Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Nov. 12, 1998, edition 1 / Page 12
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12 November 12,1998 Features Students learn magic of plastic Pam Kelley Knight-Ridder Newspapers As an 18-year-old freshman at the University of North Carohna at Chapel Hill, Mari Sarvey didn’t have a job, an income or a credit history, but credit-card marketers still clamored for her business. After she signed up for one card, more offers - including unsolic ited cards - arrived in the mail. Before long, she carried four cards. And during the next few years, Sarvey’s credit-card debt soared to nearly $7,000, mostly from purchases of “stupid stuff’ - dinners out, a round of drinks for friends. “You don’t realize the consequences,” she says. “As a kid, you spend it on fun stuff.” Peppered with credit-card offers from the time they step on campus, today’s college students are armed with plastic and not afraid to use it. This year, about two-thirds of the nation’s college students are carrying at least one credit card - a statistic that’s climbed from virtu ally zero 20 years ago. As plastic proliferates on col lege campuses, so does the number of overextendied students who find themselves paying double-digit in terest on impulse purchases months. even years, later. About 40 percent of card-car rying students carry a balance. One survey found those students aver age a $514 balance per card. On many campuses, credit- card use is a growing concern for administrators, who worry that ex cessive debt can wreck students’ credit ratings and hurt academic performance. “It’s very easy for (students) to sign up and spend a consider able amount of money before they think of the ramifications-the kind of interest they’re paying, what these items are really costing,” said Ken Clapp, Catawba College chaplain ahd se nior vice president for student life. “We do not want to be seen as promoting it.” Under pressure from con sumer groups, credit-card compa nies are making efforts to educate college students about credit. They also point out that most students use credit responsibly. According to Visa USA, about 60 percent of card- carrying college students pay their balances in full each month, com pared to an industry average of about 40 percent. But that means 40 percent of students don’t pay in full, and Sarvey, now a 25-year-old senior at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, was among them. She ended up exceeding her credit limit on several cards, prompting collec tion agencies to telephone day and night. At one point, she stopped answering the phone. With her parents’ help, Sarvey has whittled her debt to about $700. And she said she has learned her lesson - the hard way. She recently cut up her last credit card. Yet she continues to get of fers for cards. “It’s like, ‘Have you checked my credit rating?”’ she said. Statistics on student credit- card debt vary, but one marketing research study, Nellie Mae, one of the nation’s largest student loan providers, reports an average un dergraduate credit-card debt of $ 1,879. That figure was based only on surveys of 500 undergraduates applying for student loans. Visa USA said its research shows that most college students “are carrying manageable balances of less than $1,000,” said David Sandor, the company’s vice presi dent for consumer education. But what statistics don’t re veal, consumer advocates say, is that many times parents end up pay ing kids’ debts to keep their credit records clean. “Basically, affluent students are bailed out by their parents,” said Stephen Brobeck, executive direc tor of the Consumer Federation of ' America. 1998 Homecoming STEP SHOW Friday, Nov. 13 at 9 p.m. in Whitley Auditorium. cost: $6 w/ canned good; $8 w/out CaroUna Nissan’s College Grad Program Eligibility: 6 month’s prior to or 2 year graduates Models: ALL NEW 98 & 99 Nissan ^s Pre-Owned 95 - 98 Models ►Special Cash incentives on select models Carolina Nissan 330 Huffman Mill Road Burlington, NC 27215 #336-584-0201 ASK FOR CHRIS CALEDONIA BCS provides education, culture for everyone Tammy Tripp The Pendulum Wanted: Majorities. The Black Cultural Society is not generally thought of as a multi racial organization. This is an im age president Akilah Owens is try ing to change. Little is known about the Black Cultural Society among other races. The word “black” is a barrier for students who are not African Americans. “I just assumed the organiza tion was only for black students. That is what the name implies,” sophomore Catherine Perkins said. But it isn’t. The purpose of the organization is to educate the student body aboutAfrican Ameri cans. "When BCS started, it was started specifically to give blacks a unified group to meet with. The goal has changed. Now it is still black oriented, but it is not segre gated,” adviser Janice Ratliff said. Owen’s hope is that it will become a society that will tran scend all racial boundaries. “The difference between BCS now and then is that we want to expand our horizons. We want to get everyone involved, not just African Americans,” Owens said. When the society began it gave African Americans refuge and provided a social outlet. Over the years, it has become less of a social organization; today, more emphasis is placed on education. BCS sponsors several cul tural events each year including the Martin Luther King, Jr. March and Black History Month. The society also hosts a Miss Black Cultural Society Pageant each spring, and the winner is respon sible for developing cultural pro grams. The dream of expanding the society beyond the African Ameri can community is slowly becom ing a reality. Twenty-five mem bers made up BCS its first year; currently there are 75. One Caucasian and one Native Ameri can are members. But Owens is certain BCS will continue to grow if everyone changes their perception of the group.“Everyone just has to have an open mind,” she said. GOING HOME FOR THANKSGIVING? Sign up NOW for the Thanksgiving Break Shuttles to the Piedmont Triad International Airport and the Ralegh/Durham International Airport. Reservations will be guarenteed through Tuesday, November 10th, then on a space-available basis. For Airport Shuttle time and additional information, please refer to the Student Handbook or contact the Moseley Center Information Desk at 584-2330 1160 Huffman Mill Rd. Burlington, NC 27215 (336)-584-0684 11AM-9PM Sun thru Thur IIAM-IOPM Fri & Sat (Near Alamance Regional Hospital) ALL ELON Students, Faculty & Staff Receive 10% off with College ID
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Nov. 12, 1998, edition 1
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