Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1976)
Earning gap widens between sexes (CPS)—With all the affirmative action prog rams launched in the past 10 years, women may have been fooled into thinking employemnt dis crimination is on its way out. But according to the former director of the De partment of Labor Women’s Bureau, the actual earnings of women in full-time, year-around jobs not only continue to be less than those of men in the same jobs but the gap has actually widened in the last 20 to 25 years. In I955, women's wage and salary incomes amounted to 64 per cent of male income. Today, the ration is only 57 per cent. The department director. Mary Dublin Keyserl ing, explained that the great increase in the number of women entering the labor force has been concentrated in three traditionally female fields where the pay is relatively low—teaching, nursing and other health fields. Although most women work not for a little extra pocket money but to support themselves and their families, about 30 of every 100 female workers earn less than $5,000 annually. For men, the rate is only 10 of every 100 workers. At the other end of the income scale, only two women of every 100 earn $15,000 to $20,000 com pared to 20 men of every 100. 2370 W. 11th 30th & Hilyard Eugene Cottage Grove Oakridge Full Shank DIMS 97° » Banquet MEAT PIES 8 «z. pkg. M /QQc 100 tablets ANAGIN Fast Pain Relief g ~ « g Headache/Colds | Grocery: Drive-N-Save COTTAGE CHEESE P, 450 La Corona YOGURT so, 5/*1 Red & White SALAD DRESSING 320, 790 Skippy, creamy or crunchy PEANUT BUTTER so, 870 Contadina TOMATO SAUCE so,,n 6/890 Charmin BATHROOM TISSUE,,*630 Tree Top APPLE JUICE 46 02. ,in 570 Red & White MAYONNAISE 320,970 Mrs. Filbert's soft MARGARINE 590 Madera Broken Pitted RIPE OLIVES s,o,2/890 Meat: USDA Choice CHUCK STEAK ,, 770 Produce: California seedless navel ORANGES » 140 Tender Green SPINACH 3 bunches 890 Frozen Foods: Welch's GRAPE JUICE 12 oz tin 560 Variety: 100 Sheets plain or ruled WRITING TABLET your choice 390 Mix-n-Drink Instant DRY MILK 20 qt. package $049 Gravy Train DOG FOOD *4M CAMPBELL’S SOUP Tomato, Vegetable, Celery, Mushroom or Chicken Noodle IOV2 oz. tin Financial aid Regulations may change if bills pass Congress (CPS) — Students who depend on federal bucks to survive the college money game may find the rules changed if Congress passes two financial aid bills presently before it. Although one bill attempts to expand financial aid opportunities for students, there are some provisions within both bills which could cause students problems. The two bills, one submitted by Rep. James G. O Hara, D-Mich., and the other submitted by Sen. Claiborne Pell, D-R I., are now before the appropriate subcommittees of Congress. Whereas the Pell bill would make few changes in current student aid programs, the O Hara bill would clamp severe restrictions on burgeoning student loan prog rams. broaden grant opportunities and expand work-study ventures. One of the major upcoming financial aid slugfests will center on the current half-cost limitation for Basic Educational Opportunity Grants (BEOG). The half-cost provision means that no student may receive a Basic Grant larger than half of what it costs to attend college—costs which include room and board, tuition and books. O Hara. whose bill would eliminate the half-cost provision, argues that the limitation strikes hardest at the neediest students attending lower-priced schools. For example, a school with no tuition may still require $1,800 in educational costs such as room, board and books. A student who could not contribute anything toward that $1,800 would, under the current regulations, be eligible for a Basic Grant of only half the amount, or $900. To receive the maximum allowable BEOG of $1,400, the student would have to attend a school with costs of at least $2,800 On the other hand, a student who could pay $800 toward non tuition educational costs, would receive a $600 grant, according to the BEOG rules, whether he attended the $1,800 school or the $2,800 school. So, only the poorer student s grant is cut when he attends a less expensive school under the half-cost limitation One of the main arguments for preserving the half-cost limitation comes from worried private school representatives They argue that if Basic Grants were to pay most or all of the costs of attending a low-cost, usually public school, students would be lured away from the higher priced private schools. Yet keeping the half-cost provision, wrote Chester Finn in the Chronicle of Higher Education, says to the low-income student that, since Uncle Sam will not give you enough money to attend a high-priced school, we want to make sure you don't get enough to sway you toward a low-priced one. A second major controversy concerns the role ot student loans—a mainstay in the Nixon-Ford higher education game plan. The O'Hara bill seeks to restnct the increased reliance on loans for financing education. The availability of soft-loan dollars—money in sured by the government at no risk to the lender—encourages high tuition," says Jim Harrison, staff director for the House postsecondary education subcommittee and an O Hara bill supporter. When schools raise tuition above what students can afford, Harn son argues, massive loan programs enable the school to simply present the student with federal loan contracts and say, Don t worry about the tuition increase, just sign here." In order to cut down on loans the O’Hara bill would end direct federal insurance of loans, halt capital contributions to the National Direct Student Loan program, restrict the amount of Guaranteed Stu dent Loans (GSL) a student could receive in one year from $2,500 to $1,500, and prohibit schools themselves from making GSL's. Some critics, however, point out that a reduction of student loans does not necessitate a reduction in school costs Students could find themselves with no loans, no alternative sources of financial aid and ever-climbing tuition, they argue. The Pell bill, on the other hand, offers no change in the basic thrust of the present loan program: loans would still remain relatively easy to obtain and comprise a significant portion of student aid. The Pell bill does, however, tighten up loan administration in an attempt to cut down on loan defaults. Specifically, the bill would limit student bankruptcy for five years after graduation, eliminate schools with a default rate greater than 10 per cent as lenders and prohibit commissioned salespeople from ‘peddling" student loans. Critics of these provisions argue that student bankruptcy is no different and occurs at no greater frequency than anyone else s bank ruptcy, and that it would therefore be unfair to single out students for special treatment. A third issue concerns the future of College Work-Study, a program through which O’Hara wants to channel more student dollars. The O'Hara bill mandates a minimum-wage for students, expands the work-study funding authorization, eliminates need as a requirement for obtaining a job and allows State Scholars Incentive Grant money to be used for work-study jobs. According to House subcommittee sources, while the other work study proposals are up for grabs, the provision for minimum wages for students is assured of passage. Students currently can be paid less than the minimum wage under regulations adopted during the Nixon administration. So far, financial aid sessions in both houses of Congress have been sparsely attended, both because of pressing legislation like that concerned with loan relief for New York City, and, according to one House staff member, the fact thaf many Congresspersons haven't made up their minds about some of these key issues. And while many educational groups and other interest groups keep up a constant lobby ing process on the legislators, the House staffer remarked, students don’t. "Until members start hearing from students they'll assume when a college president speaks, he's speaking for every student," says staff director Harrison. "It will help if the major affected constituency makes its feelings known.”
