wednesday,september3,2003
news
the university daily kansan 5A
Damaging debt deals difficulties
By Kevin Kampwirth
kkampwirth@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Almost two-thirds of 2004 university graduates will face college debt for the next 25 years of their lives, national statistics show.
Factor in the high unemployment rate and lousy job market that awaits, and getting out of four years worth of college debt may take even longer than that.
"Many students are so far in debt and their income is so low, there's not many options," Michele Kessler, associate director of Legal Services for Students said.
Brooke Klonsky. St. Louis senior understands debt trouble.
"I already know I owe more than I'll be able to handle when I graduate," Klonsky said of her student loans taken out over the past three years.
According to the National
Center for Education Statistics, indebted students who graduated in 2000 owed an average of $17.785 just from loans.
Tack on the estimated $3,000 that the average college student will owe in credit card debt, and the total comes close to $21,000.
Credit card debt among college students has skyrocketed over the past decade because students increasingly have more than one credit card. According to college-creditcounseling.com, more than three-fourths of undergraduates have a credit card and 32 percent of those have four or more. The average is three cards.
Just under 15 percent have debt of $3,000 to $7,000, and almost a tenth have debt more than $9,000.
"The worst-case scenario is for students who are deeply in debt and are also on student loans." Kessler said. "At that point, filing for bankruptcy may be the best
One solution is signing up for monthly payment plans, according to Kessler. They may ease some of the burden associated with paying off debts.
solution."
“It's basically just saying 'This is how much money I have per month to pay bills with' and then taking it from there." Kessler said.
Robert Baker, branch manager of the Lawrence office of Consumer Credit Services, deals with all types of student debt on a daily basis.
Of those graduating in the red, many leave with unmanageable debt levels, meaning that their monthly payments are more than 8 percent of their monthly income
"Credit cards seem like a great idea to students at first because of the low interest rate when signing up," Baker said. "After a couple of months, however, things change."
But, the average student will
begin to spend more on their credit card per month than what they are earning, Baker said. Because of this, when interest rates go up, students won't be able to pay their bills on time and late fees will begin to accumulate.
Delinquent payments will effect one's "credit score" which determines where, when and how much money students could borrow for any future loans.
Baker also noted that more than half of all students with credit cards have late fees and half of all profits that credit card companies make from students come from these late fees.
"Many students that have just graduated college have combined payments equal to a car payment, but they don't have the car to show for it." Baker said. "It's really mind-blowing if you think about it."
Edited Katie Nelson
Miller, Watkins Halls to drop suit
By Robert Perkins
rperkins@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Next Monday will bring Miller and Watkins Scholarship Halls' three-year-old lawsuit one step closer to closure.
The two scholarship halls, which are suing both the Bank of America and the University of Kansas for mismanagement of their trust fund, will drop all of the charges in the case except for the one of the counts of the lawsuit that they have already won. Residents were advised to speak to their attorney before commenting on the specifics of this point.
Lindsay Poe, Wichita senior and president of the Student Preservation Committee, said the decision to drop the claims came
from signs that the money was being handled better as well as a desire to see the lawsuit wrapped up.
"Not only is it a part of us moving on, but a large part of it's that we finally feel like everything's kosher again — or getting there," she said.
Poe cited repairs made to Miller's foundation, Watkins' new roof and air conditioning installed in both halls as signs of improvement.
"A lot of complaints have been dealt with." she said.
Also, she said the majority of the residents who had originally been involved in the lawsuit had since graduated. Of the 26 residents who signed the original petition that started the lawsuit, Poe estimated that five remained
in the scholarship halls.
Lynn Bretz, director of University Relations, said she expected all of the charges to be withdrawn Monday.
"The petitioners have not presented any information proving that the funds have been spent on anything besides the maintenance and upkeep of Miller and Watkins Halls," she said.
Bretz said the University's position in the case had not changed since the beginning
"We believe that the court will find that the University of Kansas and the bank have acted in good faith and in Mrs. Watkins' wishes," she said.
Poe said that while the petitioners would drop their other charges, they would try to get the judge to amend the one they had
already won to say that in the future, the petitioners would have a voice in the way the trust was spent on maintaining the halls.
In addition, several "prayers to the relief" — requests made to the judge — have been added. The petitioners will ask that, among other things, the University and the bank cover their legal costs.
Poe said that while this has gone on for several years, she intends to see it through to the end, no matter how long it takes.
The status hearing will take place at 10 a.m. Monday at the judge's chambers in the Douglas County Courthouse at 11th and Massachusetts streets and is not open to the public.
Edited by Cate Batchelder
Tuition increase benefits American studies program
By Zack Hemenway
zhenwenway@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Tuition increases will help the growing American studies department bring two new faculty members to the University of Kansas next fall.
Michael Yellow Bird, a social welfare professor at Arizona State University, was chosen to direct the University's Center for Indigenous Nations Studies. He will succeed current director Don Fixico, who will return to teaching next fall.
Because the Center was unable to offer Yellow Bird tenure, he will also become a member of the American studies department. The classes he will teach on indigenous peoples will be cross-listed in the student catalog with American studies
courses, said Norman Yetman, director of the American studies department.
The second hire the department made is a full-time faculty member, Anna Choi, who will teach American studies classes exclusively. Choi is one of the first new faculty members hired with money from last year's tuition increase.
The Tuition Enhancement program targeted specific faculty need areas which would be important to the University's future, said provost David Shulenburger. Yetman said looking at problems globally would be a key concept for the future of the American studies program.
"Enhanced global perspective will be the most important direction in American Studies in the next 10 years," he said.
Choi, who recently received
her Ph.D. in history from the University of Southern California, wrote her dissertation on Korean nationalism in the United States. Yetman said globalization was her area of expertise.
"She'll teach students about the way the U.S. is perceived globally, the impact of U.S. policy abroad, and the affect of the global economy on the U.S.", he said.
"This appointment has to be considered in the context of the tuition project," Yetman said. "Without it, this would not have been possible."
Yetman said Choi filled a need as a scholar who could develop more of a global program.
The increased funds made the creation of Choi's position possible, he said.
Edited by JJ Hensley
State Officials announce new public service ad
TOPEKA — Officials unveiled a new public service announcement yesterday for the Kansas school safety telephone hot line.
The hot line, established in 1999, is designed to allow students to pass information along anonymously when they suspect another student is planning an act of violence.
The number is 1-877-626-8203. State officials estimate that the hot line has received 2,000 calls since its inception.
The public service announcement features a teenager urging students not to keep quiet when they have information.
The effort also includes new posters for schools to put up.
"We just want to make sure people know about it," Governor Kathleen Sebelius said during a news conference.
-The Associated Press