CSU to celebrate Bronchos tie Student's design birthday...page 4 Aggies...page 6 wins...page 8
ber E
Novem
Vol. 85, No. 17
VISTA
Tuesday Edition
Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma
Education act to alter student aid eligibility By Shannon Blockcolski Editor
Photographic services: Tom Gilbert
J.D. Bergner (left) and William Campbell dress creatively for the CSU Art Club's Halloween Party, held 8 to 1 1 p.m. Oct. 31 in the Art Department Lobby.
Student Senate's actions criticized By Shannon Blockcolski A resolution requesting student senators receive credit for their work as student representatives was postpOned indefinately, according to Bill Smith, student senator, at the Student Senate meeting Monday. Smith said the reason he asked that the resolution be postponed was because two other resolutions concerning the student senators were 'knocked down.' One resolution requested the senators author or co-author at least one piece of legislation. The other resolution proposed that the Student Senate continuum committee set up a points system in the selection of Outstanding Student Senator. "I feel the student senators are not taking their responsibilities very seriously," Smith said. "I don't think we (Student Senate) are worthy enough to go forth and ask for credit," Smith said. Another resolution authored by Smith requesting the Student Association to sponsor a faculty appreciation week on an annual basis was submitted to the Student Senate. "Teachers play an indispensable role in fostering and strengthening the progress of a free society by refusing to allow
ignorance and apathy to dominate its members," Smith wrote in the resolution. "The commitment of the CSU faculty insures a vigorous learning atmosphere for the student body and a position of leadership for our institution in the academic community." The resolution also requests a task committee be established by the Speaker of the Senate to plan and carry out the appropriate ceremonies. In other business, student senator Patricia McLean criticized the other senators for their actions at the Oct. 26th meeting. The Student Senate voted down a resolution requesting funds be donated to the Public Relations Student Association and the Public Information Office to purchase t-shirts for the CSU 96th Birthday Party. "We are an organization which supports the university and the students," she said. "We are cheerleaders for the university. After the last meeting, it may take a long time, possibly until the end of the semester, for our credibility to be raised again." Student Association Vice President Richard Passey told the senators, "I think you are doing a great job, and you should not feel at fault for your vote if you voted how you felt."
Major changes will be made in student eligibility requirements for financial aid, according to Sherri Hancock, director of the CSU student financial aid office. On Oct. 17, President Reagan officially signed the Higher Education Reauthorization Act. This bill authorizes $10.2 billion for low interest student loans, Pell grants and other higher education programs, according to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. The most significant change, Hancock said, is the requirement that all students applying for any financial aid, including the Guaranteed Student Loan, must fill out a financial need test to determine the amount of the expected family contribution. "We started requiring this (the need test) at CSU before the bill was passed because we saw it was coming," Hancock said. Student loan applications which were filed prior to the authorization of the act can still be processed under the old rules using the Guaranteed Student Loan Needs Test and appropriate look-up
tables, Hancock said. Another major change created by the act is the student's classification as a dependent or independent, Hancock said. The independent student definition authorized by the act is as follows: 1. — is a veteran of U.S. Armed Forces 2. — is an orphan or ward of the court 3. — has legal dependents other than a spouse 4. — is a single, undergraduate with no dependents who was not claimed as a U.S. income tax exemption by his/her parents (or guardians) for 1985 and 1986 and who had a total annual income (taxable income plus untaxed benefits) of $4,000 or more in both 1985 and 1986 5. — is a married student whose parents (or guardians) will not claim him/her as an U.S. income tax exemption in 1987 6. — is a graduate or professional student whose parents (or guardians) will not claim him/her as an U.S. income tax exemption in 1987 7. — other exemptions which will be determined by the financial aid administrator (not determined
by answers to questions on the Family Financial Statement) Jane Power, editor of the National Education Association Higher Education Advocate, said that the act also allows students in great need to get grants to attend college less than half time. Under a last minute amendment to higher education reauthorization, Power said, student aid dollars can be used only in institutions that have programs to discourage students from abusing drugs. "Ironically, President Reagan is pitting drug education against higher education by proposing a $100 million reduction in student aid to pay for educational programs intended to prevent drug abuse," Power said. Hancock said the drug abuse program requirement is a relatively non-major point in the act. "We don't know right now what all of the ramifications will be, because an appropriations committee is reviewing the act right now, and probably won't have their final decision until the end of this year or the beginning of the next."
Photographic services: Tom Gilbert
Sheila Schick from United Sciences of America, Inc. talks to Jeff Parker (left) and Rebecca Brooks Brawley during CSU Career Day 1986, Oct. 29 on the University Center's third and
fourth floors. More than 58 companies were represented at the annual event sponsored by the CSU College of Business.