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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 1992)
OPINION In search of the elusive financial aid Pal Malach Entering the wilds of higher education at the beginning of each year is always a frightening proposition. The dense foliage of paper work and computer printouts it takes to run a 16,000-student university is immense. One studious creature, one speck in the gnind scale of the wilderness, can be lost liko a Blrkenstock in Brian Hoop's closet without Marlon Perkins to save the day. And so it happened to me. The safari started earlier this summer. Knowing how crowd ed and confused the outback of Oregon Hall gets once tho na tives return, I headed for the Office of Financial Aid to maku sure my life-sustaining funds were in place and ready to be delivered. Tho news the financial aid workers gave mo walloped me on the heud like a fulling coco nut. I screwed up. I had failed to return the proper forms, and my aid was in jeopardy. But hope remained. I suc cessfully petitioned to have a hold removed from my aid, gathered all the proper informa tion and forms, turned them in and was told my aid would lie ready by Sept. 24. My trek through tho financial aid office was smooth sailing. But knowing that infamous ly-abnisive Oregon Hall has this funny thing alxiut withholding financiol aid from people who still owe money, I got a draw from work, took out an emer gency loan and paid off my ac counts receivable. Now I could sit back and en joy the expedition. But when my Duck (lull bill arrived from the University, there was no sign of my finan cial aid. Search parties were sent out looking and were as sured that everything would be accounted for when time came to pay up in the ballroom. One speck In the grand scale of the wilderness can be lost like a Blfkenstock In Brian Hoop’s closet Ii wus just <i hoax to lull me into a sense of security while the insidious bureaucratic can nibals set their trap Day One: Thinking I was simply taking a leisurely stroll through the for mality of payment. I went to the ballroom to have my finan cial aid adjusted onto my bill. Ha, ha. hu, ha. "HH'mmmm sorry, wo have no record of any financial aid for you," I was told. "Try back this afternoon when they send another shipment up." I bought it. And on my sec ond trip. I was told thoro were still no chocks, computer cred its or any acknowledgement of my aid. Day Two: I thought I was making progress on my third try at the ballroom. “Your Pell (Irani and other aid will bo put directly onto your account at the cashior's of fice," I was told. Day Throe: When I wont to Accounts Re ceivable and checked what I owed, there was still no Indica tion of financial aid. The state ment suid I was in debt for all of my tuition, and. of course, the S20G 1 owed for the emer gency loan I took out earlier. Next, I went to the financial aid office to see if it wus the source of the problem Nope. They hud paid tny financial aid to Oregon Hull on Sept. 16. “It's at the cashier's office Check with the poople there, and they can tell you what's been done with your aid,” the woman said with a smile, actu ally taking time to give me di rections to tho proper desk. Hey. Pm protty easy going, so 1 bought it again. Maybe I didn't hold my tongue right when I asked the last lime. The fellow behind the coun ter was all smiles and cheer for the attractive woman ahead of mo. But his attitude changed when I got to the front of the lino. (Must’ve boon the tongue again.) "That'll be up at the ball room," he scowled, like my question was a personal affront to his previous aura of cheer Why not7 What could it hurt? I'm going near the ballroom ugain anyway. "Wo don't have any record of your financial aid here. Have you checked at the cashier's of fice?" the woman, who had no idea of the history of this expe dition, said with a straight face. I explained that I reali/.od it wasn't her fault, hut this safari hud lost its charm. The supervi sor she called over didn't help Tolling her the people at Ac counts Receivable had no idea what wus going on and she was my lust hope — didn't help at all. It seemed that to her, it was my fault the uid was lost I can't explain what hap pened next. Maybe it was the fact that for the past three days I hud survived on seven pack ets of assorted Kamens and one bowl of macaroni (minus the cheese because 1 didn't have the milk and butter necessary to complete the cycle), hut my middle finger developed a mind of its own. Chock this! When I got paid Thursday. I had S2<> (M after paying rent bo cuuse 1 took the big druw to pay off my account so my aid wouldn't lie held. I've already used the emergency loan op tion for the same reason. I still haven't bought my books. I don't dare go back to Oregon Hull and insult them uguin by asking what's hap pened to my grants. And they wonder why people storm buildings with assault rifles. Of course, that option isn't open to me because I don't have uny money to buy a gun. I'ul Mulach Is editor of the Emerald. Mhome delivery 343*4734 Hours: Fri & Sat 4pm - Midnight Sun - Thurs 4pm - 10 pm The finest Chinese food home delivered. 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