Page 4 --The Michigan Daily-- Tuesday, February 14, 1989 Senate bill to aid students - after military or civil service BY TARANEH SHAFI Students may no longer have to prove their need to receive financial aid. Last month U.S. Sen. Samuel Nunn (D- Georgia) introduced an act to provide all students with $10,000 in financial aid. But there is a catch - prospective students would have to serve for a year in military or civil services. The civil services will include work with child care, homeless, hospices, and conservation programs. "Senator Nunn feels that there are a number of social service needs in our soci- ety," and there is also a need for financial aid. He wants to combine these two needs by "mobilizing our young people," said : Jenny Jones, legislative assistant to Nunn. In return, students will receive $100 per week, room and board, and medical insur- ance. At the end of the year, they will re- ceive the stipend which can be used toward higher education, job training, or even housing. There will be a two-year and $20,000 limit for each participant. "Ultimately, no student will receive aid without service," said Charles Moskos, professor of sociology at Northwestern University and author of Nunn's proposed Citizenship and National Service Act. Moskos' proposal targets minority groups and the lower-middle class because he feels that enrollment in higher education within these groups is dropping. But Moskos said the proposal is not based on financial need and that anyone be- tween 18-26 years can participate. There is some concern in Congress be- cause the aid is not need-based. "People want to ensure low-income people won't receive less on this bill," Jones said. "They agree on the ends but not the means," she said. Jones said she expects the final act to be a combination of many pro- posals. Last week Senator Barbara Mikulski (D- Maryland) introduced a parallel bill propos- ing service while in school. For service on weekends and during the summer students will receive $3,000 per year. Jones said Nunn is working closely with federal higher education associations. Jones forsees the act to be debated for at least one year before a motion is made. The proposed enactment is for Oct.1, 1990. A five-year transition period will follow. One goal of the proposal is to cut back on the amount of money from student loans not repaid to the federal government. Moskos said $1.6 billion is supposed to be paid back, but not all of it is. "Default is a national concern," said William Bailey, University senior financial aid officer. However, at the University, he feels this is not a big problem. For the federal student loans the default rate here falls well below 10 percent. Bailey said this is due to the University's unusually high graduation rate. Students are able to get jobs and pay back their loans. One-third of University students receive need based financial aid. Bailey said the University tries to meet 100 percent of the calculated need for in-state students, how- ever, he admits the same cannot always be fulfilled for out-of-state students. It is possible for students to be awarded a federal aid package that is a combination of all three forms of assistance. According to Bailey the average financial aid package is between $3-4,000 per year and may be as high as $7-8,000 depending upon need. Bailey said, "From a social policy stand point its a good way to mobilize an ener- getic group of people...," adding that "I think that lower-income students if they have the current sources of financial aid re- moved from them will probably be quite frustrated." He said parents will probably like the proposal because it will relieve some of their financial burden. The proposal has raised controversy among both students who receive financial aid and those who do not. Some are con- cerned that those who can afford higher education will have a head start with col- lege and, therefore, their future career. "It's the nation's top priority to educate its citizens, so citizens who are capable of receiving the best education shouldn't be forced to delay their education because of their financial situation," said LSA sopho- more Jeanne Sullivan. Others feel they should not be penalized because of their families financial situation. "Why should they make us suffer if our parents can't afford to send us to college?" said LSA sophomore Tanya Ergh. Levin to wait for report on Tower LANSING (AP) - The Senate panel examining John Tower's ap- pointment as Secretary of Defense won't vote until it has all the facts in hand, especially about Tower's alleged alcohol abuse, U.S. Senator Carl Levin said yesterday. Levin said Tower's appointment, which has been clouded by reports of excessive drinking, womanizing and ties to defense contractors, wouldn't come up for a vote for several weeks. "Here's somebody who's number two in the chain of command, we've got 15,000 nuclear weapons in in- ventory, and a whole lot of other weapons too. You've got to make sure you're comfortable with this person, that this person is totally in control and doesn't have an alcohol abuse problem," Levin said. Levin, speaking to reporters, said the Senate Armed Services Committee would wait to vote until after it had seen an FBI report on Tower, a former Texas senator and former chair of the committee. In addition to Tower's alcohol use, Levin said he was concerned with Tower having gone from being an arms control negotiator to a high- paid consultant to defense contrac- tors. "I'm not questioning whether he broke the law. I'm not suggesting he did," Levin said. Levin said he was troubled Museum Continued from Page 1 from Steiner that Moore took office with a directive - to "integrate re- search within the University with the museum and thereby update the exhibits and make them more accu- rate to current accepted theory," Phillips said. She continued that Moore was made director after proposing his objective to the hiring committee. "The proposal is a wonderful idea - but it doesn't go along with the arbitrary policy changes that he's instituted," said Phillips. LSA senior Karen Beahan con- curred. "My big problem with him is that he's not a people person, and the museum is a people place. And the University didn't take that into consideration when they hired him - they only took into consideration his proposal," said the former tour guide. "(LSA Dean Peter) Steiner is not taking this seriously," said Beaham. "It's a lot more serious than anybody thinks." Dean Steiner, Moore's direct su- pervisor, would not return numerous phone calls. Barber said many of the policy changes Moore has instituted have been negative - eliminating week- end workshops for schoolchildren, cutting down the number of planetarium shows, and closing the museum on Mondays. But Moore responded to criticism by saying he cut down weekend workshops to "create a different ap- proach" to them. The museum is in the process of creating a new room for these events, he said. Moore said the cuts were neces- sary to allow the staff more time to work on future programs and that he "intentionally reduced programs" be-a cause"going full tilt all the time you can't make any new programs." Barber complained that planetar- ium shows did not start on time and that there was no one to do payroll, a result of poor management. Many tour guides quit because of this, she said. But Moore said, "Paychecks have always gone through. I've been do- ing them myself." "Basically, the museum program has disintegrated. Nobody can work with him, nobody can deal with him." Barber said. Barber said before Moore became director, 300 to 500 children visited the museum each week. Now less than 100 visit, she said. "We're not counting them," said Moore. "We're interested in theG quality of our programs, not the quantity," he said. Tower because Tower wouldn't even acknowledge that the situation ap- peared to be a conflict. iII !J3kPP ti1 9 Ua y A - 1~ qF§:i , 1n , 3 r '_g 8Nn : ~ , 9 ;i ,ark' " k,, -d * a e 039~ V 1 s c 1, be 'r" -'9 -*- -~-*ALL = r . a 6 r '4 i rx > i s h + w . r ra# * 9~*9 4 6 ~ ~