Students rally to protest aid cuts
WASHINGTON (AP) - Thousands of
college students — some chanting
"books not bombs" — lobbied Congress
Monday against Pres Ronald Reagan s
proposed cutbacks in federal grants and
loans for education
The large turnout came amid mounting
signs of resistance among both Repub
licans and Democrats to Reagan's call
for cutting education aid from $13 billion
to less than $10 billion in fiscal 1983
Many students arrived in buses char
tered by their schools or student as
sociations
"I'm very scared," said Fran Pheeny,
21, a New York University sophomore, “It
does seem (Reagan) has lost some
support, but I'm still very scared "
Nearly a dozen lawmakers delivered
speeches of support to more than 500
students who crammed into a room in a
House office building.
The so-called National Student Lobby
Day, organized by nine national student
groups, was to end with a rally on the
Capitol steps.
"We are going to prohibit any further
cutbacks and we should commence to
restore the cuts that have already been
made. We are going to prevail," said
Rep Carl Perkins, D-Ky., chairer of the
House Education and Labor Committee
Some of the 21 freshmen Republican
members of the House who have sent
Reagan a letter attacking his education
cuts as "unacceptable" and “unfair"
held a news conference to support the
student lobbyists. Several said Reagan
should reduce his proposed increases in
defense spending.
But Rep Larry Craig, R-ldaho, also
lectured students to pay back their loans.
"If you have to drive a used car and live
in an apartment for a few years to get
your loan paid off, you ought to do it,” he
said
Reagan wants to make graduate
students accrue interest on their loans
while they are still in school. Their
monthly interest payments alone could
range up to $466.
Under loan cutbacks Reagan wants to
put into effect April 1, graduate students
would be barred from getting the
9-percent Guaranteed Student Loans on
which the government pays all the inter
est until after a student leaves school.
Instead, he wants the graduate
students to borrow under a 14-percent
auxiliary loan program, with no in-school
interest subsidy, and to boost their debt
ceiling from $25,000 to $40,000
Reagan also wants to double the
5-percent origination fee under
graduates pay for Guaranteed Student
Loans, subject all borrowers to a needs
test and make the students repay at
market rate two years after leaving col
lege
In addition, Reagan wants to cut $1.5
billion from Pell Grants, work-study
funds, National Direct Student Loans
and other aid programs now costing $3.3
billion. Those cuts would affect awards in
the 1983-84 school year.
The GSL program now costs the
government $2.7 billion. The administra
tion says its costs would rise to $3.4
billion next year without the cutbacks to
hold its cost to $2.5 billion.
Tuesday, March 2, 1982
Eugene, Oregon
Oregon daily
Volume 83
Number 112
emerald
One candidate is out;
Weathersby’s still in
By Ann Portal
Of Mt Erne me
Negotiations with George Weathersby,
the State Board of Higher Education's
first choice for chancellor, continued
Monday while one of the other two
remaining finalists withdrew his name
from consideration
William Bud Davis, president of the
University of New Mexico, announced
Monday afternoon that he no longer
should be considered to replace Chan
cellor Roy Lieuallen, who retires in July
Earlier, board president Ed Harms had
called Davis to inform him the board
intends to wait a week before making a
final decision
"Under these circumstances I have
requested that my name be withdrawn
from consideration," Davis said "I am no
longer a candidate for the position
Harms said that although he talked by
phone with the third candidate. Pres
George Rainsford of Kalamazoo College
in Michigan, he can't answer whether
Rainsford also will withdraw
Following an executive session Mon
day, board members said the premature
identification of Weathersby as the
board's top choice may have hampered
relations with Davis and Rainsford
‘ It's certainly been embarrassing to
the other candidates,” Harms said
Weathersby, commissioner of higher
education in Indiana, is scheduled to
return to Oregon for further interviews
this weekend Those interviews hopefully
will include a meeting with Gov Vic
Atiyeh, Harms said
Although an Associated Press article
claimed Sunday that Weathersby had
rejected the board’s offer, Weathersby
said the article was incorrect and that the
board had not yet made him a definite
offer
The board decided to meet again with
Weathersby after board members talked
in two executive sessions by telephone
Monday Three board members, Alvin
Batiste, Jane Carpenter and Robert In
galls. also spoke again with Weathersby
Continued on Page 3
Legislature nears finish;
tax relief cut final issue
SALEM (AP) - The Legislature
pushed to the brink of adjourning its
special session Monday night after set
tling everything except how much to cut
property tax relief
The lawmakers approved $113 million
in spending cuts Monday and passed a
3-cent per pack boost in the 16-cent
state cigarette tax
Those steps, together with a $75 mil
lion income tax hike and other revenue
measures approved earlier in the six
week session, came within $10 million of
eliminating a projected budget deficit
A House-Senate conference commit
tee labored late Monday in an effort to
reach a compromise on a property tax
relief cut That issue became the chief
sore point as lawmakers tried to adjourn
the record-length special session that
began Jan. 18
The House passed a $44 million tax
relief reduction last week, but the Senate
wouldn't go along with a cut that deep.
The Senate approved a $15.6 million
tax relief decrease Sunday. The House
rejected that measure Monday, putting
the dispute into the joint conference
panel to try to find an acceptable middle
ground
The Senate quickly endorsed the bud
get cuts 21-9 following 32-27 approval in
the House
Opponents of decreasing property tax
relief have warned that voters may im
pose a tax lid on local governments
Property tax foes are circulating initiative
petitions for a ballot measure that would
limit taxes to 1.5 percent of property
value.
A program under which the state pays
about 30 percent of homeowner taxes
and gives equivalent relief to renters is
budgeted to cost $189 million this year.
If the Legislature didn't cut the tax
relief budget, the maximum homeowner
relief payment this fall would be $355
The House voted to drop the maximum
payment to $220, but the Senate rejected
the measure
Posters on dorm walls
ignite fire marshal's ire
Posters plastered on dorm walls over
the weekend were fire hazards that had
to be removed, the city fire marshal told
about 10 Watson Hall residents Mon
day
The students, upset that the posters
had to come down, gathered in the hall
Monday afternoon to protest the deci
sion. After standing firm for about an
hour, the students eventually began to
tear the posters from the walls
‘ It’s not like wore anti’ anything.
They think we re going against the
maids, but we re not ” said dorm re*
sident Mike Rivers, o'iginator of the
‘ poster art."
Rivers had decorated nis door and a
small wall space with the posters when
the rest of the floor got involved and
proceeded to cover all of the walls with
"about 500” posters, Rivers said.
"We did it because we’re sick of
looking at the gray-brown walls," said
Lance Brechbill, another dorm res
ident. "We did this as decoration.”
But the housekeepers in the dor
mitory complex said the wall-to-wall
posters presented a very real fire
danger.
The students’ housing contracts al
low them to decorate halls and rooms
only after gaining the housing depart
ment’s approval.
According to Larry Spencer, area
director for the Hamilton Complex, the
students removed the posters after the
fire marshal issued an edict pointing
out the danger.