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Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Oxford-Lafayette Library targets teen readers
Vol. 100 No. 297
University anticipates nearly 7 percent tuition increase
WILL STROUTH | The Daily Mississippian
An Oxford child plays a learning game at the Lafayette County Library Tuesday afternoon after class.
BY KAITLIN HOWELL AND BRIT STACK kdhowell@olemiss.edu bestack@olemiss.edu
Kindles, Nooks and other types of e-readers are gaining popularity as people, especially teens, embrace technology, and the local libraries have taken notice. Dorothy Fitts, the head librarian at the Oxford branch of First Regional Library, said she has looked for trends in what materials are being checked out and who is check-
ing those materials out. Fitts noticed a change in the age groups that are checking out, and she has a concern about teen readers. She said she thinks school programs like Accelerated Reader are taking the joy out of reading. “I think it has made kids think that books are a pain in the neck and it’s a job, and they don’t care what’s on the cover of the book – they don’t care what’s in it,” Fitts said. “All they want to know is how See LIBRARY, PAGE 3
Aldermen approve two new out buses
QUINTIN WINSTINE | The Daily Mississippian
BY ROSS CABELL rsscabell@gmail.com
The Board of Aldermen passed a motion Tuesday night allowing the City of Oxford to purchase two 2000 Gillig 40foot, low-floor buses for $18,000 each. The University of Mississippi will reimburse the Oxford University Transit for the buses. Oxford City Planner Tim Akers presented the proposal before Mayor Pat Patterson and the Board of Aldermen. “This is the next step in the sustainability service that we had talked about,” Akers said. The aldermen also approved
shipment of the two buses to Oxford from California for $4,022 each, also to be reimbursed by the university. The OUT bus system currently has 15 buses, growing from only five in 2008, and with the addition of these two buses, it will work toward meeting the growing need for public transportation from the university and the community. Three new OUT bus routes have already been added since 2008. Plans were drawn in 2009 by the Oxford University Transit committee for a new building to house OUT, which is set to be completed by January 2013.
GRAPHIC BY WILL STROUTH | The Daily Mississippian
BY MEGAN SMITH megansmth67@gmail.com
Tuition at Ole Miss may increase by nearly 7 percent next fall for residents and more than 10 percent for non-residents. Financial burdens even heavier than this would have fallen upon students had the House not voted to prevent federal student loan interest rates from rising. The state college board is meeting on May 7 to have a final vote on tuition increases at all eight of Mississippi’s public universities. It is expected that tuition at the state’s universities could increase by as much as 10 percent, according to an AP release. Students are not looking forward to these increases, though many understand they are necessary. “Because tuition and financial aid and scholarships play such a big part in students’ decisions when they’re deciding which college to attend, I feel like students feel tricked in a way when tuition increases or scholarships decrease once they’re here,” English freshman Rachel Banka said. Students were saved from further financial difficulties Friday when the Republicans in the House successfully defied a veto threat, and the House voted to prevent federal loan interest rates from doubling, according to an AP release. Had the law not been passed, the interest on unsubsidized Stafford loans would have increased from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent beginning July 1, according to an AP release. The rate was lowered in a vote four years ago, but the act was scheduled to expire. The higher
interest rates would have affected approximately 7.4 million undergraduates. Money to cover these lowered interest rates will come from the preventive health fund that President Obama’s 2010 health care overhaul law established, causing many Democrats to oppose the bill, the press release stated. Numbers are not final, according to Laura Diven-Brown, director of financial aid at Ole Miss, but the department did make some estimates in their letters to potential freshmen. Last year, in-state tuition was $5,790. The estimate for next year that was sent out to incoming freshmen was $6,186. The additional tuition for nonresidents was $9,006 last year. The estimate for next year put this number at $9,980. There are also estimated increases for housing and food, Diven-Brown said. The cost of attendance for residents was $19,852 last year. Estimates put this number at $21,216 for next year, an increase of $1,364. The cost of attendance for non-residents is estimated to increase from $28,858 to $31,196, an increase of $2,238. Summer costs will still be based on the tuition from 201112, Diven-Brown said. Diven-Brown emphasized that these numbers are not final and are only the financial aid office’s estimates to keep potential students as informed as possible in the letters sent out on April 1. Once the decision is finally made, Diven-Brown said financial aid will make adjustments to the cost of tuition and possibly to scholarship amounts. Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Larry
Sparks said these increases are made necessary by the lack of state appropriations. In 2000, state appropriations covered 56 percent of the eight state universities’ costs, and tuition covered 32 percent, and in 2012, state appropriations accounted for 37 percent of the costs of all eight universities, and tuition accounted for 57 percent. From fiscal year 1970 to 2011, state appropriations dropped from covering about 65 percent of costs to covering about 25 percent of costs. Tuition increased from about 33 percent to about 63 percent. And while appropriation has gone down, enrollment has gone up. Since 1999, college enrollment has increased 39 percent in the U.S., according to data from the Southern Regional Education Board. Sparks said Ole Miss requested a minimum of a 6.8 percent tuition increase for fiscal year 2013, which would put tuition at $6,185. The university also requested a 1.2 percent increase, or $70, in tuition if the university is forced to pay more to the Public Employment Retirement System, which seems probable at this point, Sparks said. The university requested a .5 percent increase, or $25, for every 1 percent of state appropriations that is cut. Currently, Sparks estimates about a 1 percent cut in these appropriations. If all of these increases are approved, resident tuition will stand at $6,280 next year. For fiscal year 2014, the university requested a 5.7 percent See TUITION, PAGE 3