The Orion Issue 8 Vol. 71 by The Orion

Parade in Motion

Wild Things

Community representatives from Greek Life, charitable organizations and youth groups danced in the rain during Chico’s annual Parade of Lights. video at theorion.com

Models of every shape and size strutted down the runway to showcase designs put together by the five-women fashion team at Chikoko. See Features B5.

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volume 71 Issue 8

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State report finds CSU lacks capacity to serve California

begun or has been involved in for some time, Uhlenkamp said. “Anytime a report like this is issued, a dialogue opens The Orion up,” said Mike Uhlenkamp, a spokesman for the CSU. The CSU is currently working with other state univerCalifornia’s economy could suffer if higher education sity systems to meet future workforce demands, as well as resources cannot be expanded to serve a growing popudiscussing the future of higher lation, according to a state report education with the state legisissued on Monday. lature and government, UhlenThe report, ‘A New Plan for a New kamp said. Economy: Reimagining Higher EdThe report cites a variety of ucation’ issued by the Little Hoover Any time a report like this reasons, including less state Commission, claimed that the state‘s is issued, a dialogue opens funding and increased tuition university systems lack the enrollup. fees, as reasons for the decline of ment and graduation rates to mainhigher education in California. tain the state’s growing economy. However, it attributes these ailThe Little Hoover Commission, an Mike Uhlenkamp ments to the recession of 2008. independent state oversight agency, Spokesman, California State University According to the report: investigates the actions of the state The problems began with state government and offers reports, recbudget cuts to public education ommendations and legislative prothat began in 2003. In response posals to promote efficiency, econto the cuts, tuition costs for both the University of Caliomy and improve services. The recommendations in the report allude to initiatives fornia and the CSU systems increased, causing more stuthat the California State University system has already » please see REPORT | A5 Nicholas Carr Aubrey Crosby

40%

According to the commission’s findings, California will have to increase its output of college graduates by 40 percent to mainatin a “healthy modern economy.”

2.3M The number of baccularette degree holders in California’s economy will be short 2.3 million by 2025 if the university systems can’t step up enrollment and graduation rates.

SOUrce ∤ Little Hoover Commission

Covered California

Student loses $2K to email fraud trickery

explained

On Oct. 1, U.S. citizens were given access to statewide online insurance marketplaces as required by the Affordable Care Act, a law designed to make sure no U.S. citizen goes without health insurance. If you’re unsure what the new online marketplace means for you, check out the flowchart below.

Aubrey Crosby

Staff Writer

A Chico State student recently lost $2,000 after a fradulent email was sent to their university account, according to an announcement by the University Police Department. University police circulated an announcement Monday warning students to be wary of a fictional grant advertised in an email that was sent to multiple student accounts. The email, titled “Zart Assistant Grant for Prospective and Current Students,” purported to offer students “real financial assistance” for students pursuing “all fields of study,” and promised “hundreds of awards” would be given out. Email scams are very common on campuses nationwide and even worldwide, said University Police Lt. Corinne Beck. In Chico, the scams are not regularly reIf you truly won someported to university thing, you don’t need to police. give something to someone “My understanding is that we have not else to claim your prize. heard from any other students who received Lt. Corinne Beck this email,” said Beck. University Police In email scams, the Department recipient is typically asked to cash a check and wire a large sum of money to a third location, Beck said. Over the years, Beck has investigated about 15 to 20 of these email fraud cases, many of them with different premises, she said. They often tell the recipient that they’ve won a prize and need to pay a small sum to claim the award in full. “If you’ve truly won something, you don’t need to give something to someone else to claim your prize,” Beck said. “That’s the biggest red flag. I think that anything that seems to be too good to be true, they need to stop and slow down.” It’s hard to track down cybercriminals because of the anonymous nature of the Internet, she said. If victims contact police before they give money away, then the crime can be prevented. But it’s hard to recover money that’s been lost. “I can’t remember a time where somebody has gotten something back,” she said. University police advise students not to open any emails that look like they may be suspicious, Beck said.

You EMPLOYED

UNEMPLOYED

Employer doesn’t offer healthcare

If your employer has or adopts a new employee healthcare plan before the end of December, you won’t have to worry about fines. Have parents with insurance

If your parents already have health insurance, you’re covered until the age of 26 under the Affordable Care Act.

Aubrey Crosby can be reached at

acrosby@theorion.com or @aubreycrosby on Twitter

Beware of offers that seem to good to be true.

•

Emails that pressure you to act on a tight deadline may be suspicious.

•

To learn more, visit www.fbi.gov/scamssafety/fraud

Parents do not have insurance

Have an annual income that’s less than 138 percent of poverty-level income ($15,856 annually in 2013)