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ADVOCATE September 25, 1992
Vol. 98 No. 1
2229 ''J'' Street Lincoln, NE 68510
September 25, 1992
Re-authorization of Higher Education Act will affect current seniors
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By Becky Banset A re-authorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 has made it easier for lower and middle income students to gain access to higher education. Many modifications have been made so that financial aid is more accessible to students, said Deana Unger, director of the Educational Planning Center (EPC). Aside from providing better access to financial aid, the Higher Education Act also aims to strengthen the teaching profession, provide better funds for construction and renovation of academic facilities, and encourage international and foreign language study. Although the bill has been passed by Congress and signed by the President, the new regulations will not go into affect until July 1, 1993, said Unger. "We are waiting for the Department of Education to authorize the regulations in order for the new changes to be implemented," Unger said. The changes will, however, affect students who are now
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applyring for the 1993 fall semester of college. Lincoln High senio;rs will.benefit from these modifications as they begin the cmllege and financial aid application processes, she said. In the meantime, EPC employees have been updating computer programs and other materials to best accommodate these changes, she added. According to Unger, the following modifications have been made to make financial aid more accessible to students: ** the value of a family's home or farm will be eliminated in calculating the amount of aid a student can receive. ** the income allowances made for elementary and junior high school payments as well as medical and dental payments will be eliminated from the application form. ** a portion of student income will be protected. Usually dependent students are required to contribute one half of their income to their college education. Now, $1,750 will be subtracted from a student's income, making the amount they aire required to pay lower.
Sophomores still underrepresented
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** the minimum student contribution of first year students will be eliminated. ** a common financial aid form will be created to make the • application process more consistent and more fair. The application will also oe free of charge. In the past the fee ranged from $6.75 to $9.75. ** the maximum income of families eligible to receive Pell Grants will be raised from $30,000 to $42,000 per year. * * the size of Pell Grants will be increased by 50 percent, from the current level of$2,300 up to $3,600 in 1992-1993, and by an additional $200 every year of the re-authorization. The minimum Pell Grant will be doubled from $200 to $400. ** subsidized Stafford Loans will now be given whether or not a student demonstrated financial need. In the past, Stafford Loans were only given to those who demonstrated financial need. The government will also pay the interest on the loans only for those students who demonstrate financial need.
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Jon Rehn1 Although soph<Dmoresare still underrepresented on Student Council (Stuco) effforts have been made to increase representation on Stuco. Bu1tincreasing representation has been difficult and the results are not always positive. "We talked about revising the constitution. But, we decided to keep it this way,," Stuco president Jennifer Klein said, , Klein said one reason why the Stuco did not change the constitution to all<Dwfor more sophomore representation was because of the inexperience of sophomore members. She favored the current $ystem of representation. "They (sophomores) don't know the ropes," Klein said, "They're not quite: sure of what's going on." However, Stuco1Sponsor, Randy Ernst thought Stuco needed more of a balance between experience and inexperience. "Student Counciil requires a delicate balance of experienced members and new blood," Ernst said. In the past, sophtotnores have made positive contributions to Stuco. In the secon1dsemester ofher sophomore year, Klein was External Vice-President, which was the third highest position on Stuco. "At first I was nell"Vousand I wouldn't speak out. But I did get involved right away,"Klein said. But, According to Ernst, inexperience is not the problem with the current Stuco. " I feel we have achieved more cultural diversity than in the past. However that does not guarantee that we have diverse personalities," Ernst said. Ernst explained certain people tend to get elected as sophomores, and as they progress through high school they have their friends join them on council. However, he said steps have been taken to increase representation on Stuco. One example is the Caucus System. Two years the Stuco changed its constitution to allow the African, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American Caucus' of Rainbow Club to elect members of Stuco from within their respective Caucus'. "Many of our most dynamic leaders over the last years have been members of the caucus groups," Ernst said. Another step that has been taken to increase representation has been allowing Alternates to take Stuco as a class as nonvoting members. Currently seniors Jason Hutchinson and Sara Pigge and juniors Spencer Peery and Jaime Peterson serve as Alternates.
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Jimmy Schmitz makes speech at last Thursdays sophomore Stuco elections. Eddie Brown, Angie King, Jamie Johnson, Gal Maller, Jerenda Parker and Govinda Tidball were elected as representatives. Bekka Meyer was elected as an Alternate. However, Klein said, increased representation can hamper the effectiveness of the Stuco. "We need a small group to work together well," Klein said. Klein said she was unsure whether Alternates would,c:ontinue to be able to serve. She said Alternates were allowed to take Stuco as a class so feelings would not be hurt. Ernst said he favored more representation, in theory. However, due to space constraints Ernst did not think the Stuco could expand much in the near future. "Ifwe had a larger room, I'd go 20-30-40 ,"(20 sophomores, 30 juniors, 40 seniors) Ernst said. But, Ernst didn't think structure could be blamed for all ofstuco's problems. For example, sophomore elections were moved back a week because not enough students signed up to hold an election. Whether due to lack of publicity by the Stuco or apathy by sophomores the problem was caused by a failure of people, not a failure 1 0f -p_e_op_e ______________ _