Volume 125 Issue 42
kansan.com
Monday, November 5, 2012
HOUSING
RAISING RATES
Board of Regents to review proposed housing, dining increases for 2013-2014
Note: There is a margin of error, as each school's meal plan and housing includes different amenities.
Source: University housing and dining websites
NIKKI WENTLING
nwentling@kansan.com
Housing and dining costs for on-campus residents may increase by an average of 2.5 percent next school year.
At its meeting on Nov.14 and 15, the Kansas Board of Regents will review the proposal submitted by the Department of Student Housing that outlines the increase, which will affect students at all on-campus living locations, including residence and scholarship halls, Jayhawker Towers, Stouffer Place Apartments and the Sunflower House. The increases differ by location and room type.
Diana Robertson, director of student housing, said the higher costs are a result of expected increases in operating expenses.
"Each year, we take a look at what the rates for the following year are going to need to be," Robertson said. "With utilities, for example, we're expecting a four to six percent increase in costs. That makes up a significant amount of our budget, so we have to plan accordingly."
Income from housing and dining fees is used for operating costs, including utilities, personnel, maintenance products and any debt from building renovations.
"We're an auxiliary service, so we operate only off of the income we take in from the room rates and rent rates," Robertson said.
As part of an annual process, the department of student housing proposed the rates to the Student Housing Advisory Board, which is composed of faculty, staff and presidents from each of the four
government-housing groups. Students on the board took the proposal to their respective organizations for further review by students. Then, the board met again to vote on these rates.
"We did all of that in September and October, and then we forwarded those rates to the Board of Regents for approval." Robertson said.
Kristen Hays, a sophomore from Waterville, is planning her living situation for next fall. Hays, a resident in a scholarship hall, is debating whether to continue live on campus, and she is considering Jayhawker Towers.
Hays said cost is a major aspect when choosing a living space, but she does not think the increase in housing and dining rates is enough to affect her decision.
A two-person apartment at
Jayhawker Towers cost $5,400 for the 2012-2013 school year, and the Blue Basic dining plan costs $2,860, according to the University contract rates. If the Kansas Board of Regents approves the 2013-2014 proposal, the apartment would cost about $5,540 and dining about $2,930, for a total increase of about $200.
"I don't think the increase is enough to make me rethink that because, in the grand scheme of things, it's a year, and it's about $200" she said. "I don't think $200 is a big deal."
Melanie Lux, a freshman from St. Joseph, Mo., thinks the increase would be problematic for some students.
"I see it as a big deal because I'm from another state, and I pay out-of-state costs," Lux said. "I think it will make it harder for out-of-state
kids."
Lux, who currently lives in Lewis Hall, is planning on living in The Connection apartments next fall. She said it would cost about the same as living in the residence halls.
"I think I'll like it better," Lux said. "I think KU costs are fair for the most part, but it is going to cost me about the same."
Robertson said even with the increase, University housing and dining rates would still be below rates of other Big 12 schools. She said this is a commitment the University has made through the years.
"We try to keep the buildings in great condition and balance that with keeping costs as low as we can for students," Robertson said.
Edited by Christy Khamphilay
FINANCE
KU Endowment offers loans
RACHEL SALYER
rsalver@kansan.com
When Shawnee junior Julia Urban was in a pinch for book money, she considered selling her plasma or signing up for a clinical drug trial.
Urban thought the financial aid she applied for and received at the beginning of the semester would be enough with her part-time job, but it wasn't. And she had maxed out her student loans.
"I had planned in advance and I found myself in completely different circumstances," Urban said. "You never know how long you'll have your part-time job, or how many hours you'll get or when your schedule might change for school."
Urban was in difficult financial straits, and turned to KU Endowment for help.
After being turned down for student loans through private lenders, Urban was approved for $2,500 within 24 hours for a KU Endowment student loan.
Endowment is a private, nonprofit fundraising organization. It relies mostly on donations from alumni and University supporters. The loan program began in 1931 by Frederick Speh, in memory of his son, a student who died in a car accident.
"For nearly as long as KU
Endowment has existed, private gifts have benefitted students in a myriad of ways, including our loan program, said Dale Seuferling, Endowment president.
And when Urban needed her loan in 2008, the year of the Great Recession, so did 2,626 other students. That year, KUE disbursed $5.2 million in loan dollars, a record amount.
Endowment student loans peaked in the recession years of 2008-2010 and have since decreased. University financial aid officers encourage students to seek federal student loans before applying for Endowment loans because the federal loans offer more favorable terms.
"The economy seems to be an important variable in loan demand," said Lisa Scheller, Endowment spokeswoman.
Endowment had a 44 percent increase in loan disbursements
from fiscal years 2008 through 2010, said Scheller. Since then, the number of new applicants and loans disbursed have decreased, with a combined $5.1 million disbursed in fiscal years 2011 and 2012 after peaking in 2009 at 2,627 new loans and $5.2 million.
Endowment loans are available for students on all of the University's campuses, with a fixed rate of 5 percent, lower than the 7.8 percent average for private loans, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Aside from the economy, said Brenda Maigaard, Assistant Vice Provost of Financial Aid & Scholarships, the decrease in the number of Endowment loans issued is a result of Graduate PLUS loans, made available in 2006-2007 to post-secondary students. Graduate PLUS loans do not cap out like Endowment loans and allow graduate students to borrow up to the full net cost of attendance. In fiscal year 2011, University graduate students borrowed about $3.8 million in Graduate PLUS loans, according to the Office of Institutional Research and Planning.
Repayment doesn't have to be made until after graduation, but Urban said because hers was classified as an emergency loan, she had to pay it back within six months, and found herself defaulting.
"I take most of the burden of responsibility," Urban said. "I was so blinded by needing the money and just doing whatever I needed to do to stay in school, but I do recommend it if you are going to be responsible."
Urban paid the loan off this summer and works a full-time job. She said now she keeps her student loans organized on a spreadsheet, because lenders did not reach out to her after she had moved.
"I really don't know what I would've done if KU didn't have the option to get loans through them," Urban said. "I would have probably started selling everything, so I was really fortunate I didn't have to do anything too dramatic."
— Edited by Christy Khamphilay
Police arrest 20 at Halloween party
Police targeted Halloween house parties on Friday, Oct. 26, issuing nearly 30 criminal violations and busting a party where liquor was sold to minors.
"It was being operated like a business without a liquor license," said Sgt. Trent McKinley, a Lawrence police spokesman.
The Fake ID 101 Taskforce aims to enforce underage drinking laws. The majority of the citations were issued at a house party in the Oread Neighborhood, which includes four charges of operating as an open saloon and social hosting, according to a press release. More than 200 people attended, and several kgs of beer along with $800 in proceeds from alcohol sales were seized.
The grant-funded Taskforce is comprised of officers from the Kansas Alcoholic Beverage Control, KU Office of Public Safety, Douglas County Sheriff's Office and the Lawrence Police Department. For the past two semesters, it has focused on unlawful social hosting, or the allowance of individuals under 21 to consume alcohol on your property. It is the first time the Taskforce issued open saloon charges. If convicted, the misdemeanor charge is punishable by a fine of no more than $500, and imprisonment for no more than 90 days. A social hosting conviction is punishable of a fine no less than $1,000.
CRIME
Twenty-nine criminal violations were issued to 20 individuals during the night of enforcement: 11 for possession of alcohol by a minor, nine for possession of an open container or consuming liquor in public, four for unlawful hosting of minors or social hosting, four for open saloon and one for possession or use of a fake or other person's identification.
Rachel Salyer
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FAKE ID 101 TASKFORCE?
"I think we all know that there's a risk that's going to happen, but when it happens, the student body gets really upset, because as students, we feel that we sometimes have the right to underage drink. So when they come and tell us that we can't do it, it creates an uproar that makes you think twice about the consequences, but even then, I don't think it will make that big of a difference."
Casey Cox Senior, Wichita
Emily Lubarsky
Senior, Shawnee
"I think going against the law is a big risk. If you know you're not supposed to be hosting a party with underage drinking, it's like being in the drug business. It's the risk you take."
"All the house parties I go to, there are still people there to ID you. It is a little bit too harsh, but if you're stupid enough to be of age and buy it for people who aren't, you kind of have to expect it."
"I feel like the police are pretty lax in a college town because they understand that those things are going to happen. I know in the beginning of the year, they came down hard to set an example, but overall, for them to charge students for selling to minors and for minors having, I would think they did it to an example. I've never heard it happening before, so I feel like they did it to prevent other people from doing it."
Austin Habash Sophomore, Great Bend
Gopolang Mohiabeng Graduate student, South Africa
ELECTION
Before you vote tomorrow, know where and when to do it, and what to bring with you.
What to know before heading to the polls
- Voters must only vote at their registered precinct, or poll. Lawrence has 59 polls in different areas throughout the city. A person's place of residence determines which poll they vote at. Voters can find their registered poll by going to douglascountyelections.com, clicking Already Registered Voters under the Voter Portal icon and entering their info in the Voter Registration Search Form.
"The big thing is you have to go to your precinct," said Jamie Shew, Douglas County clerk. "A lot of the confusion that happens on campus is that everyone thinks they can vote at the campus location on Election Day and you cannot. It is only for students who live in that precinct, which is basically Daisy hill."
CLASSiFIEDS 2B
CROSSWORD 4A
Index
CRYPTOQUIPS 4A
CRIWON 7A
The poll lines and time it takes to vote can vary depending on precinct. To speed up the process in the booth, Shew advises voters to be familiar with the sample ballot form at douglascountselections.com.
- A list of acceptable identifications is also listed on the website. Voters will need a government-issued photo ID to vote. Some of the accepted forms of identification include driver's license, state identification card, public school ID, tribal ID and passports. First-time voters do not need to bring their registration card to the poll.
SPORTS 18
SUDOKU 4A
- Voting polls around Lawrence will be open tomorrow from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Shew said voters must be in line before 7 p.m. in order to vote:
contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2012 The University Daily Kansan
— Rebukka Schlichting
Don't forget
Watch the men's basketball team take on Washburn at 7 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse.
Today's Weather
Partly cloudy with a 10 percent chance of rain. Winds NW at 6 mph.