SURVEY FINDS MANY STUDENTS WITHOUT PARENTALSUPPORT

By Mark Greenan, Ottawa Burt:au

OTI'AWA (CUP)

A survey released this wet:k suggests that student loan programs take parental contributions toward tht:ir children's educution for granted.

The survey, commissioned by the Canad.i Millennium Scholarship Foundation, found that 46 per cent of stucknts under the agt: of 22 receive no financial assistance from their part:nLs, whilt: about a third of those over that age receive parental help.

Currently, government student loans programs assume that all students under the age of 22 receive financial uid from their parents and thu1 all students ubove that age do not. Students under the age of 22 whose parents have enough discretionary income Lu pay for sonic of their education have their loan payments reduced uccordingly, while students with parents above a set income level arc ineligible for government loans.

Alex Usher, a senior policy and research officer ut the foundnlion, ~aid the study ~hows some inadequacies in existing SIU• dent aid programs.

''The system we've got doesn't reflect parental contributions very well.'' he 'aid.

According to Usher. Ihe stu<ly, which wi 11track 1,5'2.4post :secondarystudents un a monthly basis, is the first uf its kind in Canadn in 30 years. He sai<lthe survey was part of a larger research program that will evaluate financial assis1ance programs across the coun1ry.

However. Usher wuuld 1101speculate on the policy implications of the work und said that a re-evaluation of the foundation' definition of financ:inl nee<l,which is based on provincial definitions, is unlikely.

"This is one of the pieces of work we're doing LOsec if needs assessmentis being Jone properly," said Usher.

"NeeJ~ assessme111 is nne of those things Ihat provinces do,'' he snitl. "We can't change it without gt:lting every student in the country lD apply twice for finuncial aid.''

The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations said the study demonstrates the need for a review of the needsassessmentcriteria for student loans pro• gram.

"What we have to do now is focus on our needs-assessment policies, especially towards parental contribution," said Erin Stevenson, the association' communica- tions coordinaIor.

Stevenson said it wus particulnrly troubling that some tudcnts may be unable to pursue their e<lucuiion becauseof 1hc lack of parental or governmental sup port. She suggested there should be an ;:ippeul process for students who are denied financial assistnnce.

"We know that there ,ue students whose parenls refuse to help them and Ihe Canada SIuden1Lo<1nsprogram does not even allow students lo appeal the decision," she said.

Canadian Federation <1fStudents' (CFS) national chair Ian Boyko agreed needsassessmentcriteria should be revisited. However, he said it should only be a short-term measure until a national sys• tern of needs-basedgrants is instituted LO combat student debt.

"The fact remains that students need to borrow gobs and gobs of money 10 go to school in C,rnuda." he said.

The study also looked at student use of credit cards nnl.l fuund that 65 per cent of students have at least one card, whil1.:27 per cent have two or niorc cards. '!'he survey also found a relatiotiship between the number nf credit curds and a student' level of indebtedness. While the average debt of a s111dentwith one card was $900. students with three of more cards were on avernge $2,500 in the red.

Boyko suid this confirms that studc111 debt is higher than estimates that lake only government loans into account.

"Lt is showing what we've been saying about all the h iddcn debt thnt isn•t in Canadastl1dentloans." he said.

SIevcnson agreed the study clurifics the extent of student indebtedness.

"This stUdy showed us that there urc l01• of ways for students to gn into debt.'' she said.

Usher ulso agreed the levels of ctcuit card debt likely indicate financial hardships ~tudentsface and said 1heresults of the survey should clarify the problen,.

"The credit card numbers show llrnt the problem with students is not Jebt aver• sion, but poverty aversion.'' he said. "I don't know how if you're gelling student loans and your p.HeJHsarc not contributing you can survive."

The survey also looked at summer e.irni ngs of students and found that 11 per cent of students dill not work during the summer and that only 17 per cent earned over $6,000.

The results of the survey are considered accurate 10 within a margin of error 01 plus or minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

British Columbia Legislative Internship Program

2003 Program PURPOSE

To provide British Columbia university graduates an opportunity to supplement their academic training with exposure to public policy-making and the legislative process within the province's parliamentary system.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE

Individuals who have received a Bachelor's Degree from a B.C. university or a B.C. university-college within two years of January 2003.

LOCATION

Parliament Buildings, Victoria, British Columbia

APPLICATION DEADLINE

January 31, 2002 • 4 p.m.

TERM

January 6, 2003 • June 30, 2003

STIPEND

$16,210 for 6 months

HOW TO APPLY

Program Applications are available from Political Science Departments at all universities in British Columbia. You can also request an application by contacting the Public Education & Outreach Office in Room 144, Parliament Buildings, Victoria B.C., V8V 1 X4. Telephone: (250) 387-8669 Email:.6.Ql.lf...@leg.bc.ca.

Or print an application from the website: www.legis.gov.bc.ca.

ACADEMIC ADVISOR$

Dr. Paul Tennant, University of British Columbia

Or. Patrick Smith, Simon Fraser University

Or. Norman Ruff, University of Victoria

Dr. Tracy Summerville, University of Northern British Columbia

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

Attentioncascade Editor

time 1 got outside what I observed consisted of the strcct being lined with people on both sides for about n block directly outside Animals. fhe inuividual that hut! been getting beaten up insiuc ns we were leaving was trying to run back into lhc bar to ge! oway rrom the mob that had nll been rhrown out with him. As he was frying 10 ru11buck insiuc he was thrown 10 the grounu, were 6-7 people began kicking him. One individual rnn up and kicked the man on the ground in the l1c:adus though he \1,cre kicking. a soccer ball. Thi~ wus the most savage and sevt!re beuli11g thut I have ever had the tlisplea ure or witnessing. I have truveled ex1en::ively in third world coun1ries and have seen varying degrees of human suffering but nt:ver huve I been so repul:,ctl by the viciousness of such an atrnck. There were numerous p1:opk cheering us this person was viscou~ly beaten. The scariest part about the whok situation was that anyone of thosc kicks that this ynung n1an recciv1:d could have been thc one thul ended his life.

There nre J\umerous cuses nf young people being killed sonicwhat accidentally ufier being kicked in such a manner. My question 111you the stu• dent of UCFY is hl)w lnng are we going to let this go on fpr before we stand ll1gether nnd 1101kt this type 1>fdisgraceful behavior thut goes on. Arc we going tn keep ~upporting this establishment that let~ our p<:crs get hent uµ r(lr nu apparent reason on a fairly regular basi~.

As the police cars were nearing the scene. of the allm:k on this young nrnn two doot111e11came run• ning out and starl1:tl IO push people away rrom uround the unconscious body. Myself anu another persnn offeretl to give hitn first uid, ot1ly to be pushed awuy by the tloorn1en as they at1e>nptedtu drug the mall further out onro rhe su·eet( I' 111assum• ing so that ii wouldn'I appear us though the uttuck hnd oc.;currctlon their property) 1-!aJthis mari had uny type of n1:umlogical or spinal damage the results of moving hi111 coukl have hccn lwrrenrlous·t I ha, c <:pokcn Ill a few pnlicc officers in Ahbot~ford and while they ull a<.:knnwlcdgetl thc c,tcnt of lhi. rroblein, none \.\Crc to olfer any ,ubstnn1ial solution~. 1Jlhcrthan to ju,1 11111go to Aniinub anymnrc. I recenlly <:poke [O the owner or Anirnnb. and uro11de~crihing the al tuck thm l1CCurn!uinsiue he said that he knew the individual rcsponsihle and th:it he hau personally hnned hiln Im life. he ubo as~urcd me that Anirnnls i~ and will t11mainto be a safe place for our students rn go. If he fails to keep his promise I woulu pruroM.: that we have studet11e11a1:t11 hoycoll tlmt will force the l!Wners to take ac1iu11.Wc have u right as ynuhg people in this city tn he ahle tn go out and not IH1vt:to worry about becoming !he vic1im Clf~<m1e ignorant, wannabe'~ inability l(1 hc1ndlchi:. ulcohnl".

1 have been advised 1hut in the inter est of mine and 111yfamilies safety that 1 should remain unonynwus