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FORUM Make today a great day Nigel Alston Motivational Moments "You must have long-range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-range fail ures. " - Charles C. Noble It is early afternoon, Jan I , 2004. Another new year has been ushered in under the cover of night as people around the world joined the countdown, seconds before midnight. There were secular and spiritual parties, toasts to good health, hugs and kisses to celebrate the new year. It is a clear, cool day. a day I would describe as, like each one I witness, another goo<|. day above ground (AGDAYAG). We have one more opportunity to enjoy and appreciate life - to live, learn, grow and share with others. And, as the old folks would say, I have a reasonable por tion of health and strength. I used to wonder what that statement meant. Now, I know firsthand. I truly have nothing to complain about (what about you?), even though 1 do fall into that state from time to time. That's human nature, I suppose. I come out of it rather quickly when 1 think about people, like the seven teenagers w|>o lost their liv? in a tragic car accident recent ly, who don't have the oppor tunity of another day. I am sitting in front of my computer writing and reflect ing on the past year, thinking about the lessons learned over time, while listening to smooth contemporary jazz. I can hear a football game on television in another room and a book is sitting on the com puter desk demanding my attention: Read me! The holiday has been a good one. I have enjoyed time with family and friends. I have laughed often and eaten some good food (too much!). I have given and received gifts, opened cards and exchanged holiday greetings. I have read a few thought-provoking books and others that were entertaining, full of suspense and intrigue. Ready or not a new year is here. Wherever you are, you have made an appointment to be there. Confusing? Yes, we - you and I - have made prior arrangements to be at our cur rent destination. Through our actions, or maybe we didn't act, we have arrived where we are today. I have been thinking about that today. There is' value in pausing to reflect; to stop for a moment to think, understand and adjust; to appreciate the journey and the lessons learned; to refocus and move on. While I don't always fol low my own advice - there is a gap between what we know and what we do at times - I have learned I should ask for help when needed. I have found that people are willing to assist you. 1 have learned the value of developing relationships and that doing so is a function. I believe, of personaj contact and time. The more we come together over time, the better we know each other and our relationships take root. I have learned the value of listening and the importance of following instructions. I have learned to take action toward what I want in life - to live intentionally, in other words, to live on pur pose. In doing so, you will develop a degree of flexibility and a willingness to be coach able. I have learned to take risks. Get out of the familiar, the comfort zone, the rut, if you want to continue to grow and develop. Like the turtle, to get anywhere, you have to stick your head out from underneath your shell of protection and take a chance. Nothing ven ture^ nothing gained. I have learned and ffe'cog nize the value of reading a wide range of material and how it contributes to your growth, your depth of under standing and making connec tions in this rapidly changing world. Learning can be selfish, however, a professor recently told me. "Life is too short not to share what we know or think we know," she went on to say. I have learned that procras tination contributes to stress and worry. Improve the quali ty of your life and take action on what needs to be done today. You will not be as anx ious. you will minimize stress and worry, and you will sleep better. While it might not guaran tee success, experience also has taught me fhe value of making good choices and exercising good judgment. A poor decision, to steal a car, which led to a high-speed chase, has resulted in the loss of seven young lives, whose potential will never be real ized. You and I have another chance. Make today a great day. unless you have other plans. If you do, I have learned, the year will take care of itself. Nigel Alston is a radio talk-show host, columnist and motivational speaker. Visit his Web site at www. motivational moments. com. Students can 't pay skyrocketing college costs ? Adolph Reed Jr. Guest Columnist Higher education ought to be a right, available to every student who makes the grade, without regard to that student's ability to pay. But it's increasingly a privi lege for the rich - and an impos sible burden for the poor. There is a spiraling crisis of affordability in higher education today. As almost every state reels from the effects of tax cuts, leg islatures slash funding for high er education. Colleges respond with hefty tuition increases, reduced financial assistance and new fees. According to the College Board, over the last decade, average tuition and fees at pub lic four-year colleges increased 40 percent and private four-year tuition increased 33 percent. Community colleges, the gateway to advanced studies for many, also increased charges. Tuition and fees rose in all but two states, with 10 states man dating increases of more than 10 percent, according to the National Center on Public Poli cy and Higher Education. Some community college officials in California estimate an enroll ment decline of about 200,000 students due to tuition fee increases. These measures put an extra burden on the average family, whose net worth has declined over the last two years for the first time in half a century. Budget cuts and tuition increases ripple throughout the academic community. They result in more hiring freezes and early retirements among full time faculty. Replacing them are poorly paid and overworked contingent instructors. Mean while, students have fewer courses to choose from, and their classes are overcrowded. Many universities are retreating from their commit ments to provide low-cost edu cation for state residents, as they shift the balance of admissions more toward out-of-state appli cants, who pay substantially higher tuition. State schools have tradition ally been the ladders to good jobs for students from working and middle-class families. But that ladder is no longer stand ing. In fact, the Congressional Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance reports that by the end of this decade, as many as 4.4 million college qualified high-school graduates will be unable to enroll in a four-year college, and 2 million will not go to college at all because they can't afford it. - Financial aid is not picking up the slack. Three decades ago. Pell grants helped guarantee access to public colleges for pri marily low and moderate income students. Millions of Americans earned college degrees as a result. In 1975, the maximum Pell grant covered 84 percent of costs at ,a four-year public college. Now, the grant covers only 42 percent of costs at four-year public colleges and only 16 percent of costs at four year private colleges. As a result of an increasing reliance on loans, the majority of students (64 percent) gradu ate with an average debt of almost $17,000. This is up sig nificantly from $8,200 in 1989. Skyrocketing tuition and reJiance on interest-carrying loans force some students to forgo college altogether, while others drop out or delay gradua^ tion because they sacrifice the time for their studies in order to work. Fifty-three percent of low-income freshmen who work more than 35 hours per week drop out and do not receive a degree. Contrast this with low-income freshmen who work one to 14 hours per week. Only 20 percent of them do not receive a degree. Higher education is a public good, and the public should insist on free access to the acad emy. Fortunately, there's a cam paign to push for such access. Initiated by the Debs-Jones Douglass Institute, a nonprofit educational organization based in Washington, D.C.. the cam paign c^lls for the federal gov ernment to pay all tuition and fees for all students attending two-year and four-year public colleges and universities. This proposal isn't costly. The total bill for all students currently enrolled in public institutions is less than $27 bil lion - a little more than I per cent of current federal budgets, and less than one-third' of Bush's $87 billion request for Iraq and Afghanistan. The idea is catching on. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently announced a plan to cover the full costs of an education for poor students without forcing them to take on loans. Students will have to work in state and federal work-study programs at a manageable 10 to 12 hours per week. Free college education has a clear precedent. The GI Bill paid full tuition and fees, as well as a stipend, for nearly 8 million returning World War II veterans. That investment had a broadly positive effect on the economy and society as a whole. We've done it before. We can do it again - this time for everyone. Adolph L. Reed Jr. is profes sor of political science on the graduate faculty ? of social and political science at the New School for Social Research and national co-chair of the cam paign for Free Higher Educa tion I www.freehighered.org). He can be reached at pmproj @ progressive, org. Deadline for *??+?* > ^ ?* News is Monday 5 p.m. Ami H. Mount Broker (336)462-60X6 DIRECT (336) 748-5318 BUSINESS (336) 748-5363 FAX realuva<!r aol.com COLDUieU. BANKER ? TRIAD, REALTORS 285 South St rat lord Road. Winston-Salem. NC 27 103 O *ep. Larry Womble NC House of Representatives 7 1 st District; Tel (336) 784-9373 Fax (336) 784-1626 E-Mail: LWistm@aol.com Home Address 1 294 Salem Lake Road Winston-Salem. NC 27107 rHTTOTTEE [ Selester Stewart, Jr. f 1410 Mitigate Dr., Suite D [Winston-Salem. NC 27103 Office: (336)760-0226 Pager: 1 (866)304-0973 Cellular Phone: (336)727-0606 O Excellence O Access O Value SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS EVENING MBA PROGRAM wtti concentrations^ Financial Services ? Health Care Management Management Information Systems ? Genera! MBA Campus Box 1931 1 * phone (336) 750-2344 Winston- Salem, NC 27110 ? email mba@wssu eduj Environmental Technician Training "j Could Be Your Ticket to a Career! ? 210 hours of tuition-free env ironmental technician training at Forsyth Technical Community College ? Valuable certifications and job search assistance For information. Call Linda Thorns, 336-761-2033, or, call or visit a JobLink Center Attend a required orientation session at: Goodwill Industries Self-Reliance Hall 2701 University Parkway , Winston-Salem, NC, 9:00 a.m., December 16, 2003 or January 6, 2004 Call Now! Classes begin January 19, 20()^ Louise E. Harris Attorney at Law ? Bankruptcy x ? Consumer Problems ? Traffic Tickets & DWI ? Divorce ? Eldercare Law 13 Years Of Experience 102 West Third Street. Ste. 485 Winston-Salem. NC Call 24 Hours (336) 761-0222 The Chronicle The Choice for African- American News 617 N. Liberty Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 The Chronicle was established by Ernest Pitt and > Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974. and is published every Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc. The Chronicle is a proud member of National Newspapers Publishers Association C, North Carolina Press Association ? North Carolina Black Publishers Association ? Inland Press Association National Advertising Representative: Amalgamated Publishers. Inc.. 45 West 45th Street. New York, NY 10036 212/869-5220 Contact Us: jkmmk 336 / 722-8624 k 336 / 723-9173 Hiss: www.wschronicle.com tmiMtis: news@wschronicle.com Copy Editor 723 8448 Circulation 722 8624 Sales Staff 722 8628 Business Office Paul Collins Brick a Asbury Paulette Lewis Andrf.a Mosf.s The Chronicle Home DELfvERV Subscription Orde.r Out of County/State ? YES, Please send me The Chronicle ? 2 years: $40.95 ? I year: $30.72 J 6 months: $20.48 ?2 years . $45.95 I year 35.72 6 mos 25.48 Jmov 15 24 Ciiy Zip ? VISA ? Mastercard ? 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