12 U. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER FEBRUARY 1988 12 U. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER FEBRUARY 1988 Il C 1MUNTYSERVICE Q M N I Tuition Problems? Try this... Mike Hayes' tuatin preblems came to a halt whenhe eceived $23,000 in small change shortly after Chicago Tri- bune columnist Bob Greene asked each of his read- ers to send a penny to Hayes so he could continue going to college. People explained why they re- sponded. A Mexican immigrant said sheadmired his spirit because it typified America. A family wrote that their son died before he got to college. And some wrote, "See to it that Bob Greene printseyour grades." Hayes, an Illinois-Champaign freshman chemistry major, says he feels "an extra incentive to do well" for his iovestors. Ricky Young, Daily Northwestern, Northwestern U., IL Literacy project draws volunteers... More than 200 students applied for ten volunteer positions at the Western Mass Literacy Project to teach illiter- ate adults to read. The University Internship Office says 29 million Americans, one-in-six, don't read well enough to function effectively. "I have three extra hours to give ... I'd rather help people than go out and spend all my money on drinks," says Lori Zetlin, one of the ten volunteers who will receive college credit for her work. .Anthony Padova- no, Collegian, U. of Mass., Amherst Shuttle service meets disabled students' eeds... Kansas State . offers temporarily or permanently physically limited students ad faculty members a unique Shuttle Bus Service free of charge. Since the Shuttle began transporting stu- dents from building to building in 1982, every shut- tle driver has been disabled. Mark Innes, the current driver who also helps students to their classes and sometimes picks up tests and assignments, says to his passengers: "Slow down, take your time and be careful." .Shawn Dorsch, Collegian, Kan- sas State U. Students campaign to fight MS nation- wide... The National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Students against MS Campaign will take place on 175 campuses this year. SAMS will kick off its fundraising with 'Skip-a-Meal for MS.' a national one-day event. Students will forego lunch and dn- ate the cost. In another fundraising event, students will impersonate their favorite rock stars in a lip- synch competition. The campus raising the most money to help the 250,000 MS sufferers in America will appear in an on-campus program to be road- castonrMTV. Velante, U. of South Dakota Greeks start nationwide fundraiser to end hunger... At Ball State U., 17 fraternities and sororities have set up a $1-a-month fundraising effort called Greek Vision to assist the hungry which they hope will catch on nationwide. If each of the 450000 Grees in America gave St a month tu Greek Vision, that's six million dollars a year_ making it one of the largest world relief organizations in the country. "Famine is not natural," says Aaron Maze, founder of Greek Vision. "It's economic. It's political, and it's stoppable." .Laura Corwin, Daily News, al State U., IN Student amigos go to work in Latin Amer- ica... Brian Grimm, a senior at Kent State U. spent last summer working or a community sanitation project in Ecuador. Junior Diane Becker spent hers educating Paraguayans about dental hygiene and oral rehydratio. Senior Brian Clouse was busy building concrete floors in the Dominican Republic. These students were all volunteers for Amigos de las Americas. a private, non-profit rganzation that sends voluteers to several LatAmerica countries for public health projects. Amigos has since sent over 10,000 volunteers to Central and South Amer- ica. Volunteers receive training in Spanish, Latin American culture, first aid and CP, and participate in the fundraising which finances the trip. "You get to see a different side of the culture ... You're living it (poverty), not just seeing it from the window of a bus," Clouse said. "It made me realize how lucky we are ... we take what we have for granted." .Matt Keley, The Daily Kent Stater, Kent State U., OH Student with NYPIRG slows down taxi driv- ers... OneAlbanytaxicab driver should be kicking himself for taking the wrong person for a ride. Freshman Andrew Greenblatt with a group of SUNYA students took a cab from a downtownbus station to the uptown campus. ach student was charged $3. Though he paid the excessive charge with protest. Greenblatt felt the high prices merited investigation. The then-student volunteer at SUNYA's New York Public Interest Group (NYPIRG) headed a project through the group examining Albany taxi rates. The results, gathered through surveys and field investigation, created quite a media uproar when they charged local taxis with consistently overcharg- ing their riders, especially students. The story hit the local papers, radio and television stations. Not bad for a freshman. And his nevt project? Corrupt politi- cians and campaign funding. What else? Roderick M. Williams, Albany State Press, SUNY-Albany Big buddies learn by sharing By Susan Garman The Eagle American U., D.C. Twice a week the Big Buddy Program at American U. (AU) brings 15 fourth, fifth and sixth graders to spend an afternoon with AU students doing homework, playing games and learning a little bit about life outside their neigh- borhood. Begun 15 years ago as a tutorial prog- ram, Big Buddy has come to offer some- thing more than help with homework. The 30 inner-city schoolchildren who participate in the program have each found a special friend at AU whom they can count on and trust. Eleven-year-old Decondi has already decided to call AU junior Paul Scheiman his big brother. As the oldest in his fami- ly, Decondi wants someone older who he can turn to for answers, Scheiman said. Also an oldest child, he says he can understand Decondi's need. The most important thing Scheiman can offer his little buddy is a positive male role model. Most of the older males in Decondi's neighborhood are into drugs or hang out on the streets, Schei- man says. He wants to expose Decondi to people who like to learn. "Their neighborhood is very stifling. The kids don't understand actually wanting to go to school." While a big emphasis is placed on learning, Big Buddy's main objective is to have fun, says sophomore Virginia Lee Bradshaw. Bradshaw, one of the program's three directors, says most of the games and activities are education- al. A recent scavenger hunt helped the kids learn about the buildings on cam- pus. And a clowning workshop is plan- ned to show the kids how to "clown" around and teach them to know when it's not appropriate.to kid around. During the weekly visit, the first priority is to do homework. Afterward, if there's time, they can do other activities such as playing sports, baking cookies, playing chess or learning how to use a computer. The buddies don't watch tele- vision or play video games, Bradshaw says. One of the program objectives is to get the kids to do things they wouldn't Buddies Dave Kueller (left) and Anthony Kay with 'brothers' Deloshia and normally be doing. A lot of the children, she says, spend the afternoons they aren't with their big buddies at home watching television. "The first thing I do is my homework," says 11-year-old Eugene. This is his third year in the program and he says working on his homework with his big buddy, Tim, has helped him a lot. Eugene says he wants to be a surgeon some day. Scheiman says it takes commitment. "A lot of people think that since this is not a class they can blow it off," he says. But this defeats one of the program's goals which is to offer the children some stability. "It also takes patience," Scheiman says, "in the sense of being willing to get to know the kid you are with." Most of the little buddies do have very close relationships with their big buddies. It's common for the kids to call their big buddy at home almost every day, Bradshaw says. AU students have found that they have a lot to gain as well. Through his f experiences in the program, Scheiman says he has been given the opportunity to see "how the other half lives." He remembers his freshman year rid- ing the van through the Southeast and having one of the little boys sitting next to him point out, "This is where they mug people." The boy explained that he didn't get beaten up because he knew the right people. Scheiman says it's hard to believe the lifestyle Decondi comes from. "Com- pared to him I've had everything hand- ed to me on a silver platter." Decondi and his buddy may lead very different lives, but together they are helping each other learn a little more about life. Scheiman says, "It gives me a good feeling seeing Decondi have a good time and seeing his face light up when he sees me." Staff writer Andi Azzolina contri- buted to this story . GSLs Continued From Page 9 Congress approved changes in the Higher Education Act last year, making sure GSLs are provided only to lowest income students. The 22-year-old prog- ram was originally designed to help middle-income families. Previously, any student whose family income was $30,000 or less was automatically eligible. Under the new law, GSLs are now need-based, requiring all applicants to take a financial needs test. Assets of students and their families are consi- dered in the analysis of how much fami- lies are able to pay for college. All stu- dents under the age of 24 at Dec. 31, 1987, with some exceptions, are now automatically considered dependent under federal regulations. Including these assets has increased the re- sources some families are considered to have available to pay for college. The new laws did, however, raise the limit of money available to students. The annual maximum students can receive increased from $2,500 to $2,625 per year for freshmen and sophomores, from $2,500 to $4,000 for juniors and seniors, and from $5,000 to $7,000 for graduate students. Students are only eligible for this in- crease if they requested the program limit $2,500 in 1986-87. A student re- questing less would be eligible for no more than the amount applied for. With the changes and reductions in GSLs, parents and students may be looking to other governmental loan programs or to private loans with less attractive repayment terms and higher interest rates than the GSL. According to Retha Smith, Kent State student financial aid officer, students are having to give up their work-study program to increase their GSLs. "This year with the family income,/ assets and other institutional money aid (work-study) combining to form ex- pected family contribution, students are reducing institutional aid to receive more GSL money," Smith said. Fridge Continued From Page 9 with 12 refrigerators, which might not have been so bad if they hadn't mil- dewed. This year, Wadley is wiser and more experienced, having learned to leave the refrigerator doors open when not in use. Though he took a $400 loss last year, Wadley said it comes with the territory. "It's just something you have to put up with-a loss for the first year or two-to getyour business on its feet." Wadley describes himself as a "di- verse, open-minded, laid back dude. Like, probably too laid back. "I don't get into greek life or anything like that. I just like to meet a lot of people and stuff." Wadley plans on being successful, but not if it turns him into a new-generation Yuppie. "I'd love to have a lot of money and everything, but if it ever changed me like that I'd -be pretty upset." "I don't like to think of myself as mainstream--conformist or anything," Wadley continued. "I'd like to be like the mayor of Isla Vista (near Santa Bar- bara), only with lots of money. You, know-the guy who sits around the park listening to his radio all day."