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Student Loan Rules 4 A Little Stricter’
Washington, D.C. (CPS) - The govern
ment has again amended its rules for
awarding Guaranteed Student Loans
(GSLe) to students, but, unlike last
year’s amendments, critics are angrier
about the timing of the new proposals
than about the rules themselves.
The proposed rules are "generally a
little stricter" than the regulations for
awarding GSLs for the 1991-82 school
year, says U.S. Department of Education
spokeswoman Skee Smith.
The regulations allow students from
families earning under $30,000 per year
to borrow as much as $2,500 under the
GSL program, which has the government
paying the interest on loans until six
months after the student leaves school.
The biggest changes this year. Smith
says, are that guidelines for awarding
loans go up to family incomes of $75,000.
versus $100,000 last year.
Last year, the Reagan administration
started requiring all students from
families with annual incomes over
$30,000 to pass a "needs test" before
becoming eligible for a GSL.
For the first time last year, students
also had to pay lending banks a "loan
origination fee” of five percent of the
total amount of the loan.
Both provisions remain in effect under
the proposed new guidelines, which
were published May 3.
"I don't have any trouble with the
guidelines themselves," says Dallas
Martin of the National Association of
Student Financial Aid Administrators.
"The,big problem is that the Dept, of
Education, with its typical inefficiency,
waited so long to publish them.
By law. Congress has until mid-June
to accept or reject the guidelines.
Martin says the delay could cause
students and especially their aid admini
stration enormous trouble.
Colleges will now have to process GSL
applications according to what are
provisional guidelines. If Congress
changes the guidelines and thus elimin
ates someone who had been eligible for a
GSL, "the institutions themselves could
become liable’ ’ to the student.
"We talked to (Education Dept.
officials) over there about this problem,
and they said it’s just a technicality."
Martin says.
"But it becomes more than just a
technical matter if you have to pay for
the government's mistakes." Marlin
contends. “While we'U have to make
awards on assumptions until (Congress
finally approves guidelines), the institu
tions have to realize they could be
liable."
The department had a similar delay
last year in announcing new GSL
regulations, which went into effect
October 1.1981.
Martin attributes the latest depart
ment delay to "a lack of any kind of
reasonable leadership over there. The
right hand doesn’t know what the left
hand is doing."
"They talk about cleaning up manage
ment inefficiency of aid programs at the
institutions, but you have to start at the
top, and they have a very long way to go
before showing they're capable of being
responsible for this country's aid pro
grams," Martin argues.
/Vs for changes incorporated in the
provisional guidelines. Martin doesn’t
"Think it's going to hurt many people."
Ending the eligibility schedule at
Continued on page N
Greek Week:
Celebration Of Being
By Tracey Gallagher
This past week, Mercer Greek organi
zations observed Greek Week, a week
devoted to recognition of and activities
by Greeks, or Mercer’s fraternities and
sororities. The Cluster talked with Pat
Warren, coordinator of the Panhellenic
Council, who outlined the activities
planned lor the week.
The faculty coffee held on Monday
morning was sponsored by both the
Inter-Fraternal Council and the Panhel-
lenic Council. Both weekends saw Greek
competing against Greek in the Greek
Games, and Thursday night’s dinner
was a special occasion: stuffed lamb
breast and baked fish, along with Greek
salad and other authentic Greek cuisine
The week was rounded out with Greek
chapel attendance at Chapel Friday.
Ms. Warren said that the week was
important because it gave non-Greeks a
different look at Greek life, which had,
she said, a lot to offer, that the week
tried to break down the persistant
stereotype of Greeks as partying, social
organizations, and as she said, "They
are more than that."
She added that in the past. Greek
Week at Mercer had been focused
primarily on the fraternities, with little
or no sorority participation. She saw the
most recent Greek Week as an important
step toward fravernal-soror communica
tion and cooperation. And she said. "It
is a celebration of being
Butts Appointed Director
Of University Press
Harold W. Butts has been appointed
associate director of the University
Press of the South at Mercer University,
President R. Kirby Godsey has
'announced.
Butts, who has been assistant director
of Mercer Press Services since 1979, will
be responsible for soliciting and
overseeing the production of all
“non-logo" books.
"Specifically, Mr. Butts will offer
professors an opportunity to produce
classroom materials very inexpen
sively," Dr. Watson E. Mills, director of
the Mercer University Press, said. "He
will also offer certain other programs to
the various publics. For example, he will
offer a sermon series to paitors in local
churches and a dissertation sen** u>
those finishing graduate degrees."
A native of Peach County, Butts
received the B. A. degree in communica-
lions from Mercer. He attended the
University oLfteorgia and earned the
A.S. degree from Macon Junior College.
Prior to coming to Mercer, he was
associated \four years with T.K.G.
International Corporation in Macon
where he was a supervisor in the layout
and design department and later served
as a sales representative.
'
On The Inside:
F.O.C.U.S Page 2
Letters to the Editor Page 3
NBA Playoffa ...Page 4
Preakness Stakes Page 5
Volunteer Mercer Page 6
Job Market Slump Page 7
Military Science News Page 8