October 5, 2009
www.theAccent.org
Volume 12, Issue 2
Financial aid need increases Fifty percent more students applied for aid than last fall Trevor Goodchild Staff Writer
This semester, there was an unprecedented increase in applications for financial aid. Last fall, 11,609 students applied for financial aid at Austin Community College, compared to this fall’s, 17,470 applicants. This is a 50 percent increase. “We’ve had to work weekends, and we’ve had to definitely alter schedules to compensate for additional student body,” Financial Aid Supervisor Jason Briseno said. There is indeed a larger student body, with over 40,000 students enrolled this semester in credit classes at ACC. Of all the students that applied for aid, 51 percent more students than last year were granted aid as of Aug. 25. ACC awarded 9,990 students aid this year, compared to last year’s 6,611. One explanation for this recorded enrollment and record application for aid could be the state of the economy and rising levels of unemployment. “It’s a well known fact that college enrollment goes up during economic downturns. People feel they have to improve their education and skills to compete in a tough job market. And when there are layoffs, people use that time to attend school,” Counselor Jorge Lynch said. Briseno agrees with Lynch. He also mentioned that the return of Iraq veterans who are coming home to a competitive job market could also be adding to the growth the college is experiencing. “The increase of financial aid applicants definitely had to be because of the economy. People that used to be able to afford their own tuition can no longer afford their tuitions, and people that used to rely on their parents no longer can rely on their parents because their parents can’t afford it anymore,” Briseno said. Lynch has been teaching at ACC for over 12 years and counseling for more than two years. He has talked to many students about financial aid. Some students he spoke to complained about not receiving adequate notification of the payment deadlines. Not
knowing this affected how and when they were dropped from their classes. Lynch said that although it is ultimately the student’s responsibility to know drop dates, increased communication between the cashier’s office and the students could not hurt. “When I was in UT Grad School, I had to attend a mandatory financial aid orientation that reviewed polices and procedures. Maybe ACC can benefit from a financial aid orientation as well,” Lynch said. “If you failed to pay on time, that is not a sufficient reason to be reinstated, but I offer solutions,” said Davis. One of the solutions Davis stated was to look for another class in a later session. After the initial 16-week session there are eight and 12-week semesters students may enroll in if they offer classes on their degree plan. “Students have the sense that I’m just being arbitrary and that I’m not following rules and regulations, but the reasons this department is like this is that we want to be fair and treat everyone equally,” said Davis. Another ACC office that is aware of the increase in enrolled students as well as the increase in financial aid applicants is the office of Support Services and Student Success Systems. The Vice President of Support Services and Student Success Systems, Kathleen Christensen used different methods to handle the increase from 35,798 credit students last fall to this year’s 40,248. She acknowledged some students getting dropped for missing payment deadlines. “We felt as though the information was adequate, but given what the students were saying, we are going to look into more and better ways to inform students on when their payments were due,” said Christensen. Christensen is not the only one concerned about the students dropped this year. The Financial Aid office is developing ways to inform students about deadlines too. “We’ve been trying different things all four years I’ve been here. I think this year we’re really going to impact this; we’re bringing in a specialist to review financial aid literacy, and getting the word out to students that if you apply early you have few worries,” said Briseno. The Director of Financial ȩȩ see Students pg. 3
Teodora Erbes•Staff Photographer
LET'S ROLL— Roller girls warm up by skating some laps around the practice arena at the Thunderdome, on Monday Sept. 28, 2009. In the middle, current ACC student April Lowery has suffered many injuries due to her skating.
Roller girl finds her tribe Christopher A. Smith Campus Life Editor
The thunderous roar grows louder with each lap the pack of 14 roller girls take around the track. Padded elbows and knees knock and bump into the tightly packed bodies. ACC student April Lowery, or Apeschit as she is known on the track, is in the middle of the pack shoving and pushing the women around her. The violence is quick and dangerous. People fall, girls slam into the railing, and the roar of thunder continues to grow. “We wake up and feel like we’ve been hit by a truck. We’ve got track rash all over us. In two years, I’ve cracked both my hips, knocked out my tooth, tore my ACL and had random other bumps and bruises,” said Lowery about what it feels like after a roller derby bout. In her two years as a roller girl, Lowry has had her share
of bumps and scars but none as memorable as the injury she suffered in her first derby. In her very first match, Lowery tried to jump over a girl splayed out on the track. Lowry didn’t make it all the way over Curly Suicide, the fallen skater, and instead landed on her face, knocking out her front tooth. Most people might be upset about losing a front tooth, but Lowry was not. At practice on Monday Sept. 28, Curly Suicide and Lowry joked about the knocked out tooth. “I just stood up, spit my tooth out… and kept skating,” said Lowry. “That was awesome,” said Curly Suicide. The tough, brutal side of roller derby is what is on display at a match, but at the Lonestar Rollergirls’ practice arena, known as the Thunderdome, the big crowds and fierce personas are left
ȩȩ see Roller pg. 8
Teodora Erbes•Staff Photographer
HELMET ON — April Lowery carefully listens to the
next drill instructions given out by her coach.
College fire cadets prepare for Fire Challenge Christopher A. Smith Campus Life Editor
The ACC Fire Academy began its first semester at its new home at the Austin Fire Department’s training facility. The Academy had been located in Taylor, Texas for 19 years. Taking advantage of its new facilities, the Academy is training cadets for the Firefighter Challenge held every year at the Buda Fire Fest. “We are like a division two team going up against a division one,” Paul Menches told the six cadets that huddled around him at the base of the fire tower a week before the Fire Fest. Cadets Jonathan Gonzales, Christian Scacco, Brain Yeasley, Jacob McBride, Andrew Marsh, and Chris Sukup had three extra
FIRE CADET — Christian Teodora Erbes•Staff Photographer
Scacco trains at the AFD center on Friday Sept. 25, 2009.
practices during the week to in order to get ready for the Firefighter Challenge held Oct. 3. The six cadets were chosen by their peers out of the class of 33 to represent the ACC Fire Academy. The Academy is a 17 week program that qualifies cadets for the state certification necessary to get a job as a firefighter. “We’d like to make it an annual thing for this academy,” said Menches of the cadets’ participation in the Firefighter Challenge. Preparing for the Challenge has been integrated into the Academy’s physical fitness program by Lisa WattsMadolora, a marathon and triathlon runner. She has been designing the cadets’ workout program over the last two semesters. “Our goal this year is to compete, have all six members finish, and to improve from our time last year,” said Menches. “We’re competing against firefighters from all over the state,
and we’re also competing with the Oak Hill Fire Academy,” said Menches. Many fire departments use this competition to prepare for the national fire challenge held in Las Vegas in November. The ACC cadets who competed in last year’s Firefighter Challenge had never participated or practiced for the event which consists of five stages meant to test skills and physical fitness. The stages involve running up and down a four story tower, hoisting a bundle of hose up the four story tower, dragging a 75 foot house, moving a 160 pound steel beam a distance of five feet, and finally dragging a 165 pound Rescue Randy mannequin a distance of 75 feet. Menches met with his six man team to begin a series of special practices a week before the event. The cadets this year hope to be better prepared than last year. ȩȩ see Cadets pg. 6