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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 1997)
. i & , r-. Ä, W-.««fear^iS£ T' ’*fr-?3K>>. ' .Z HitL,.'iSA NOV. 19,1997 Page A5 (The $ J o r t l a n i > ( l î î h s r r u c r --------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ! i> D irn $5,000 for High School Students A w ards to ta lin g $ 5 ,0 0 0 are availab le to high school age O r egon stu d en ts th ro u g h the In d e penden ce E ssay C o m p e titio n . The 1997-98 Essay C om p etitio n focuses on the fo u n d a tio n s o f fre e d o m . E n try d e a d lin e is M a rc h 4, 1998. T o r e c e iv e gu id elin es stu d e n ts sh o u ld call the Essay H otline (50 3 ) 224- 1737, or re fe r to w w w .C ascad eP o licy .o rg /essay / essay98.htm . The first one hundred en tran ts w ill receiv e a co m p lim e n ta ry copy o f F red eric B a s tia t’s T he Law. The fo u rth annual E ssay C om petition is sp onsored by the C o n s tr u c tiv e M anagem ent F oundation (P o rtla n d ) and the J a m e s M. Bo n a v i a F a m ily C haritab le T ru st (B end). “O regon stu d en ts have a great opp o rtu n ity to earn an aw ard b e c a u s e th e y o n ly c o m p e te a g a in st th e ir in -sta te p e e r s ,” notes K urt T. W eber, pro g ram d ire c to r at C ascad e Policy In stitu te in P o rtlan d , w hich o rg a nizes the E ssay C o m p e titio n . “F u rth e r, all h ig h -sch o o l age stu d e n ts are e lig ib le to p a rtic i pate, not ju s t c o lle g e -b o u n d se n io rs. L ast y e a r’s w inners in clu d ed a so p hom ore and tw o ju n io r s .” S u p r e m e C o u r t J u s tic e S tew art P o tter once w rote, “ In fact, a fu n d am en tal in te rd e p e n d en ce e x ists betw een the p e r so n al rig h t to liberty and the p e rso n a l rig h t in pro p erty N e i th er co u ld have m eaning w ith o u t the o th e r .” S tu d e n ts are ask ed to ex p an d upon Ju stice S te w a rt’s quote and explore the c o n c e p t that the fo u n dation o f a free so ciety is p ersonal and eco n o m ic freedom , and when g o v ern m en t reg u lates one it in frin g e s upon the other. T h is y ear the g u id e lin e s p ro vide stu d e n ts w ith po ssib le to p ics and su g g e ste d readings and w eb sites. A ccording to W eber, these fe a tu re s should in crease stu d en t in q u irie s and p a rtic ip a tion o v er the p rev io u s E ssay C o m p e titio n , w hich se t new reco rd s in both c a te g o rie s. Four Educators Receive Good News - $25,000 Four Oregon high school ed u ca tors today le a rn e d from S tate Schools Supt. N orm a Paulus they have been selected to receive 1997 M ilken Fam ily F oundation N a tional Educator A w ards, and the accom panying financial aw ard of $25,000. They are: Ray H asart technology teacher, Redmond High School; Bonnie Hill, language arts teacher, A lsea High School; Ford M o r is h ita , s c ie n c e te a c h e r , C lackam as High School, and Arnie Roblan, principal, M arshfield High School, Coos Bay. T hey w ill receiv e an exp en se- p aid trip to L os A n geles next Ju n e for the annual M ilken F am ily F o u n d atio n N ation E ducation C o n feren ce. Children share knowledge of success - Americans from a variety o f fields, like Deputy U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder above), participate in Teach For America Week, an event that called upon successful Americans to share their knowledge and ixnerience with public school students. UO Sends Students Welcome Holiday Greeting: ’Don’t pay your tuition till next year' The University of Oregon is advis ing students not to pay their winter tuition bills this year. Instead, pay after Jan. 1,1998, advises an official notice included in Winter Term tuition bills going out this week. The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, just adopted by Congress, provides the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit of up to $1,500 to help offset tuition costs for students in their first two years of college. The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 1998, explains Ed Vignoul, UO financial aid director. “Students and their parents who are eligible to claim the tax credit on their 1998 tax returns can’t claim a credit for any payments dated, sent or delivered in 1997," Vignoul adds, “so, until the Department of the Trea sury defines exactly what is meant by ’first two years of college.' the university is strongly recommending that all undergraduates delay paying winter 1998 tuition and fees until the new year.” The notices will be included in the tuition bill statements ol Nov. 15 and Dec. 15. Students will have until Jan. 10 to pay Winter Term tuition. Payments made after that date will be charged the usual late-fee penalty. The UO also is delaying the dis bursement of financial aid for Winter Term to ensure that UO students receive the maximum benefit from this credit. No winter financial aid will be applied to any student's ac count until Jan I. 1998. The first cash back checks will be available Monday, Jan. 5. Law students, who register on a different schedule, can pick up their cash back checks Jan 8. Not everyone will be eligible lor the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit. Individuals who do not pay taxes, who are above certain income levels, or whose tuition is being paid by certain types of grants and scholar ships may not be eligible. The U.S Treasury Department has yet to release regulations regarding these programs, so there are still many unknowns. A handout providing addi tional information about these credits may be found on campus in the Busi ness and Financial Aid offices at Or egon Hall. The 1RS has published Notice 97- 60on the World Wide Web to provide more detailed information on not only the Hope Scholarship Credit, but also on the 1 afetime 1 earning Credit, Edu cation IRAs and the Student Loan Interest Deduction. The notice may be found at: <http://www.ed.gov/offtces/ ope/pp:/tra_qa.html>. Campaign for Higher Education Students at Oregon ’ s col leges and universities recently kicked-off a state-wide campaign urging their leg islators in Washington D.C. to re authorize the Higher Education Act. Representatives from each school are working with the Oregon Student Association, who created the post cards to be distributed and signed. The Higher Education Act lays the groundwork for distribution of monies allocated for student aid pro grams. It encompasses the Pell Grant, the State Student Incentive Grant program (SSIG), Perkins Loans, work study programs, Javits and Harris Fellowships for graduate students, and defines aid requirements. The Higher Education Act comes up for re-authorization every five years. “In the last six tuition has gone upover 80 percent in this state. This has made it hard for non-traditional students to go to school with the many obligations they have at home. Twenty years ago the ratio of federal aid was 80 percent grants and 20 percent loans; today it’s a complete 180,” said Maryanne Cassera, OSA representative for Portland State. The main focus of the post card campaign is to make secondary edu cation accessible for all students. ASPSU set a goal of getting 1000 signed postcards to legislatures S m ith , W y den, G o rto n , and Blummenauer. They are working to ward this goal by tabling on Tues days and W ednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 1 p.m .; and going into classes to educate and collect cards. Besides making education more accessible, OSA and students want the government to: fully fund the expanded Pell Grant program; keep the SSIG, redefine the aid require ments so working , independent stu dents can maintain eligibility; main tain federal work study program; fund low interest Perkins Loans; and Sup port GA ANN, Javits, and Harris Fel lowships. “To lessen the hardship on stu dents, our government has to make it a priority to fund the state and federal programs. The government needs to take an active role in education. Steps To College Start Early G ettin g ready for c o lle g e — i t ’s all about ju n io r y ear S A T ’s a n d s e n io r y e a r a d m is s io n s e ssa y ’s, rig h t? W rong. T h o se are im portant lan d m ark s on the path to co lleg e, but g e ttin g on c o u rse starts m uch e a rlie r acco rd in g to a new b o o k let from the U .S. D e partm ent of E d u catio n . If you are the paren t o f a m id d le -sc h o o l or ju n io r -high stu d e n t, the tim e to help y our ch ild take som e big steps tow ard a co lleg e ed u c a tio n is now. A co lleg e ed u c a tio n is a big in v e stm e n t, in b o th tim e and m oney. But i t ’s an in v estm en t that pays o ff - in ex p an d ed jo b o p p o rtu n itie s, h ig h e r e a rn in g s, g reater jo b se c u rity , lo w er u n em ploym ent, and p erso n al s a tis faction in the k n o w le d g e and skills acq u ired . T he case for c o l lege is c o m p e llin g . A nd th a t d o e sn ’t m ean only a fo u r-y e a r co lleg e or u n iv e rsity p ro g ram . Y our son or d a u g h te r can also benefit from a tw o -y ear co m m u nity or technical co lleg e program focusing on specific career skills. S ixth grade is n ’t too soon for a fam ily to begin d isc u ssin g c o l lege seriously. Y our ex p ectatio n s play a big p art in y o u r c h ild ’s fu tu re. Y ou can start ta lk in g to y o u r ch ild ab out po ssib le c a re e r in te re sts, how to pay for c o lleg e, and the m ost im p o rtan t p art o f g e ttin g re a d y fo r c o lle g e — c h o o sin g the rig h t c o u rse s in m id d le and high school. S tudies show that students who take a lg e b ra and geom etry by the end o f the eig h t and ninth grades are m uch m ore likely to go to c o lle g e than those w ho do not. T h e s e an d o th e r c h a lle n g in g c o u rse s such as a foreign la n guage, c o m p u ter science, art, and m usic sh o u ld be part o f yo u r c h ild ’s m id d le or ju n io r high sch e d u le if c o lle g e is a goal. S tu d e n ts w ho w ant to go to c o lle g e sh o u ld also take the b a sic ac a d e m ic c la sse s — E nglish, sc ie n c e , and histo ry or g e o g ra phy — ev ery year o f m iddle and high school. C h o o sin g the right c la sse s and w o rk in g hard in them is c ritic a l f o r c o lle g e - b o u n d s t u d e n ts . T h a t’s w hy p a re n ts need to play an a ctiv e role in helping th e ir c h ild re n plan th e ir school sc h e d ules. H elp is availab le from g u id ance c o u n se lo rs, te a c h e rs , and m en tio n in g program s. S tu d e n ts w ho plan ahead in m iddle school may find room in th e ir s c h e d u le s fo r a d v a n c e d p lacem en t or tech prep co u rse s if th e se are o ffe re d at the high school. Both o f these options may save tim e and m oney in c o lleg e. A d v a n c e d p la c e m e n t (A P ) c la sse s are c o lle g e -le v e l c lasses that stu d e n ts can take in high school. If stu d e n ts score high enough on AP ex am s they can get c o lle g e c re d it. S im ila rly , by tak in g c a re e r -fo cu sed tech prep c la sse s a stu d e n t headed for a tw o -y e a r c o lle g e can earn c o l lege c re d its w hen the in stitu tio n has an a g re e m e n t w ith the high school. R ecently a rtic le s and te le v i sion p ro g ra m s have focu sed on the high and in c re a sin g c o st of tu itio n at som e c o lle g e s. Is c o l lege b ecom ing fin a n c ia lly u n a t ta in a b le for a fam ily o f average m eans? The U .S. D ep artm en t of E d u catio n is re a ssu rin g on this point: “ M ost peo p le b eliev e that co lle g e is m uch m ore ex p e n siv e than it really is. A lth o u g h som e c o lle g e s are e x p e n siv e , m any c o lle g e s are w ith in reach. Even if a stu d e n t w ants to go to a m ore ex p e n siv e sc h o o l, fin a n c ia l aid can h elp. ’ » & 3& : W ;
