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Tuesday, April 12, 1933
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The reason governments and parents
give students money is so simple it is an
adage. Paying for good schooling is like in
vesting in a better tomorrow. Education is
hope for nations and children of the
future. No formula for improvement is
complete without it.
It lives in the American dream and the
spirit of the Constitution.
As long as theories and capabilities con
tinue to fail in the face of crises, there will
be an evergreen market for fresh ideas and
skills. As long as life gets more complex,
better people will be needed to administer
in it.
The president has said that the United
States is inadequately stocked with stu
dents and teachers in math and the sci
ences and that it runs the risk of being out
paced. He has called for a new vision that
will render nuclear arms obsolete.
That is one signal coining from Washing
ton. Another is that it is less willing and
able to make its investment in education.
In the last three years, federally funded
National Direct Student Loans have fallen
off 50 percent, State Student Incentive
Grants 37 percent, Supplemental Educa
tional Opportunity Grants 23 percent,
College Work-Studies 21 percent and Pell
grants 20 percent.
Even though the entire 1965 Higher
Education Act is due for re-authorization
next year, Reagan has proposed major
alterations in the student aid system for
this year.
He says that total assistance will be no
less in the new package. "The plulosophic
shift" is "to return to the traditional
emphasis on parental and student contri
butions." But it is a bit confusing.
NDSL, the only federal loan program,
will receive no new funds. It will depend
solely on its S550-million revolving funds.
The government will save about SI 80
million at a loss to students of" about
250,000 loans.
SEOG and SSIG will be eliminated, sav
ing some S400 million. Pell, the only grant
program remaining, will be boosted some
S300 million. Award values will be increas
ed, but will not match what is now avail
able through a combination of Pell, SEOG
and SSIG awards.
The money saved through the changes,
about $300 million, will be redirected to
CWS, the only work-study program that
will be left after SSIG is gone. The
generous 57-percent budget increase is pro
jected to create nearly 350,000 student
jobs. But during a time of record post
Depression unemployment, it is hard to see
where the jobs will come from. It is hard to
know how many institutions will be unable
to cover their 20-percent share in the wage.
One ringer in the package will require
students to pay, up front, 40 percent of
their education costs before they are
eligible for grants. The initial cash cannot
come from parents, but must come from
loans, work-study or employment. Stu
dents otherwise eligible for grants will be
elbowed into debt. They will compete for
NDSLs and CWSs. Some will leave school
to take jobs needed to pay for school. It is
another mixed signal, a"s Reagan has also
proposed to lower the minimum wage for
teenagers.
Stirring the alphabet soup is not only
confusing, perhaps illogical, perhaps pro
hibitive, it will also destabilize the student
aid system. As lawmakers in Washington
decide on the changes, they will need to
hear from us, the students.
Lawmakers in Lincoln need to hear
from us, too.
The Legislature has before it the final
reading of a bill to create a Nebraska Work
Study Program. Our state senators will
decide on LB126 sometime in the next few
weeks.
Most states already have some form of
work-study program in addition to SSIG,
which is a need-based program of matching
state and federal funds used to subsidize
jobs for college students. If SSIG is
eliminated and LB126 not passed, Ne
braska will have no work-study program.
Li
Even if we will not know the fate of
SSIG until after LB1 20 is voted on, even if
Nebraska cannot afford to also pass
LB126A, a bill to activate the program
through a $2 million appropriation,
LB126. without the A. is a responsible and
reasonable bill that should be approved
regardlessly. It should be passed now, while
we have the chance.
LB 126 combines the potential to im
prove both the quality and accessibility of
higher education and the potential to
mergeashared interest between individuals,
institutions, business and government. It is
a good bill, a brave bill. It is concerned
with the long-term, at a time when con
sidering the short-term is king.
A lot is poised in the balance. Much
awaits decision for government student aid
to higher education right now. Right now
is the time we may have some influence
over what will later impact on us and
others like us. Write now. Tell our repre
sentatives in Congress and in the Legis
lature what it is like. Booths are set up
today at UNL, through a cooperative effort
of ASUN, the Government Liaison Com
mittee and the Nebraska State Student
Association, and they are set up on colleges
across the state, to aid in our letter-writing
campaign.
David Wood
Hew
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"Of Watt and Weight Loss."
First it was Robert Preston singing "Chicken Fat 7
Then came aerobics, Jazzercise and Richard Simmons.
In the last few years, the physical fitness craze has truly
swept the nation. Celebrities as diverse as Chet Atkins
and Jane Fonda have capitalized on the blossoming
exercise mania.
And now, organized religion has gotten into the
J
Mike Frost
act. Visitors to the Nebraska Union during the past
week could not help but notice posters promoting
"Believercise," a fitness program which promises to
combine the best elements of Christianity and aerobics;
in other words, a cross (no pun intended) between Oral
Roberts and Richard Simmons ("Hallelujah! Gftd would
love for you to lift those flabby thighs!!")
Actually, Believercise is just the latest in a long string
of physical fitness programs which have been introduced
to a hungry public. Many politicians, for example, have
devised their own exercise programs, hoping to gain both
money and increased name recongition. Some examples:
-The Edward Zorinsky Exercise Guide: "First you
jog over to the Republicans, then you scurry to the
Democrats, then you skip over to the Republicans, then
you dash ..."
-The Ronald Reagan Weight Austerity Program:
"Especially designed for fat-cat liberals." You will be
fiscally fit by 1984, that's a promise. 1985 by the latest.
Certainly by 1986 to be sure. An outside chance it may
be 1987, but by 1988 you'll be there. And if you're not
on shape by 1989, you can get the new George Bush
Weight Austerity Program."
-ASUN 'Aerobics: "You don't have to actually do
anything, just sit there and say T am too exercising.' "
-Rev. Everett Sileven's Guide to Better Health:
"Support my Faith Christian School, that's all. IH see
to it that God keeps you healthy."
-James Watt's Rock 'n' Roll Aerobics: "An aerobics
program featuring exercises coordinated to Wayne
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(At this point, I need to shift gears and move on to
a different topic. However, too abrupt of a change might
confuse some readers. Therefore, my segue must be
smooth, effortless and unnoticeable. Watch this.)
Speaking of James Watt (smooth, eh?), the recent
hubbub over the Beach Boys playing at the Washington
Monument has been a dream come true for political
humorists. However, I ceased to be amazed years ago by
anything Secretary Watt did.
However, what struck me was Nancy Reagan's bitter
denunciation of the Beach Boys Ban. Gritting her teeth,
Mrs. Reagan told a stunned press corp, "I think the
Beach Boys are fine," and then stormed out of the room.
Such blazing rhetoric hasn't been heard since Mrs.
Reagan's husband uttered his famous "dirty, rotten
bums" assessment of the Polish government last fall. One
would think the United House would welcome such terse
outspokenness. However, the concern is that Mrs.
Reagan's statement was too ambiguous.
Fine, for example. Did she mean they are OK? Or
perhaps she meant quite small? Or did she mean fine as
in penalty?
Mrs. Reagan has promised to be less outspoken in the
.future. "Just leave the politics to me, honey," said her
husband pecking her on the cheek. Mrs. Reagan, naturally,
blushed.
(Now I have to find a graceful way to end this writing.
Usually I like to end with some pithy saying or clever
pun. However, I can think of none. Yet my ending still
must be smooth, effortless and unnoticeable. Watch
this.)
See you next week. (Smooth, eh?)
You can coo a bscr missib dofenso system?! Oh! Oh!... PLEASE...
CAN YOU SEE ITS BLUEPRINTS?"
EDITOR Margie Honz
.r,,,9ENERAL MANAGER Daniel M. Shattil
ADVERTISING MANAGER Jerry Scott
PRODUCTION MANAGER Kitty Policky
MANAGING EDITOR Michiela Thuman
NEWS EDITOR Sue Jepsen
GRAPHICS EDITOR John G. Goecke
NIGHT NEWS EDITOR David Wood
ASSISTANT NIGHT
NEWS EDITOR Leslie Boellstorff
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Patty Pryor
SPORTS EDITOR Bob Asmutsen
ART DIRECTOR David Luebke
PHOTO CHIEF Dave Benti
PUBLICATIONS BOARD
CHAIRMAN Doug Neti, 472-2454
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