savings are diminished compared to how much more the bank will make in these transactions." Many people also feel that this ultimately makes items more expensive. For, example, a person makes a purchase for $12.50, if they pay with cash it will be the exact amount. However, if they pay with debit card and round up, the purchase ends up being $13.00. According to a story by the Associated Press, the spokes-
women for Bank of America refused to comment on this claim. Bank of America also would not release the number of people enrolled in "Keep the Change." Sophomore Brittany Caprice, an elementary education major, said she would definitely take part in "Keep the Change." Caprice said, "I think this is a great idea. At the time, that extra 20 cents or so is not a big deal but as you keep using the card, all of that money adds up. This way you have money saved up for a rainy day!" Loquitur welcomes your comments on this story. Please send your comments to: Loquitur@yahoogroups.com The editors will review your points each week and make corrections if warranted.
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