highlandernews.org
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012
EDITORIAL
FEATURES
OCCUPY DEMANDS FALL SHORT
ASP CELEBRATES 40th ANNIVERSARY
ON PAGE 6
ON PAGE 8
Highlander University
Established 1954
of
Occupy members remove encampment
C a l i f o r n i a , R ive r s i d e
One Free Copy
Student debt could prompt the next economic crisis
J o n at h a n G o d o y /HIGHLANDER
E r i c G a m b oa SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Members of Occupy UC Riverside have disbanded their tent encampment within a week of Chancellor White’s call for the removal of the tents. The tents, which were initially located next to the Bell Tower but then moved to the lawns in front of the Humanities Building, had maintained their presence on campus for nearly a month after the UC regents meetings. Although the encampment of approximately 10 tents (the original encampment near the Bell Tower had over 15 tents) was removed on Tuesday, Jan. 14, the number of tents had begun to dwindle in the days beforehand. Occupy UCR representatives did not return email inquiries regarding their departure. Occupy UCR’s sudden departure, however, did not signal an end to their activity on campus. Organization representatives (via Occupy UCR’s
Facebook page) recently promoted a series of “Teach the Budget” workshops held by the Librarians Association of UC Riverside. During an interview held prior to the encampment’s removal, representatives of the encampment indicated that they would continue to be involved in advocating their goals on campus regardless of the encampment’s future. The encampment’s removal also coincided with the release of Occupy UCR’s formal list of demands and a response letter to Chancellor White’s notification. The disbandment of the Occupy encampment has drawn a mixed reaction from the campus community. “I’m all for Occupy Wall Street…but I don’t think what [Occupy UCR] is doing is effective at all…they’re not handling it in any professional way and they think they’re making a change by getting together OCCUPY CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
UCR among best value public colleges Michael Turcios CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Princeton Review has recognized UC Riverside as one of the top 150 colleges in the “Best Value Colleges for 2012” list. The criteria for the list includes an examination of an educational institution’s level of academics, distribution of financial aid and the cost of attendance. Despite increased tuition among UC schools, UC Riverside has remained affordable for many students due to financial aid and scholarship opportunities. “This is great. I am not too surprised that UCR made it into this list. The financial aid the school offers to students is actually nice. Some families may express conL i n C h a i /HIGHLANDER
RANKING CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
B rya n T u t t le /HIGHLANDER
Carrie Meng STAFF WRITER
Vy Nguyen STAFF WRITER
UC students, like most university and college students across the country, are continuing to take out more loans in a pattern which experts believe may result in a “debt bomb” equivalent to the mortgage crisis in 2008. Whereas the mortgage crisis left many middle and lower income families in dire conditions, the disastrous consequences of the potential “debt bomb” would largely fall upon students who are already immersed in debt. According to a survey by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy, more than 80 percent of bankruptcy attorneys state that in the past three to four years, the number of their potential clients with student loan debt has increased “significantly” or “somewhat.” Furthermore, nearly 25 percent of bankruptcy attorneys said they have seen potential student loan client cases surge from 50 to more than 100 percent. Student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy; these loans will remain until paid
off. The bankruptcy attorney in the survey also noted that few student loan debtors will be exempt from paying off their loans because of undue hardship. The situation is made worse by recent trends in tuition increases. In the 2012-2013 academic calendar, the cost for an undergraduate student attending the University of California is around $13,600 in tuition and fees. In 2011, just one academic school year before, tuition and fees were approximately $11,800—a situation which suddenly forced students to find another source to fill the nearly $2,000 gap. The percentage of students taking out loans to pay for tuition has also increased dramatically in the past couple of years. “I know a few people who still haven’t paid off their loans yet. It seems like the topic comes up quite often in conversation and they’re always worrying about whether or not they can pay off their loans in time,” stated Amanda Hong, an economics/administrative studies major at UC Riverside, in an interview with the Highlander. A recent report by the DEBT CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
THIS WEEK’S EVENTS TUES 2/21
Baseball vs. San Diego State 6:00pm - 9:00pm Riverside Sports Complex
WED 2/22
Laugh In Peace 6:00pm - 9:00pm HUB 302
KUCR Comedy Apocolypse 8:30pm - 10:30pm The Barn
THUR 2/23
Women’s Tennis vs. Loyola Marymount 2:00pm - 6:00pm SRC Tennis Complex
Los Lonely Boys Concert 8:00pm - 9:30pm University Theatre
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Volume 60
Issue 18