Monday, May 11, 1998
Community Briefs
New financial aid bill shuts out drug users
House members overwhelmingly approved a higher education bill
late Wednesday that would preserve affirmative action and boost
financial aid as long as recipients aren’t pushing drugs.
The Higher Education Act, which shapes federal financial aid and
program funding for the next five years, passed by a 414-4 vote.
The bill would lower interest rates on student loans and raise caps
on Pell Grants while limiting eligibility for drug offenders.
After it passes through the Senate and a conference committee,
President Clinton must sign the bill to make it law. Clinton
already threatened to veto the legislation, insisting the student
loan provisions are too generous to banks. But House officials said
Clinton’s opposition won’t block the bill.
Interest rates on student loans would drop from 8.2 percent to
7.4 percent on July 1. Fearing the lower rates will drive banks out
of the programs, the House plan subsidizes banker’s losses –
against the administration’s wishes.
In another financial aid boost, representatives increased the
maximum amount of money awarded to students through Pell Grants.
For the 1998-99 school year, the maximum Pell Grant is $3,000. This
bill would boost that number to $4,500 for the following year and
$5,300 for 2003-2004.
Lawmakers need to fund the Pell Grant program on an annual
basis, which they historically have not done. Not all students will
reap the financial aid rewards. The bill bars students convicted of
drug offenses – including possession and sales – from receiving
aid.
Berkeley faculty at odds with diversity
Some UC Berkeley faculty members said they are pondering their
role in a university where the number of underrepresented
minorities is dropping. They said the wide range of cultures
represented on campus is what inspired them to work at the
university.
"A lot of people are wondering what they’re doing here," said
Percy Hintzen, chair of the African American studies department.
"The attraction of Berkeley is its diversity, and it’s getting less
diverse."
But with the number of minorities rising at private colleges and
falling at UC Berkeley, it might be better to go to a university
accepting a wider range of ethnicities, Hintzen said.
"That issue has always been a paramount thing in their minds in
making decisions on whether or not they should go elsewhere,"
Hintzen said. "But now that the student body is getting less
diverse, there is no reason why minority faculty should remain here
given the fact that more private universities are becoming more
diverse."
Student lifestyles get scrutinized in study
The lifestyles and activities of college students are currently
the focus of several recent studies. One study, released by federal
researchers in Atlanta, focused on unhealthy behavior.
Young people are often lectured on excessive drinking and
smoking. Now, unhealthy eating habits have been added to the list
of what college students should avoid, revealing an alarming
increase in overweight college students.
The survey of 4,609 students at 36 universities was compiled by
the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Twenty-one percent of college students are overweight, and
nearly one-third smoke cigarettes, drink heavily and drive after
drinking, according to the study.
Lloyd Kolbe, director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School
Health, believes college students are sometimes viewed as a special
group that should not be a subject for public health policies and
programs.
The study also found 34 percent of students admitted to binge
drinking, consuming five or more drinks at a time.
Compiled from Daily Bruin staff and wire reports.