Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1978)
Library offers paper service Getting the data together is usually the most time consuming and sometimes most frustrating aspect of writing a research paper. The University Library offers a unique service that can make the process more efficient. Ten social services librarians, experts in different fields, set up individual appointments with students. “Librarians often have a working idea of how much informa tion exists on a particular subject,” explains Claire Meyer, re search librarian. “If they have enough time, they can really go into the subject and dig out information.” To take advantage of the service, students should stop by the information desk near the card catalogues and make an appointment. Students will be given half an hour of expert atten tion on their special topic. The service will be offered through the end of this month. "Students are needing it more now than they did last term,” Meyers says. “If an expert doesn’t have an immediate opening, the student can usually set up an alternative meeting time. The idea is that it’s a personal, flexible service.” OSL supports Carter financial aid proposal By CAROLYN BEAVER Of the Emerald The Oregon Student Lobby (OSL) supported Pres. Carter’s recent higher education financial aid proposal in a policy statement issued at Saturday’s board of di rectors’ meeting in Monmouth. Carter’s plan would increase the family income eligibility level for basic educational opportunity grants from $12,000 to $25,000. OSL Executive Coordinator Dan Gamer says it would provide "at least $250 to students from families with that income or below and increase the number of recip ients by at least 2 million.” Under Carter’s proposal, guaranteed student loans would also be available to more stu dents. The eligibility ceiling would go from $25,000 to $40,000. The OSL statement highlights several areas that haven’t given much attention, says Garner. The OSL, for example, lauds the “in stitutional administrative allow ance program” contained in Carter’s proposal. Schools currently receive no federal money for administering either the basic grants or the guaranteed loans. Carter’s pro gram would provide about $4 per basic grant handled, for that pur pose, Garner says. Grant administration now comes from state support. The grant program, started in 1973 at $5 million, has blossomed into an approximately $2.8 billion pro gram. “That puts a heavy workload on the financial aid offices” at various institutions,” says Garner. The OSL supported similar administra tive assistance in the 1977 State Legislature, and considers Carter’s plan a “victory.” A similar administrative allow ance plan would support guaran teed loans also. Gamer said he feels the plan is necessary since the increased eligibility ceiling will make “about 95 percent of all families eligible for guaranteed student loans,” and correspond ingly increase institutional work loads. With guaranteed loans, the stu dent pays back a fixed level of in terest. While the student is in school, the federal government assumes that interest payment to the bank. However, to “encourage lender participation,” the govern ment often pays am additional in terest percentage to “make it at tractive for banks to loan money to students,” Gamer says. Garter’s proposal puts a 1 per cent floor on the amount of special allowances, or additional interest paid to banks handling student loans. That means banks will re ceive at least one percent more than the fixed interest rate set for a student, while the student is in school. Gamer says "when the number of students (in the loan program) goes up, the banks need an addi tional carrot” in front of them to make student loans attractive. In addition, Carter has pro posed giving banks an incentive to offer guaranteed student loans, by raising government repayment rates one-half percent. A stipula tion is that banks would be re quired to use "due diligence” in pursuing the defaulter before rely ing on the government for repay ment. Garner says 4th Dist. Con gressman Jim Weaver’s office re quested the OSL statement. Weaver, a co-supporter of Carter’s plan, will insert the state ment into the House Subcommit tee hearings records Wednesday or Thursday. Student lobby rep attends aid conclave Dan Gamer, Oregon Student Lobby executive coordinator, re cently attended and taught a fi nancial aid workshop at a national conference of State Student As sociations in Kansas. In the workshop Gamer discus sed refinancing opportunities for student loans and income con tingency loans. The focus of the conference was to form a national student consensus on tuition and financial aid strategy, according to Garner. Specific areas discussed were access-oriented, voucher-funding and tax-credit tuition funding. Access-oriented tuition bases fees on the average student budget and the average family in come. It takes inflation and the cost of living into consideration. Voucher funding “puts 100 per cent of state support in the hands of students” through a voucher students would use to attend any state institution, said Gamer. The tuition tax credit plan was discussed, but supported only as an alternative to Pres. Carter s proposed expanded aid plan for middle-income students. MEMORIES ARE FOREVER WITH A YEARBOOK .. .and you can order yours Monday thru Friday, February 20-24 and Monday and Tuesday, February 27 & 28 from 9:30 to 4:30 in the EMU Lobby for only $10.00. (Price goes to $11.00 on March 1st.) Rdkti back on tb/L ucar ujiii} aq ommB HAPPY HOUR SUNDAY ALL DAY AND EVENING l TAP BEER: Pitchers small 950, large $1.75J
