Wednesday, June 16, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A·Page 7
NATO efforts affect programs for KU ROTC
By Matthew Friedrichs
Kansan editor
University of Kansas students planning to become officers in Army, Navy and Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps have been in no danger during the bombing of Yugoslavia and now the peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo.
Col. Kevin McNellis, who is professor of aerospace studies and in charge of the KU Air Force ROTC program, said most cadets were not ready for the technical requirements of full-time duty.
However, some summer training programs have been affected by the conflict in the Balkans.
Instead, most cadets are at one of two camps.
Students with more experience attend airmanship training — which has been affected because so many planes are at bases outside the United States — to practice fiving.
"The numbers haven't required total mobilization that would have required a call-up of cadets," he said.
Younger students are undergoing intensive training on Air Force bases in Texas or Louisiana.
executive officer of the
Students who have finished their freshman year
spend one week each with aviation, submarines,
surface ships and the Marines.
In subsequent summers, students go on a naval vessel cruise first to learn about enlisted life and second to learn about life as a junior officer.
Naval ROTC students could be on a ship supporting U.S. and NATO forces, said Cmdr. Bill Venohr, executive officer for KU's Naval ROTC.
"There's good potential that a midshipman could be on a ship that's on a cruise in the Mediterranean." Venohr said.
ing U.S. forces in Kosovo and the surrounding area. "In a professional sense, it's probably an increased opportunity to see real-world events," Venohr said.
Bup ships in the Mediterranean could be supported US forces in Kocquoy and the surrounding area.
Venoir said it was unlikely that students would be on ships directly offshore from dangerous locations.
That is exactly what Scott South, an incoming freshman from Paola with an ROTC scholarship, is looking for.
South said he had taken the scholarship for the education and because he wanted to become a pilot.
The danger of combat has not been a deterrent to the plans.
"It's just something that you have to do," South said.
- Edited by Kimberly Erb
The dog days of summer are here again. Time for sipping lemonade and lounging on front porch swings.
Summer fun put on hold for academic endeavors
Rv Mindie Miller
Kansan staff writer
Yes, time just seems to stand still during the three sultry months between the spring and fall semesters — unless you are a University of Kansas student or faculty member involved in summer school.
During the summer semester, courses normally taught in 16 weeks are condensed into eight or even four weeks. This high-speed format can make life difficult for both students and teachers.
Students have to take responsibility for their learning, though, especially in summer courses, said Rivers, who prefers teaching during full semesters.
"It's a challenge for me, and I feel for the students," Adrienne Rivers, associate professor of journalism, said.
Rivers is teaching a four-week version of Reporting I. She said she reduced the number of assignments and the time allotted for each one. She advised one student against taking the course because he was enrolled in other summer classes and probably would not have time to do well in Reporting I.
"I don't want students to feel shortchanged. I want you to feel like you got your money's worth," Rivers said.
"There are pros and cons to summer school." Chambers said.
While it is a good way to fulfill requirements quickly, instructors have to cover the same amount of material in a much shorter amount of time, Chambers said.
you get a longer time to develop things and a chance to get to know the students." Rivers said.
"If you get behind, then you are playing a catch-up game for the rest of the semester." she said.
Charlene Chambers, Lawrence senior, has taken summer classes before, but opted to take this summer off.
Chambers said there are some courses that should only be taken during the fall or spring semesters.
"Western Civilization is one of those
courses that should not be taught in the summer. With 15 books, you end up reading two books a week. Then you feel like you're being short-changed," Chambers said.
Generally, summer courses meet five days a week for one or two hours a day. This rigorous schedule often makes it difficult to teach or sit through summer courses.
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The extra exams give students more leeway to improve their grades during the course. Shafer-Landau said he increased the number of exams in response to student comments on course evaluations.
Russ Shafer-Landau, associate professor of philosophy, said that students have a lot to digest in a single day.
Shafer-Landau, who is teaching a four-week course titled "Introduction to Ethics," said he increased the number of tests for his summer class. During a regular semester, he gives two midterms and a final. During the summer, students are required to take four exams.
"it's hard to keep the level of motivation and excitement up over the course of a two-hour class," he said.
King said she was enrolled in one hour of aerobic kickboxing and three hours of sociology this summer. The sociology course fulfills a degree requirement and would not fit into her fall schedule.
"I increased the number of exams because a lot of the students were unfamiliar with philosophy, and they didn't really know what to expect on the tests," Shafer-Landau said.
Despite the obstacles of a shortened semester, Heidi King, El Dorado senior, has found the key to being successful in summer school.
"You just have to stay on top of things. You can't procrastinate as much as you might be able to in a regular semester," King said.
"I feel like I'm getting a lot from the class," King said. "It would be nice to have the summer off, but the class will be over in four weeks, and I'll have the rest of the summer to relax."
Edited by Chad Bettes
WASHINGTON — The Education Department forgave nearly $4 million in student loans during a two and one half-year period for borrowers who were supposed to be dead but turned out to be alive, according to an internal audit.
Audit reveals $77 million educational loan scam
The Associated Press
During the same span, the department also forgave more than $73 million in loans for people who claimed permanent disability but continued to work, said the audit, which has just been given to Congress.
"This is really a clear case of no oversight," said Sharon Pinkerton, spokeswoman for Rep. John L. Mica, R-Fla., who oversees domestic issues on the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee.
and investigations into suspicious borrowers.
Greg Woods, who oversees the Education Department's loan division, ordered the audit. He said the department will use wage garnishment and other means to recover the loans, which will be reinstated as soon as possible.
"We understand this is r#al money," he said.
Federal law provides for loan discharges when the borrower dies or becomes permanently disabled. The Education Department defines a disability as a condition which prevents a person from working and earning money, or attending school, because of an injury or illness that is expected to continue indefinitely or result in death.
Woods also said the department has created safeguards in an effort to prevent individuals from abusing the program in the future such as tracking disabled individuals
Mica has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, asking why the department hasn't required original or certified copies of death certificates for discharges of loans based on a borrower's death.
Disability claims require the borrower to send a form completed and signed by a doctor to the lender or guaranty agency. But the process did
spokeswoman for Rep. John L. Mica
"This is a really clear case of no oversight."
Sharon Pinkertor
not require proof that a qualified doctor actually saw the patient or proof the borrower was not working.
At the Education Department's request, its auditing arm studied loan-discharge records from July 1, 1994, through December 31, 1996. It matched all borrowers who received disability and death discharges with the Social Security Administration's master earning records for 1997.
There were 708 borrowers drawing wages after receiving education loan death discharges. The audit found that lenders processing discharges relied on copies, not originals, of a death certificate or other proof of death such as a doctor's statement or an insurance bill, which might be acceptable proof under a given state's law.
One man apparently altered his twin brother's death certificate — changing the name and Social Security number to match his own — in an attempt to get his loans discharged.
The audit also found that 9,798 individual borrowers, 23 percent of the borrowers claiming disability, were earning wages after their loans were forgiven.
In addition, the auditors learned that more than 6,800 new loans totaling almost $20 million have been awarded to borrowers who returned to school after previously having loans totaling nearly $11.5 million discharged due to total and permanent disability.
Other borrowers earned wages in excess of $20,000 each after having loans discharged for total and permanent disabilities of memory loss, reconstruction of right ankle, carpal tunnel syndrome, depression, fractured elbow and severe headaches.
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