Thursday, November 6, 1997
Community Briefs
Misuse of student loans is now a crime
Misuse of student loan money – without evidence of fraudulent
intent – is grounds for criminal prosecution, the Supreme Court
ruled unanimously Tuesday.
The court loosened criteria for criminal prosecution of misuse
by students and the schools that administer loans, in a decision
supporters called "a win for the rule book."
While "intent to defraud" was an initial requirement of loan
fraud legislation, the court’s decision says misapplication of
funds is inherently criminal.
"The law shouldn’t discriminate against cheaters," said Mark
Cannon, executive director of the Coalition for Student Loan
Reform.
"The rule will aid prosecutions of those misusing the federal
aid system," Cannon said.
For Garrit Bates, the ruling means he will now face criminal
charges in Indiana for decisions he made as vice president of
Education America Inc. and later as treasurer of the now defunct
Acme Institute of Technology in South Bend, Ind.
In 1994 Bates was indicted on 12 charges of fraud after he
ordered his employees to withhold $85,000 in unused loan money to
aid an ailing administration.
It was then that the debate over the law began, as Bates won an
appeal on the grounds that the prosecution had not proven "intent
to injure or defraud the United States."
Although assistant U.S. attorney Ruth Hennage said prosecutors
who handled the case were "very pleased" about the outcome. "This
was a unanimous decision," Hennage said, adding, this "is
definitely the court speaking out."
"The real disservice (of student loan fraud) is to the
students," Cannon said, adding that students are seldom the subject
of fraud investigations.
John Landis to speak
at Academy lecture
Writer-director-producer John Landis will deliver the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 11th George Stevens Lecture on
Friday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m., in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn
Theater.
The lecture was established in 1980 in honor of the
Oscar-winning director and past Academy president.
Landis’ film credits include "Coming to America" (1988), "An
American Werewolf in London" (1981) and the soon-to-be released
"Blues Brothers" (2000).
The evening will include a screening of "Alice Adams" (1935),
which received two Oscar nominations in the Best Picture and
Leading Actress categories.
Tickets are $2 for the general public and may be purchased in
advance at the Academy, by mail, or on the night of the lecture
beginning at 7 p.m.
The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills.
For more information, call (310) 247-3600.
Clinical Social Work department gets award
The UCLA Medical Center’s Department of Clinical Social Work
received an award for outstanding volunteer service from the
American Cancer Society this month.
The department received a Special Recognition Award for its
development of the UCLA Mobile Image Enhancement Program, which
provides consultation and educational materials to cancer patients
in UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center.
Since March of 1996, volunteers in the program have offered
bedside appearance consultation and free hats, wigs, scarves and
turbans to over 250 cancer patients.
UCLA’s inpatient program was called "a model for other community
care facilities" by Carolyn Katzin, vice president of cancer
control for the American Cancer Society’s Coastal Cities Unit.
Compiled from Daily Bruin staff and wire reports.