Student loan repayment sometimes ignored
Williams
i Print
|t students that have been
L federal loans through the
| feel confident that when
L comes to start paying
[the loans they will have
L a job in their chosen field
Bie payments will be made
Ely.
Lever, between 1968 and
the government suffered a
If $400 million to loan de­
ls, and student bankruptcy
|om 760 to 8,641.
Oregon does not rate high in
defaults as compared to some oth­
er states; two out of every five
come from California and Texas.
Clackamas Community College
claims to have a low default rate
and only six bankruptcies in the
history of the College, although
the number of defaulters in Oregon
is rising.
The Oregon Student Lobby, a
group representing the student
governments of seven state col­
leges and universities in Oregon, is
concerned with the rise in default
rates. OSL executive secretary,
Dan Garner, traveledtoWashington
D.C., to present a plan to make
student loans repayable as a per­
centage of the students' income
after graduation.
National Direct Student Loans
has the maximum allowable as
$5,000 for an undergraduate and
a minimum payment of $30 per
month, which must be paid back
in ten years with 3 percent
interest. Another program, the
Guaranteed Student Loans, allots
a maximum of $6,000 to a stu­
dent for a twelve-term program
with payments of $53 per month
over ten years.
The Oregon Student Lobby
feels that if these two programs
were combined and the student
paid a percentage of his or her in­
come on the total of the loans,
these figures would be reduced to
a payment that the student could
afford over the term of employ­
ment, no matter what the po­
sition pays.
It would be absurd to suggest
that all defaulters are crooks.
fl)
Clackamas Community College
Wednesday, January 25,1978
According to Dick Thompson,
Financial Aid Officer at the col­
lege, the rate of defaulters is
bound to be higher than the
usual consumer-loan default rate
by the very nature of the program.
"We don't run a check on stu­
dents and are encouraged not to
do so," Thompson said. "Stu­
dents are given a loan if they can
show a need and an interest in
furthering their education."
"Also, students by nature are
transitory and often don't leave
forwarding addresses," Thompson
said.
Joseph Nocera, a reporter for
a Washington, D.C., news ser­
vice, feels that he is getting close
to defaulting on his loan.
"Most defaulters make a me­
dium or, more often, a low sal­
ary as they are just starting in
their chosen fields and there is
little money left after food, rent
and bills. Career confusion and
unemployment also impair the
former students from paying back
their loans," Nocera said.
"The job market has changed
since I970," said Garner, Exec­
utive Secretary for Oregon Stu­
dent Lobby. "There has been a
cutback in military economy and
a depression in the timber in­
dustry, plus we are still suffering
from the drought. When leaving
school, many students find that
they are over-educated, for some
jobs and still others find many
jobs filled in their chosen fields,
as there has been a growth in
college graduates," Garner said.
Congress has not stood still as
the defaults and bankruptcies by
students continue to climb.
Congress recently approved a
law stating that a student can't gc
bankrupt, and it is to be in ef­
fect for five years, although the
State Scholarship Commission has
a bill in Congress to repeat this
I976 Bankruptcy prohibition.
Reactions from various mem­
bers in Congress has been out
rage, according to Nocera. Some
say the former students are irre­
sponsible and are taking the easy
way out by failing to pay back
their loans.
"One New York judge called
them 'little Stinkers' for filing
bankruptcy," Nocera said.
The government is now getting
tough.
Health, Education and
Welfare have plans to hire a col­
lection agency and, ultimately,
taking ex-students to court.
Capping set
for Saturday
By Denise Kline
For The Print
Photo by Brian Snook
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Colors by Munsell Color Services Lab
Nursing students from fall term
night and day Nursing IC! classes
will be receiving their caps in
recognition of havina successfully
completed
their probationary
period.
Carolyn Taylor, R. N., chair-
person of the department of nurs­
ing, will be in charge of the
ceremony.
Rita Albrecht, R. N., a I977
graduate of the College's nursing
program, will be the featured guest
speaker.
The nursing department would
like to extend special thanks to
Debbie Stephans, a Nursing I02
student, for her help in orga­
nizing the capping ceremony.
The public is invited to attend
the ceremony which will take
place Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. in the
Community Center mall.