Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / Oct. 9, 1985, edition 1 / Page 3
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"AHHHHH Star Wars Raises Questions WASHINGTON, DC. (CPS)—Some campuses may pull out of one of the largest university research bonanzas in American history if the Reagan administration's recent hints that it will stop professors from publishing their research results prove true, an official of a na tional administrators' groups warns. In October, the government will begin pumping another S6OO millon into university research labs that help it research new Star Wars weaponry. The controversial project—for mally called the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDl)—would put lasers and other high-tech weapons into space to shoot down Soviet missiles in the event of an attack. Petitions in which university researchers promise not to solicit or accept Star Wars research funds are being circulated at more than three dozen campuses this month. The petitions protest the SDI on political grounds, and because the research contracts may restrict the publication of research funded by Star Wars grants. Scientists seem most worried about the publication issue. "The worst case scenario would be that dozens of univer sities would be forced to pass on Star Wars funding because the restrictions would violate their policies against conducting classified or secret research," SPUD JR. WANTS YOU! ... I o Johi The Guilfordian In the Guilfordian Office 2nd floor Founders Everyone Welcome! says Jack Crowley, who monitors federal research funding for the American Association of Univer sities. Initially, SDI officials insisted all university funding would be for fundamental research. Pro fessors and graduate students thus would be free to publish the results of their work. Then in August, SDI university research director Jim lonson issued a memorandum reaffirm ing that position, yet adding research on operational capabilities and performance characteristics that is "unique and critical" to defense pro grams would be classified. University officials say they are confused. "It's not an entirely clear signal," Crowley says. "We may have to play this out project-by project." "You can't say it's horrible on ly because you're too confused to know for sure what they're plann ing to do," says Massachusetts Institute of Technology research vice president Kenneth Smith. Other SDI officials have said researchers couldn't talk about SDI research on the phone or in person unless a government of ficial was present. Schools also are worried about recent statements by SDI direc tor Lt. Gen. James Abrahamson, who said in July that all SDI research will be subject to "sensitivity checks." If SDI decides certain research is "just really amazingly impor- tant" and that it was "absolutely critical the Russians don't get it," it would be classified, Abrahamson told The Institute, the newsletter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. In other words, SDI could decide to classify all the research even after it promised to treat it as non-secret. The restrictions, "would give rise to even more tension bet ween universities over whether to conduct SDI research, and even more tension within any campus over whether individual pro fessors shoule be doing SDI research," Smith predicts. Star Wars already has trig gered the most vociferous debate over federal funding of university research since the Vietnam War. At the time, most large research universities prohibited their faculty from conducting classified research, Smith says. Secret research is best left to industry, university officials con cluded, because academic freedom requires the results of scientific research be available to all The petitions now protesting administration efforts to force schools to violate the anti-secret research policies began at the University of Illinois. "It's absolutely unprecedented for researchers to agree not to ac cept research funds like this," says Illinois assistant physiology professor Eric Jakobsson, one of those who started the petition drive. OOPSIE DAISY! Well with three issues out already, I guess you realize we're not perfect. Well I think the ideas beginning to dawn on us too. There are a few things we'd like tomake up for and clear up. A) Ms. Elizabeth Clark (sorry Andrew, ladies first) deserved to have her name on a rugby photo published in last week's Guilfor dian. She is presently suing the establishment for all it's worth. Sorry Libby! 2) Mr. Andrew Stuart, who doesn't even do photos for teh Guilfor dian, lowered himself and gave us an "awesome" football photo for which he was not given credit. When asked bow he felt about this he stated, "I don't care about the credit, what about a stipend?" 3) Something's rotten with the volumes of the Guilfordiao... Ac tually I wouldn't have noticed if it hadn't ben brought to my atten tion, but the Number of our issues have been out of order so to speak. Hie last one was a printers mistake (it should have read II No I). Anyway we are not starting a new Volume since it hasn't changed since 1963 and are making this No. 4 because that's what it would have beenif it had been correctly done in the first place. 'C' Average Required For Aid WASHINGTON, DC. (CPS)—College students may have to maintain a "C" average in the future in order to get federal financial aid. The grade requirement is just one change in the aid system Con gress is now debating as it tries to pass the Higher Education Reauthorization Act of 1985. The grade measure, proposed by senators Don Nickles (R-Ok) and Clairborne Pell (D-R.1.), has been proposed unsuccessfully before. But chances for its passage may be good this time, sources say, because legislators are look ing for relatively painless ways to cut the federal budget and because of recent publicity about bad students who get financial aid. Currently, students only must be in good standing and make "satisfactory academic pro gress' toward a degree to receive federal aid. "Unfortunately," Nickles said during a hearing earlier this month, "there have been pro blems with this open-ended definition. "Because of this open-minded opportunity for abuse, I beliiee we need to have a more specific standard." Nickles originally advanced his idea aftera 1981 audit found near ly 20 percent of the students who got aid had less than a "C" average. Ten percent had a cumulative GPA under 1.5. Congress also is debating a bill to let graduate students, who generally face higher education costs than undergrads, borrow more federally-guarantted loan money and pay it back over a longer period of time. The reauthorization process, which effectively sets federal higher education policies for the ensuing five years, usually trig gers a slew of proposals that never become law. But if federal loan programs are to be changed, the changes will first emerge during these congressional review sessions. The grading bill would put aid recipients whose gades fall below 2.0 on probation for a term. October 9. 1985 Guilfordian— Page 3 If the student doesn't improve by the end of the probation period, he or she will be denied federal aid. The new break for graduate students who want a Guaranteen Student Loan (GSL) program came up during a House subcom mittee hearing. Georgetown University law school dean John Kramer, speak ing for a coalition of law school associations, said grad students needed the break. "Over time, middle class students in particular are just not going to be able to afford a graduate education" Kramer warns. Moreover, unless debt repay ment policies are chagned, many graduate students will feel obligated to take high-paying jobs after they get their degree, instead of going into teaching or community service work, Kramer predicts. Kramer's plan would let graduate students borrow more than they currently can, and, if they borrow more than $15,000, repay it over 10 to 20 years. Extended repayment periods currently are made at the discre tion of the lending agency. Although Kramer's proposals were only for graduate students, he says they could be just as easi ly applied to all students. In fact, the American Council of Education, the most prominent higher education lobbying group, wants to increase loan limits to $3,000 from $2,500 for freshmen and sophomores, and to SB,OOO from $5,000 for graduate students. As yet, Reagan administration officials have not commented publicly on either the grade re quirement or the grad student differential proposals. Students would assume the cost, but Kramer thinks they ultimately should be making enough to keep the payments from being too much of a burden. Curretn law allows the ad ministration to adjust loan limits, but Kramer says recent law schools' requests for adjustments have been rejected. 3
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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Oct. 9, 1985, edition 1
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