WWW.KANSAN.COM
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2008
VOLUME 120 ISSUE 34
ECONOMY
How will the bailout affect student loans?
BY ANDY GREENHAW agreenhaw@kansan.com
Many economists and Wall Street investors said the $700 billion economic recovery package was essential to preventing world markets from slipping into a long-term recession, but what does it mean for student loans?
The bailout should bring down interest rates on private student loans and increase their availability, said Mark Kantrowitz, president of MK Consulting, a national
Kantrowitz said the $700 billion injection should free up credit for lenders to issue more private loans. The interest rates on these loans, which Kantrowitz said would have risen by at least 2 percent had Congress not passed the bailout, could start coming down as soon as November, he said.
firm that provides student financial aid consulting services. He said the bailout will have no effect on Federal Stafford Loans or consolidation loans.
Students will continue to have difficulty consolidating their student-loan debt into one monthly payment after they graduate. Many lenders have suspended their consolidation services, which Kantrowitz said were unprofitable for lenders. According to FinAid.org, 85.6 percent of the lending industry has their consolidation programs since the subprime mortgage meltdown first made headlines in August 2007.
because they are guaranteed by the government.
The bailout won't affect federal loans
"Consolidation loans won't see any fixes
anytime soon," Kantrowitz said. "Lenders lose money every time they make them because they are still underwater."
CONSOLIDATION LOANS
Although this is good news for students who need to borrow more than the government will lend them ($31,000 for financially dependent students: $57,500 for financially independent students for their entire college career), it doesn't help students such as Curry Curtis, who borrowed from multiple sources and will have
a difficult time finding lenders willing to consolidate her debts into one monthly payment.
Curtis, Olathe senior, said she borrowed $27,500 through the KU financial aid department, $8,000 through KU Endowment and $2,300 through Wachovia, a private lender. Curtis said that she would have liked to consolidate all three loans into one, but that she understood she would probably end up
POLITICS
Alumnus sells 'Constitution online for $21
SEE LOANS ON PAGE 6A
Andrew Gray, a former KU student, listed a copy of the "U.S. Constitution" on eBay last week. Gray said he was disgusted with the actions of the government and decided to come up with a way to express his sentiments. The "Constitution" sold for $20.50, but Gray advised the winner of the auction to pay with Euros because the U.S. dollar would soon be worthless.
FULL STORY PAGE 3A
TRANSPORTATION
Find out bus status via text messages
KU on Wheels riders can now receive alerts about the status of the buses on their routes by text message, phone or e-mail. The new alert system contactsriders when there are major changes to their routes, such as delays, detours or missed stops.
FULL STORY PAGE 2A
MODEL UNITED NATIONS
New leaders revamp team policies, role in competitions
The Model United Nations Team is under new management, and is gunning for a bigger role in national conferences. Nuclear power in Iran, human rights crises and the economic downturn will be debated this year.
FULL STORY PAGE 3A
Kansas Union officials still support their decision to allow Sun of a Beach Tanning to open in the student union despite growing tensions between indoor tanning advocates and doctors.
Pat Beard, director of building services for KU Memorial Unions, said the board that oversees the union was originally concerned about the health risks tanning presented. But after careful consideration, he said, it gave owner Emily Willis the OK to open the salon.
"It seems to fit the location. There's not been any regrets by any means," Beard said. "Emily takes pretty good care of the space. We've never received any complaints. In my opinion, that is a good lease."
Sun of a Beach
Tanning replaced the
T-Mobile store on the
third floor of the Kansas
Union this past April after
T-Mobile decided to shut down its store on campus.
Salon Hawk owner Emily Willis, a 22-year-old Lawrence resident, said she had been considering adjoining a tanning salon to the beauty parlor since she took over the shop in May 2007, and the opening in the space next door provided the perfect opportunity.
Yet, when Willis began making plans in January to open the store, neither she nor the union could have foreseen the confrontation that would occur between the Indoor Tanning Association and anti-tanning advocates only a week before Sun of a Beach would officially open. The Indoor
Bill Walberg, El Dorado Hills, Calif. senior and a former member of the Memorial Corporation Board, said the student union having a tanning salon was comparable to allowing The Hawk Shop to sell cigarettes and tobacco. He said he supported renting to Sun of a Beach from the becamem.
launched an ad campaign denouncing the connection between the skin cancer melanoma and ultraviolet light. Two weeks ago, dermatologists refuted this campaign publishing articles reinforcing the correlation between skin cancer and UV rays.
In Lawrence, students can find several places to go tanning. Student-geared apartment complexes, such as The Reserve and The Legends Place, include tanning beds among their amenities. Last fall, Naismith Hall, the privately owned dormitory, became the first dormitory on campus to include tanning beds.
"I thought it was a great idea," he said. "I can't tell you how many friends of mine, especially girls, love to go tanning. It's really convenient."
Naismith Hall may feature tanning beds, but the University does not necessarily support their use. The University does not technically own the Kansas Union; it's paid for by student fees.
SEE TANNING ON PAGE 6A
OBITUARY
Family remembers student killed in accident
BY RYAN MCGEENEY
rmcgeeney@kaansan.com
rmcgeeney@kansan.com
Neil Hockenbarger, 26, died early Thursday morning after his car collided with a utility pole on Michigan Street north of I-70. Police declared him dead at the scene, Tiffany, Hockenbarger's wife of three and a half years, was riding in the passenger seat and was treated for minor injuries.
Hockenbarger, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, was attending the University through the Airman Enlisted Commissioning Program, a highly competitive scholarship program that allows enlisted personnel to transition to the officer ranks while completing an undergraduate program.
Lt. Col, Gena Stuchbery, commander of the KU Air Force ROTC program, said Hockenbarger was a man of integrity, hard work and dedicaion.
"He was my book of knowledge," Joan Hockenbarger, Neil's mother, said. She said Neil was identified as a candidate for gifted student programs as early as kindergarten, was a member of the Future Business Leaders of America and was the first student at his middle school to attend the Kansas State Geography Bee in Manhattan. Growing up outside of Leavenworth, he broke school records in the triple jump and high jump as a member of the Pleasant Ridge High School track and field team.
"He wanted to be a leader," Stuchbery said. "He had obviously worked pretty hard to get here."
Hockenbarger's parents remembered him as an outgoing, gregarious man who demonstrated a wide range of aptitudes throughout childhood.
Hockenbarger enlisted in the Air Force in July 2000 and left for basic training immediately after high school.
"He knew the Air Force would pay for his education, but it wasn't just that." Dean Hockenbarger, Neil's father, said. "He was proud to serve his country. He was very proud of that uniform he put on."
Shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Hockenbarger deployed to Saudi Arabia. After returning to the United States, Hockenbarger left active duty to attend the KU School of Engineering on an ROTC scholarship. Soon after accepting the scholarship, Hockenbarger began dating a woman named Cherith. When Cherith was diagnosed with cancer, Hockenbarger
married her, surrendered his scholarship and returned to active duty in the Air Force so that Cherith could receive medical coverage.
"That just shows you what kind of man he was," Dean said.
"He gave up his scholarship to save her life." Tiffany said.
Despite extensive medical treatment, Cherith died less than a year after she and Hockenbarger were married.
Hockenbarger later met Tiffany, whom he married in Oklahoma City in March 2005.
"I was working in a sports nutrition store," Tiffany said. "He just came in and asked what I was doing that night. I told him it was a girls' night, and I gave him my number. He called me five days later, and the rest is history.
"He was different from everybody," Tiffany said. "Genuine. He truly did care about others before himself."
A viewing will be held at Belden-Larkin Funeral Home in Leavenworth tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. A chapel service will be held in Hockenbarger's honor at the Veteran's Administration chapel in Leavenworth on Wednesday at 10 a.m., followed by a
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Neil Hockenbarger was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and engineering student at the University.
funeral service at 11 a.m. Hockenbarger will receive a full military funeral, and he will be buried at the Leavenworth National Cemetery.
He is survived by his mother, father, brother Brandon and wife Tiffany.
Edited by Lauren Keith
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