Thursday, November 10, 2011
Super Students
Q&A With Fr. Engh
Its a bird! Its a plane! Its an overcommited super student!
President talks community policy and personal victory
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BASKETBALL SET TO TIP OFF
Many out-of-state students stay local for Thanksgiving Break Kurt Wagner
The Santa Clara The holidays are all about tradition. So it makes sense that due to high travel costs, some out-of-state students have created their own ritual in order to save a little money: spend Thanksgiving break on campus. But while the decision makes sense in the current economic climate, spending the holidays without family not only drums up feelings of homesickness for students, but also detracts from the significance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Senior Ryan Cheu from Mililani, Hawaii, will spend his fourth straight Thanksgiving break on campus, a decision he says many of his friends from Hawaii also make. While all holiday flights have increased in cost by six percent this year, according to USA Today, round trip tickets from the mainland to Hawaii are as high as $1,800 over Thanksgiving week. And with students expected to return to campus for two week after Thanksgiving to complete finals before another extended break, the costs just aren’t worth it. “Obviously the distance and the cost — it just doesn’t really make sense to do it,” said Cheu. “I think it gives kids who live farther away a different experience in college because you actually are on your own (for Thanksgiving).” For students who do stick around, making plans on a deserted campus can be a challenge on its own, especially when students are used to spending the holidays participating in family traditions. Junior Nic Zavala, a Chicago-area native, has also stuck around campus during his previous Thanksgiving breaks to avoid tickets that cost upwards of $1,000. Zavala spent last Thanksgiving bonding with the other students in the dorm, watching movies and playing video games. Cheu and a handful of Hawaiian students attempted to cook their own Thanksgiving feast. In the past, both Cheu and Zavala have attended holiday festivities with See SOME, Page 4
RYAN SELEWICZ — THE SANTA CLARA
Redshirt freshman Yannick Atanga dunks the ball during Santa Clara’s 91-60 preseason victory over Ryerson last Friday at the Leavey Center. The Broncos have six true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen on the team this season. The team will begin the regular season by hosting UC Merced on Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Work-Study Program Faces Cuts Aid awarded to the most financially needy students Casey Moore
Contributing Writer Beginning Monday, the university’s work-study financial aid recipients will receive special scru-
“Little Shop of Horrors” Student play far from horrifying SCENE, PAGE 9
tiny, as the University Financial Aid Office sends warning emails to each of its 180 work-study students still unemployed after two full months of studies. According to the Federal Student Aid website, federal workstudy “provides part-time jobs for undergraduate and graduate students with financial need, allowing them to earn money to help pay education expenses.” Students are eligible if they demonstrate
exceptional financial need on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. However, eligibility does not guarantee an award at Santa Clara. Richard Toomey, dean of University Financial Aid Services, said that Santa Clara’s Financial Aid office distributes its limited workstudy funds to “the neediest (students) first.” “There’s never enough workstudy to go around to all the work-
study eligible students,” Toomey said. “There’s probably 100 eligible for every five who get it.” This year, the national budget deficit led Congress to make cuts that slashed nearly 10 percent off Santa Clara’s work-study allowance, dropping the total budget to $750,000. Approximately 50 fewer students can receive work-study funds, Toomey estimated. See AID, Page 4