The Index Vol. 109 Issue 10

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Truman State University

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Turn the page and grab our poster to cheer for the Bulldogs against Southwest Baptist at noon Saturday. SPORTS | Walk-on Zach Fischer earns full scholarship Page 14

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2017 tmn.truman.edu @TrumanMediaNet TrumanMediaNetwork

FEATURES | International students share their Truman and Kirksville stories Page 5

Candidates begin campaigns for State Senate seat BY SETH WOLFMEYER Editor-In-Chief Four Republican candidates have announced their intentions to run for the District 18 Missouri State Senate seat. Brian Munzlinger currently holds the seat but will be unable to run again because of term limits, which let a person serve no

Abby Wambach to visit Truman

more than two terms as a state senator. Munzlinger was elected without opposition the last time the seat was up for election in 2014. District 18 consists of 14 counties, which includes Adair County. The four candidates include State Representatives Nate Walker and Craig Redmon from Kirksville, State Representative Lindell Shumake from

Hannibal, Missouri, and businesswoman Cindy O’Laughlin from Shelbina, Missouri. Walker was the last candidate to announce his intention to run. Despite his late announcement, Walker has the most support of the four candidates among voters at 20 percent, according to a poll by the Remington Research Group.

Shumake followed close behind Walker with 18 percent, Redmon received 13 percent and O’Laughlin received 6 percent. At the time of the poll, 43 percent of voters remained undecided, according to the Kirksville Daily Express. This year’s primary election will be Aug. 7, and the general election will take place on Nov. 6.

Perkins Loan Program ends

BY SETH WOLFMEYER Editor-In-Chief Abby Wambach, retired professional soccer player and two-time gold medalist, will be speaking Thursday, Nov. 9, as the Student Activities Board’s fall speaker. Wambach will give her speech at 7 p.m. in Baldwin Auditorium. The doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the speech will be followed by a 30-minute Q&A. Tickets are available for free with a student ID at the SAB office in the Student Union Building. Before her retirement in 2015, Wambach scored 184 goals total — more than anyone in international soccer history — ending her career with two gold medals as part of the United States women’s soccer team and receiving the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year Award. Last year, Wambach published a memoir titled “Forward,” which broadens Wambach’s identity further as an author, according to National Public Radio. The memoir became a New York Times bestseller and includes stories of her childhood, romantic relationships and struggles with alcohol and prescription drugs. The SAB takes feedback and suggestions about past and future events through its website at sab.truman.edu.

Submitted Photo

Photo by Nicolas Telep/TMN Students work in Pickler Memorial Library at Truman State University. The discontinuation of the federal Perkins Loan program might result in a loss of fiancial aid for hundreds of Truman students. BY NICOLAS TELEP News Text Editor The Federal Perkins Loan Program — a campus-based federal loan program administered by many universities, including Truman State University — has expired, and Congress has not renewed it. While renewal is still possible, the funds will be unavailable to students after the current school year if the program is not renewed. Four hundred to 500 Truman students receive Perkins Loans, totalling up to $800,000 yearly. This money is meant for low-income students in addition to federal direct loans and Pell Grants. Financial aid director Kathy Elsea said Perkins Loans are federal loans, but they are separate from federal direct loans. The University administers the loans and they are taken out of a revolving fund, which means the money paid back is distributed to other students. Elsea said the fund is self-sustaining and does

not cost the federal government anything beyond the initial seed money given to the University when the fund was established. Elsea said the program was established so it would expire if it was not renewed by Congress. No renewal action was taken by the Sept. 30 deadline. However, Elsea said this is not the first time the program has expired. In 2015, the program expired, but was reinstated for a two-year extension in December of that year, with additional restrictions. The loans are no longer available to graduate students, and students may not change majors while receiving the loans. “It didn’t look good last time, but we got it back,” Elsea said. “It’s that same thing. It doesn’t look good, but it’s possible.” Elsea said 428 Truman students have received Perkins Loans for this semester. She said there is no interest on the loan while the student is in school and for a nine-month period following graduation. After the grace

period ends, interest is 5 percent. Elsea said while there is support for the program from both parties in Congress, some politicians favor a transition to a single loan program as opposed to the multiple loans the federal government currently has available. “[Sen.] Lamar Alexander is one of the senators that’s been around forever,” Elsea said. “He keeps pushing for one loan, one grant, that type of thing. So his thinking was to get away from … the Perkins Loan and just have the federal direct loan. But there’s no proposal to increase the amounts you can borrow under the federal direct loan. So you go to a one-loan program, that means less money for students.” Regina Morin, vice president for enrollment management, said the Perkins Loan is a campus-based loan students apply for when they file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid along with college work study and supplemental grants. See PERKINS, page 2

VPSA search continues with new committee

BY NICOLAS TELEP News Text Editor

Six applicants have been chosen for interviews to fill Truman State University’s open vice president for student affairs position. After an unsuccessful search for a candidate to replace Lou Ann Gilchrist during the summer, Gilchrist postponed her retirement until after the fall semester. A new search committee was formed in September, which called for applicants and is now in the process of selecting candidates for a video interview. Search Advisory Committee Chair Elizabeth Clark said the committee is

VOLUME 109 ISSUE 10 © 2017

aiming to have someone in the position by January, but it is more important the person chosen for the position is a good fit for Truman. “Our primary concern is having the right person for Truman, rather than rushing to make sure we have someone in place January 1 or January 15,” Clark said. “If, for some reason, the person who is the right person for us would not be available until May or June, we would manage that.” Clark said the committee has chosen six candidates to contact for an online interview before bringing anyone to campus, and the committee is currently trying to schedule the interviews. See VPSA, page 2

Photo by Nicolas Telep/TMN Students working in the Center for Student Involvement office in the Student Union Building. CSI is one of the programs a new vice president for student affairs would oversee.


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