Dollars And Sense APRIL 1988
14 U. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER
14 U. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER Dollars And Sense * APRIL 1988
U. of Kansas basketball teamn
By Elaine Sung
The University Daily Kansan
U. of Kansas
Rules didn't matter to anyone when
the U. of Kansas basketball team, the
Jayhawks, hosted its fourth annual
Special Olympics basketball clinic.
More than 200 Special Olympians, from
age eight up, came from all over the
state.
"They look forward to this all year,
and they talk about it for the rest of the
year," said Gary Scott, director of the
Lawrence (KS) regional group. "Coming
See photo on front page
in here, they may be shy but when they
leave, they'll be hollering and shaking
hands everywhere."
During the warmup, players Jeff
Gueldner and Marvin Branch directed
jump shots. Keith Harris and Sean
Alvarado stood under the basket, ap-
plauding every effort. Suddenly, the 6-
foot-9 Alvarado spotted a tiny child
cradling a basketball and ready to run
to the basket.
icourts Special Olympians
He went to the boy, lifted him to the The crowd went into a frenzy when
height of the basket, and the child one of the Special Olympians hit a
promptly tossed in the ball to the cheers three-point shot, and most of the
of everyone in the group. The loudest athletes took extreme delight in the
cheering of all came from Coach Larry opportunity to guard Jayhawk Danny
Brown, who initiated the clinic when he Manning.
arrived at the U. of Kansas in 1983. Paul Hernandez, 16, had tried out for
Then came game-time, the event all basketball in high school, but had never
the athletes had been waiting for. Each expected the chance to play against the
side had three Special Olympians and All-American forward.
side hasad rspyeciar O"It was hard enough, he was so tall,"
three Kansas players. he said.
Alvarado stepped in every few mi- Lisa Taylor, 14, and her sister Becky,
nutes to boost undersized children to 13, both decided the best part was
the basket. shooting free throws.
Recycling
Continued From Page 11
said.
The recycling company features three
different projects, or phases. The first is
can bank machines, which are located
throughout Philadelphia. People with a
moderate number of aluminum cans to
deposit drive up, put their cans into the
machine, and are paid a little over one
cent per can on the spot by a computer
that tallies up the number. At present,
there are 34 machines around the city
that operate seven days a week, 24
hours a day. "The basic idea of the can
bank is one of convenience," explained
Driscoll.
The second phase of the company is a
buy-back station, which accommodates
customers with station wagons or
trucks full of cans. These cans are
bought in bulk by the company.
The final phase is a program which
teaches area school children about re-
cycling, in hopes that it will also in-
crease awareness in their homes.
"We never thought we'd be in this
business," Driscoll said. "My partners
probably thought they'd be 'on Wall
Street, and I'd probably be in govern-
ment. But when we saw an opportunity
to clean up Philadelphia and make a
profit, we jumped at it."
When the company began there was a
10 percent recycling rate in the city.
Since the can bank started, Driscoll
estimates a 15 percent increase. With a
national average of about 50 to 55 per-
cent, Driscoll foresees a long way to go.
"The response has been phenomen-
al," he said. "Philadelphia is such an
untapped market. The numbers can go
sky-high."
Because of their local success, the trio
has recently closed a deal in Delaware.
They are negotiating a deal in New
Jersey, and have plans to take the con-
cept nationwide.
Philadelphia magazine awarded the
company its "Best of Philly" prize for
cleaning up the city. This was the first
time the recipient was a business in its
first year of operation.
"The real people who should be cre-
dited are the people giving their time
and property to help clean up the city,"
Driscoll said. "They deserve all the
praise."
All has not been smooth on the com-
pany's rise to success. Recently one of
the $18,000 can bank machines caught
on fire, and in the stock market crash,
the value of aluminum dropped five
cents. In the commodities market, five
cents can make or break a company.
Luckily, the metal was quick to return
to its pre-crash value.
"It's a roller coaster," Driscoll said.
"One day you're on top, the next day
everything goes downhill. But you have
to be prepared to weather the storm.
We're willing to take the risk."
Even with all their success, the com-
pany's books have yet to show much
black ink. All of the money goes back
into the company, so financially none of
the partners is making anything yet.
"I'm not too happy about the financial
part of things-and neither is my girl-
friend. Sometimes she gets sick of
McDonald's-but that's okay," Driscoll
said. "I'm proud knowing I'm making a
contribution to cleaning up Phi-
ladelphia."
Students can now
track loan debt
By Donna Stokes
The University Daily Kansan
U. of Kansas
The U. of Kansas hopes to buy a
new computer that could help stu-
dents check on their student loan
status and estimate how much they
will owe upon graduation. U. of
Kansas would be the first universi-
ty to have access to major data
banks with student loan informa-
tion.
The computer would allow stu-
dents to trace the location and
amount of each loan. The financial
aid office could then tell students
how much they have borrowed,
what they would pay after gradua-
tion and what an additional loan
would add to their payments.
"I believe that a lot of loan de-
faults happen because of a lack of
understanding of the process. If
students become more informed
borrowers, they might eventually
borrow less," said Jeff Weinberg,
associate director of financial aid.
The new computer would also
provide a counseling software
package designed by the Educa-
tional Testing Service in Princeton
(NJ). Among other things this prog-
ram would provide information for
major federal student loan prog-
rams, predict future income based
on the student's career field and
projected salary growth.
Couple discovers
Peace Corps mixes
service, politics
By Julie Munro
The UCSD Guardian
U. of California, San Diego
Mention of the Peace Corps often
brings to mind images of the '60s. But
the presence of 5,200 volunteers and
trainees working in 62 nations around
the world is much more than an histor-
ical phenomenon.
Bill and Joan Clabby were sent to
Senegal from 1985 to 1987, assigned to
work on community development. Bill
graduated from the U. of California,
San Diego, with a double major in man-
agement science and French literature.
Joan graduated from San Diego State
U. with a business major.
Bill said that the way Peace Corps'
projects "improve (a community's) abil-
ity to work together is what really
counts." Joan also felt that day-to-day
things, such as teaching villagers how
to clean wounds, were what really made
a difference. She said that seeing a
white person that was not a tourist dis-
proved the villagers' previous concep-
tions that all whites sleep until noon,
carry cameras around, and are rich.
Although Joan said that volunteers
are supposed to be as politically neutral
as possible while on assignment, she
agreed that the placement of volunteers
is semi-political. For a country to get
funding, Bill said, "they have to please
Reagan." Joan pointed out that Belize,
in Central America, is "an itty-bitty
country, but the U.S. is wooing it to keep
it from going communist" with a dis-
proportionately large group of, about
100 volunteers.
In spite of this influence, the Clabbys
feel that Peace Corps volunteers are in
their own class and very highly re-
garded by host populations. The Clab-
bys had been adopted by a family in
Senegal who was, like the other villa-
gers, very protective of the volunteers.
The Clabbys were confident that th
Peace Corps would never place a volun-
teer in any dangerous area.
Bill warned that volunteers must be
comfortable being alone because lan-
guage and cultural barriers may isolate
them at first. They must also, however,
be able to give up their privacy because
they may be constantly surrounded by
villagers. Joan said volunteers must be
able to laugh at themselves when the
get in some awkward positions-some-
thing which is bound to happen in a new
country and culture.