Daily Helmsman The
Friday, April 15, 2011
Tyreke Talks Tiger Sports Kings guard, former Tiger and NBA Rookie of the Year chats with The Helmsman
Vol. 78 No. 110
see page 7
Independent Student Newspaper of The University of Memphis
www.dailyhelmsman.com
Student loan debt approaches $1 trillion BY Erica Horton News Reporter After exceeding credit card debt for the first time in U.S. history last year, student loan debt is now approaching $1 trillion. According to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Finaid.org, student loan debt will likely reach the trillions by or before the beginning of next year. Kantrowitz’s student loan debt clock on the site currently boasts a total of more than $903 billion and increases at more than $2,853 per second. “The volume of new student
loans that come out each year is about $100 billion,” Kantrowitz said. “The amount of debt keeps growing each year with some (people) repaying loans. It’s like two steps forward and one step back.” Kantrowitz said it can take 10 to 20 years to pay off a student loan. “People are still going to be paying back on student loans when their own children are in college,” he said. Karen Smith, associate director of student financial aid at The University of Memphis, said there simply isn’t enough federal financial aid to offset the cost of an education. She said the average
amount of debt for U of M alumni with an undergraduate degree is $22,027, with a graduate degree is $45,937 and with a law degree is $67,074. She added that the average debt for a U of M student varies by classification and transfer student debt is not included in calculations. In the past, if a student said they were interested in federal loans on the FAFSA, they were automatically given to them, according to Smith. For the 2011-‘12 school year, Smith said students will be offered the amount for which they are eligible and have the option to accept or decline federal loans.
Smith said there are potential problems with the new system. “For example, if you’re a continuing student, you’re counting on a loan every year. During the summer you think everything is fine, but you need to go out and accept your loan,” she said. “Come August, you may not have accepted your loan yet, but you’re expecting that to cover whatever you have.” She said email alerts and automated phone calls will go out in May to students as reminders. Kristen Alexander, junior nursing major, said thanks to generous scholarships and help from her
parents, she has not had to take out any student loans. She said though the potential trillion dollar debt is scary, it shows that people are going to school. “As long as people are taking it out just for school, then it’s good,” she said. Micheal Hicks, junior sport management major said he agrees and is currently $90,000 in debt. A transfer student from Ohio, Hicks said the college experience he’s had in Memphis is worth the debt. “It doesn’t scare me because I knew what I was getting into when I took them out,” he said.
Fresh jam U of M students hold concert to benefit local Farmers Market
by Casey Hilder
BY Kyle LaCroix News Reporter
Andrew McCalla, manager of Shangri-La Records in Midtown Memphis, organizes LPs from the store’s renowned rare record collection for this weekend’s upcoming sale. Shangri-La is among several local music vendors participating in National Record Store Day this Saturday.
Viva la vinyl Vinyl junkies in Memphis can get their fix Saturday as local record shop Spin Street Music, Shangri-La Records and Goner Records celebrate the third annual Record Store Day by throwing parties, staging shows and selling limited edition records. What started out in 2007 as an idea to unify independent record stores has turned into a national event, with more than 700 record stores nationwide participating. Goner records employee Madison Farmer insisted Record Day is much more than just a sales pitch. “People find joy in buying records for all sorts of reasons, but Record Store Day has definitely helped make buying
a record a much more engaging experience,” Farmer said. Things like free beer, loud music and hefty discounts also help make the experience more engaging, all of which can be found at both Goner and Shangri-La this Saturday. Junior history major JB Horrell, who will be performing at Goner Saturday afternoon with local blues act The Manatees, said that events like Record Store Day show how there is more to independent record stores than just the vinyl they sell. “I think anyone who comes and checks it out will see that the people involved do more than just buy and sell records,” Horrell said. “There has always been a unique culture that surrounds buying records and I think more people would like to become a part of
see
Market Jam, page 5
that.” Because Record Store Day was started with independent record stores in mind, there are requirements for eligibility. According to the Record Store Day website, a participating store is defined as “a retailer whose main primary business focuses on a physical store location, whose product line consists of at least 50 percent music retail, whose company is not publicly traded and whose ownership is at least 70 percent located in the state of operation.” The website sums that up by saying: “In other words, we’re dealing with real, live, physical indie record stores — not online retailers or corporate behemoths.”
see
Vinyl, page 3
MCT
BY Chris Shaw News Reporter
Local bands will rock out on The University of Memphis campus tonight, all in the name of fresh vegetables. The event, organized by students in an honors section of Intro to Urban Planning, will benefit the MidSouth Farmers Market, located in South Memphis, and will take place in the Michael D. Rose Theatre from 5 to 8 p.m. The public concert is free and donations for the farmers market and GroMemphis, a non-profit organization that partners with churches and other locations to make small food gardens, will be collected throughout the night. ”We’re in charge of marketing for the farmers market,” said Holly Cosby, junior environmental studies and nutrition major. “We needed to do some fundraisers, so we decided to do this concert to spread the word about the farmers market.” The students initially considered charging admission for the concert, but decided not to “because we didn’t want to restrict anyone from coming,” Cosby