Seahawk/May 3 1 , 2DDD
Credit card companies target college students
A NNA C. R o n 1—1 k ^ f— ctiiHArttio/^iiiitAoktt »u.^^ »u.»; i .. , . . _ _
Dowd named assistant
vice chancellor
Jay Dowd has been named assistant vice
ctiancellor for development beginning on
June 5. Dowd will be working closely with
fundraising efforts and operations in the Di
vision of University Advancement.
Dowd comes to UNCW from a position
as vice president for institutional advance
ment at Methodist College in Fayetteville,
N.C., where he served in that position since
1995. During his tenure at Methodist, he led
the school through a three-year capital cam
paign, raising more than $8 million.
Patton McDowell, vice chancellor for
university advancement Patton McDowell is
looking forward to the addition of Dowd at
UNCW. “He brings a wide range of profes
sional skills to UNCW and will be a great
asset as we implement a more comprehen
sive fundraising plan to take our university
to the next level."
UNCJV to show Neuse
River documentary
UNC Public Television will rebroadcast
the UNCW documentary Currents of Hope:
Reclaiming the Neuse River at 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 8. Narrated by Chancellor
James R. Leutze, the program introduces
viewers to the Neuse River, the problems of
the river environment, people who depend
on the river for a living, and scientists and
government officials who want to save the
river. The documentary is airing on UNC
Public Television for the third time.
Lifeguards needed for
summer
Campus Recreation Programs has had dif
ficulty in finding lifeguards for the surtmier
due to the pool being closed from April 28 -
June 4, 2000 for necessary repairs and up
grades. We are currently looking for certi
fied Lifeguards that will work a variety of
afternoon hours for Recreational Swim peri
ods and camp swim times during the sum
mer. To be competitive with local beaches,
we pay $6.25/hr. for PED 101 class times and
Recreational Swim times and $ 10.00/hr for
camp swim times and public service groups.
These positions are usually part-time and
range in times from 12(noon) - 8pm depend
ing on the day. We are looking to hire how
ever many hfeguards it will take to cover all
of the requested times.
During the summer, we are not required
to only hire UNCW students. Since we have
not received any University student applica
tions, I can hire local college students home
for the summer or possibly local high school
students who are certified. Please contact Rex
Pringle by phone at 962-7443.
Anna c. Broome
Staff Writer
College students are being so heavily tar
geted by credit card companies that many
state legislatures are proposing laws to hinder
credit card possession by financially depen
dent persons under the age of 21. Many col
lege students fall into the habit of acquiring
too many cards and cannot keep up with the
payments.
Howard Dvorkin, president of Consoli
dated Credit Counseling Services, advises
students to be wary of applying for a variety
of credit cards and making purchases they
caiinot pay for in full at the end of the month.
Astonishingly, one in five college stu
dents accumulates a credit card debt of
roughly $10,000,” said Dvorkin.
Dvorkin said credit card companies tar
get college students because of two factors.
First, students - especially freshmen and
sophomores - are away from home for the
first time. Many are not educated or experi
enced in the ways of personal finance man
agement. Secondly, their parents are likely
to pay off debts their child accumulates.
I ve sat down with various members of
credit card marketing groups from some of
the largest banks in the country and posed
the question, ‘How can you offer credit cards
to students that do not have a job and there
fore no means to pay back the debt.’ Their
response was quit simple, for the money,”
Dvorkin said. “The balances they allow the
student is quite a bit lower than their normal
balances. And, if the student can’t pay the
bill, chances are mommy and daddy will
jump in to help him out.”
UNCW students say they are constantly
confronted with credit card propaganda.
“I receive so many applications from
credit card companies it is overwhelming. I
applied for a Discover Card over the phone
because 1 wanted them to stop calling me,”
said senior Jonathon Garris. “1 still hear from
MasterCard, Visa and Citibank almost every
day, yet 1 do not have any credit. 1 wondered
why they wanted me as a customer. Now, 1
just hang up on them.”
“1 have three credit cards. They would
send me stuff in the mail all the time. They
read. ‘ No co-signer needed’ and ‘ Must ap
ply by Mar 1, 2000.’ It was like they wanted
me to keep it secret from my parents,” said
sophomore Elizabeth Hullender.
According to a study by abc.com, ten
states have either proposed or enacted legis
lation that would limit access college students
have to credit cards.
On February II, 1999, Tennessee intro
duced legislation that would prohibit colleges
from giving student data to credit card f irms,
prohibit the firms from recruiting potential
student card-holders on campus or through
campus events, and prohibit the firms from
giving away incentives to entice students into
applying for credit.
Washington has proposed two bills, which
were sent to the Senate Rules Committee
earlier this year. Along with limiting credit
card solicitation on college campuses, these
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measures would prohibit those under 21 fwm
obtaining a credit card without either paren
tal permission or prtwf of financial indepen
dence.
UNCW has its own ptilicy prohibiting
credit card solicitation on campus. In sec
tion IV-6 of the Student HandbtK)k and Code
of Student Life, it reads, “No .solicitation shall
b>e conducted in any building or structure on
the campus of the University of North Caro
lina at Wilmington.. .except by the agents and
or employees of the university acting in the
official capacity of their agency or employ
ment or by the student government and/or
registered student organizations, in accor
dance with this section on the university
policy.”
Dvorkin said there are several basic rules
students should follow in order to remain debt
free and establish good credit.
“Before applying for a credit card, read
all the fine print,” said Dvorkin, emphasiz
ing that students should find out the interest
rates as.sociated with the payment plans.
He also said students should avoid run
ning balances by paying what they owe each
month in full.
“The trap is minimum payments are de
signed to keep you in debt. They are not
designed to help you. When doing a mini
mum payment, about 75 percent of that pay
ment is going to pay interest,” said Dvorkin.
Students who are interested in learning
more about maintaining good credit and/or
getting out of debt can go information from
the Consolidated Credit Counseling Services
web site at www.debtfree.org.
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