KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2010 / NEWS
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TECHNOLOGY
Students beg for money online
BY KIRSTEN KWON kkwon@kansan.com
In 2008, Henner Mohr and his wife Lilac found themselves in a situation familiar to many college students: in debt and wondering how they would pay it off.
The couple started thinking outside of the box and decided to create a website asking for money from strangers.
Now, students looking for a way to pay off debt can turn to their site, sponsormydegree.com, to "cyber beg." The site allows students to create personal profiles that include short essays pitching themselves to potential donors.
In one profile, a KU student wrote, "After I complete my undergraduate degree and finish graduate school, I would like to become a psychologist where I assist families, children and individuals with their psychological needs."
Another KU student's profile
says. "I come from a low-income family, so I'm frequently applying for scholarships. I've clocked 100 hours of volunteer service at our hospital, I work 20 hours a week and I'm involved in numerous school sports and activities."
When the Mohrs first started the site, they thought companies would sponsor students to receive brand recognition. But Mohr said most of their donations have come from private donors whose attention is caught by something in a student's profile.
"We've had a lot more success with individuals, regular people making donations to students on an individual-to-individual basis." Mohr said. "They read their profiles and they're touched by something."
The largest donation a student has received at one time was $500. Mohr said in most cases donations will be between $20 and $150, and students can receive more than one donation. Still, Mohr said, "cyber
begging" wasn't guaranteed to pay off.
"Not everyone receives donations and there's far more students who need help." Mohr said.
There are currently 10,000 student profiles on the site and that number continues to grow. The money donated goes directly toward the student's tuition after the Mohrs confirm that the student is currently enrolled and has debt to pay off. They verify the student's information by calling his or her university and student debtor.
Mohr said he considers the site a success even though none of the students receive a large sum of money. He doesn't mind that people refer to his site as cyber begging.
"Cyber begging is fine as a title. I've heard that a lot." Mohr said. "These students are technically begging for money — anything that can help them."
HOW SPONSORMYDEGREE.COM WORKS:
1 Students register on the site for free. Students describe themselves in their profile. They include what makes them unique, such as hobbies or scholastic and extra-curricular achievements. Once the profile is created, companies and individuals will be able to find the student's profile.
2 An unlimited number of visitors can view the profiles and donate money. Sponsors will click on the "sponsor" button on a profile to make a donation. Students receive the money once the sponsors have answered a series of questions regarding payment.
To receive the donated money, students click on the "withdraw funds" button, and prove their enrollment to a school by providing additional information. Once his or her university has confirmed the student's enrollment, the money will be put directly toward tuition.
The site's privacy policy states, "sponsormydegree.com will not share any personally identifiable information with anyone. Students should not include any personal information in their profiles."
NATIONAL
Ex-Chicago police officer's torture case may not be last
BY KAREN HAWKINS Associated Press
CHICAGO — For some, the perjury conviction of a former Chicago police lieutenant accused of lying for years about the torture of suspects marks the end of a tragic chapter in the city's history. Others, including federal prosecutors, suggest it could be just a start.
A federal jury found former Lt. Jon Burge guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice Monday after a five-week trial that pitted the decorated former officer against five convicted felons who said he and officers under his command shocked, suffocated and burned them into giving confessions in the 1970s and 1980s.
Prosecutors have alleged Burge didn't act alone, and one witness said Burge didn't touch him but looked in as other officers beat and suffocated him. For decades, dozens of
suspects — almost all of them black men — claimed Burge and his officers tortured them into confessing to crimes ranging from armed robbery to murder.
Other officers also have denied any role in torture and no other perjury of obstruction of justice charges have been announced, but U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has said the investigation into the decadeslong cover-up is ongoing.
Burge is the only officer to be criminally charged in relation to torture, but federal prosecutors have hinted he won't be the last. Burge was charged with lying in a civil suit in 2003 when he denied ever witnessing or participating in torture. He wasn't charged with the torture itself because the statute of limitations has run out.
Fitzgerald said after Monday's verdict that "a message needs to go out that conduct is unacceptable"
and asked others who feel they have evidence of torture to come forward. He wouldn't comment on specific cases.
Fitzgerald called it sad that it took until 2010 to prove in a courtroom that torture once occurred in Chicago police stations. More than 100 victims have said the torture started in the 1970s and persisted until the 1990s at police stations on the city's south and west sides.
The lack of charges led to widespread outrage in Chicago's black neighborhoods. The community anger intensified when Burge moved to Florida on his police pension — after being fired from the department in 1993 over the alleged mistreatment of a suspect — while his alleged victims remained in prison.
Burge's conviction means he could lose his pension, said John Gallagher, executive director of the police pension board.
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