M
ETHODIST
C
OLLEGE
Pride
Fayetteville, NC
Vol. XXXIV, No. 10
Monday, March 3, 1997
Clinton’s education plan faces questions
By Whitney Larrimore with
The College Press Service
WASHINGTON-President
Clinton’s new two-part approach to
higher education spending--a Pell
Grant increase coupled with tax cred-
its--is drawing a mixed response
among both education advocates and
Republicans in Congress.
Most express enthusiasm
about the Pell Grant increase, which
would raise the maximum grant for the
neediest students from its current
$2,700 to $3,000 next year. However,
some favor an even higher grant as an
alternative to tax components of the
Clinton plan, which some argue would
mainly benefit higher-income families
at a cost of about $35 billion.
The tax proposals “create a
real dilemma,” said Arnold Mitchem,
executive director of the National
Council of Educational Opportunity
Associations. He said college presi
dents “can’t go to parents” and criti
cize the tax plan, even though it costs
more than the annual discretionary
budget of the U.S. Department of
Education.
The tax plan consists of two
elements—a $l,500-a-year HOPE
Scholarship to students who maintain
a B average, and a tax credit of up to
$10,000 to offset the cost of tuition.
Families could choose the scholarship
or the credit, which would begin to
phase out as the family incomes reach
$75,000 annually.
HOPE Scholarships could
President Clinton’s 1998 Budget
Highlights for Higher Education
• Tax Cuts and Deductions: A $10,000 tax deduction for
the first two years of college or job training, limited to $10,000 per
family, or a $1,500 tax credit per student. The credit or deduction
would be phased out for two-income families earning between
$80,000 and $100,000. Tax-free withdrawals allowed for Indi
vidual Retirement Accounts for families earning up to $100,000.
•Grants: An increase in Pell Grants from $2,700 a year to
$3,000, starting in the 1998 school year. Families earning about
$20,000 would qualify for a full Pell Grant. Families earning as
much as $45,000 a year would qualify for partial Pell Grant
funding. Some low-income, independent students would become
newly eligible.
'Student Loans: a reduction in loan origination fees from
four percent to two percent for need-based Stafford loans, and to
three percent on other loans for students and parents. This would
give students about $100 more a year on loans that top out at
more than $5,000 for juniors and seniors. Tax incentives would
encourage loan forgiveness for students who become teachers,
work in homeless shelters, or become doctors in rural areas.
Source: Department of Education
last up to two years, part of the
president’s goal to make a community
college education within the financial
reach of all Americans. Students with
HOPE Scholarships would remain eli
gible for other financial aid programs
but would receive the $1,500 maxi
mum minus other federal grants they
receive.
The HOPE scholarships
would be funded through a tax cut.
Any student who earns a B average
would be guaranteed the opportunity
to attend a community college. The
proposal would provide students with
a $1,500 refundable tax credit for full
time students during their first year.
If they continue to do well in school
and stay off drugs, the scholarship will
continue for an additional year, pro
viding with $1,500. This price cov
ers the cost of tuition at most com
munity colleges. Pell Grants would
also increase. This increase could be
as much as 33 percent from 1995 to
the year 2002.
“Any investment in educa
tion is good for the country,” Mitchem
said. However, “both tax plans are ir
relevant for a low-income student.”
With the rise in available
money for Pell grants students will be
able to get up to $5,100 in Pell grants
and student loans for their first year
in college. Students will also get a
new option to obtain loans with a pay
ment plan so that you pay as you can.
Money will be available to students
who enlist in the National Service, stu
dents who are in the top five percent
of their high school graduating class,
and workers who have been dislo
cated and need new work skills. The
President's new plan will also expand
the work study program and allow
penalty free withdrawals from Indi
vidual Retirement Accounts for edu
cation.
One alternative is to spend
the equivalent of the tax credit on rais
ing the minimum Pell Grant to as much
as $5,000 a year. Sen. Paul Wellstone
(D-Minn.) introduced such legislation
recently.
“It is frightening to imagine
how expensive college would be with
out the Pell program, and how few
lower-income families would be able
to obtain diplomas,” Wellstone said.
A much higher Pell Grant would help
the neediest, unlike the tax plan, he
said.
However, Wellstone’s Pell
Grant plan would also reach fewer
See BUDGET, page 2
By Alexandra Dummer —
Staff Writer
Most college students make it a tradition to go to the beach during
spring break. It’s a time to relax and enjoy the warmer temperatures. With
the Campus Ministry, this year there is a way to go to the North Carolina
coast and give a little something back to the community at the same time.
At minimal cost for participants, you can volunteer to help repair
homes of people who suffered damage in Wilmington as a result of Hurri
cane Fran. It is up to the individual how much time to give. The trip is
funded by the Fayetteville Urban Ministry. Participants will be housed in a
church fellowship hall and work with the United Methodist Disaster
Response. Don’t worry if you are not a professional carpenter; any level of
skill will be useful.
Peer mentor
program now
accepting
applications
Staff Report
Applications are now avail
able for the Peer Mentor program.
Peer mentors are students who serve
as advisors and teaching assistants in
the IDS 110 courses. The mentors are
matched with an IDS 110 instructor
and assist the instructor in planning
the course, presenting the material,
facilitating class discussions, and
evaluating students’ work. A main
focus of IDS 110 and the Peer Men
tor program is to help students adjust
to Methodist College and become aca
demically and socially successful.
Any student who maintains
a 2.5 GPA and who has successfully
completed IDS 110 is eligible to ap
ply. Preference will be given to stu
dents who demonstrate leadership
potential, a willingness to help fellow
students be successful, sensitivity to
and interest in issues of diversity and
community service, enthusiasm for
Methodist College, and willingness
and ability to model appropriate be
havior.
Former peer mentors have
found that this experience has helped
them develop stronger communica
tion, leadership, and goal-setting skills
as well as enhanced their ability to plan
and organize. They also learned strat
egies for building community and
working successfully in groups.
For more information, con
tact Kim Dowd at 630-4077. Appli
cations will be accepted through
March 24, 1997.
If you plan to stay in town over the break, there is another project
which needs volunteers. A work team will be repairing homes for the elderly
and poor families through the Nehemiah Project. You choose the hours you
can work, and you get the satisfaction of knowing you have made
someone’s living conditions better.
Carrie Parrish, the campus minister, says, “I believe it’s important
for any of us to do some volunteer work when we can.” For the past three
years, as a continuation of the mission program, the campus ministry has
helped victims internationally, in Florida, and throughout North Carolina.
If you are interested in participating or would like more informa
tion about the projects, contact Carrie Parrish at 630-7157 or visit her office
in the Berns Student Center.
m
Sophomore center Amy Todd nails two points in the Lady Monarchs’ 71-60 defeat of Averett, the DIAC’s
second-place team, on Feb. 10. Todd was selected DIAC Player of the Week for her performance that
week. Methodist enter s the DIAC tournament having flnished the regular season tied for fifth place.
(Photo by Jamee Lynch)
Campus ministry plans spring break service projects
Speaker dismisses
Generation X label
Sierra Club president tells MC students
that one person can make a difference.
By Amanda Fellers
Staff Writer
Does Generation X
really exist? Are we really a
generation of slackers, apathetic
and without direction?
.“The truth of the matter
is, it doesn’t exist,” said Adam
Werbach, the keynote speaker at
Methodist College’s second
annual Lura Tally Leadership
Forum held Feb. 21.
Werbach is the 24-year
old president of the Sierra Club, a
non-profit environmental organi
zation with more than 600,000
members. Their purpose is to
“preserve, protect, and enjoy” the
outdoors. Werbach’s presentation
to an audience consisting mostly
of college students as well as
faculty and members of the
community, was titled, “There is
No Generation X: A Frank
Discussion of College Student
Activism and the Environment.”
Werbach told the
audience, “Your youth is your
strongest asset.” He claimed there
are three steps to follow when you
want to get something done;
Figure out what you want to do;
figure out what you’re good at;
and do it. He quoted the Pepsi
slogan; “'Be young and have fun.’
That is your challenge.”
According to Werbach,
people who think there is a
Generation X do not believe that
we’ll be better than our parents or
that the national debt will ever get
smaller. Yet young people are
making a difference in their
communities, he said. The belief
that you can change something is
the first barrier you have to get
over, he concluded.
Werbach enjoys working
for the environmental movement
because he has seen some success.
He recalled his childhood in
Tarzana, a suburb of Los Angeles.
As a child, he couldn’t see the
mountains that stood behind his
house as the smog was too thick.
The smog kept him from going to
T-ball practice because it wasn’t
safe to be outside. We have
achieved something, though,
Werbach said. Now when he goes
home he can see those mountains,
partly because of the Clean Air
Act, and children can play ball on
any given day.
It takes more than one
person to get acts like the Clean
Air Act and the Clean Water Act
passed, said Werbach, but it is still
important to remember that even
one person can make a difference.
Werbach gave the example of a
bill the Sierra Club had been
working on for 10 to 15 years: a
bill to help protect the California
desert. Although the club had
enough votes to pass the bill, it
was learned that on the day the
bill was to be presented, one of
the supportive senators would be
vacationing in the Caribbean. The
club needed his vote to win. They
had to figure out how they were
going to get it, so they planned a
“dorm storm.” One student
knocked on hundreds of dorm
doors, encouraging other students
to call this senator and ask him to
be there for the voting of the bill.
It took 150 calls before the news
arrived that the senator had
decided to be present for the
voting. The bill was passed. One
person did make a difTerence.
What is the environmen
tal movement about? Werbach
explained that there’s a miscon
ception. It’s not “hippies in tie-
dyed clothing” walking around
saying “dude.” It’s about protect
ing health. It’s about protecting
what makes America great and
beautiful. It’s about making sure
the people in the next generation
can go fishing. It’s also about
making life fun. Figure out what
makes you laugh, Werbach said,
what you really love, and motivate
those things. Inspire people with
the things that you know best.
Werbach closed with the
story of a farmer who decided to
wait out a flood. The water
continued to rise. When a friend
asked him to leave, the farmer
said, “I’m going to wait here for
God to save me.” He continued
to wait as the water continued to
rise. He stayed even though he
had a chance to leave in a raft, a
boat, and a helicopter sent by the
National Guard. Needless to say,
the man drowned. He found
himself in purgatory asking God,
“Why didn’t you save me?” God
told the fanner that first he had
sent him some fi-iends, then a raft,
boat, and finally helicopter.
“The rope ladder from
the helicopter is all around us,”
said Werbach. “Your challenge is
to redesign everything and grab
the rope ladder and climb as fast
as you can.”
For more information on
the Sierra Club, contact Kathy
Claspell at 980-0979, Rich
Lupinsky at 960-2897, or contact
Dr. Suzan Cheek in the political
science department at 630-7070.
INSIDE
Ttiition increases necessary page 2
Basketball teams end successful seasons..page 3
Don’t lose focus when spring fever hits...page 4
Committee looks at sites for graduation..page 4
The Pride staff will be taking some time
off for spring break. The next issue will be
published on April 1. Enjoy your spring
break and stay safe.