Enterprise Story - Student Debt

Money burning a hole in your pocket? Not college students. More and more of them are having to take out loans to pay for school.
The number of college students who take out loans to pay for school has steadily increased in the past six years.
Missouri Western, however, is well below the national average. At Missouri Western, 56.42 percent of students have loans, with an average amount per person of $6,535, as of the 2010 school year. The total amount of loan money taken out by Western students is $21,782,317.
National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), a nationwide study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education every four years that determines how college students pay for school reported that “At public universities, [(such as Missouri Western)] average [student] debt was $20,200” in 2008, which is much higher than Western itself.
The most common student loans, federal loans require no co-signer. They do not require a good credit score either. Federal loans have a grace period of six months after the borrower’s date of graduation or six month after they drop below the status of a part-time student. 12 credit hours is the lowest amount of hours a student can take to be considered a full-time student.
Alternative types of student loans are private student loans. Private student loans have a higher interest rate than federal loans. According to campusgrotto.com, these types of loans have become increasingly popular. They reported that “Last year, students borrowed $18.5 billion from private lenders, up 6 percent from the 2005-2006 school year, and now equal to 25% of all student loans in America.”
The terms of student loans can be found under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Concerning the payments of loans and defaulting on loans, the website reported that “[Title IV guaranteed] repayment to the lender if a student defaults. Because the loans are guaranteed by the US Government, they are offered at a lower interest rate than the borrower would otherwise be able to get for a private loan.”
The two different types of federal loans are subsidized and unsubsidized. While the borrower is in school, the government pays all of the interest on unsubsidized loans, making them the better of the two choices if one must take out a loan to pay for school.
There are many ways to avoid student debt, or at least lessen it, if one learns to manage their money wisely.
According to George Mannes’ article “Earning a Degree in Debt”, when it comes to student loans, the borrower should set limits on the amount they take out and when it comes time to pay the money back, make payments early and make them often.
FinAid.org advises taking out no more than what is needed to pay for school when taking out a loan, take out federal loans before private loans, choose to attend a less expensive school, cut unnecessary costs, work a part-time job, talk to your financial aid department and consider saving for college by investing in the 529 College Savings Plans.
Concerning taking out loans and paying for school, one business major wishes she would have done things differently. “If I had it to do all over again, I would not have taken out student loans no matter what,” said sophomore Lisa Clifford. She advised that students find their books as cheap as possible to help save money. “I would have bought my books online, from the beginning, instead of at Missouri Western’s bookstore,” said Clifford.
Another student had a rather comedic view of student loans. “Student loans are like S.T.D.’s,” said freshman Mike Nagel. “You don’t know if you’ll get them, you don’t know how much and when or if you can get rid of ‘em, but it’s a risk you have to take [to get through school].”

Journalism 202
Enterprise Story - Student Debt
November 9, 2010

City Council Meeting Story

The St. Joseph City Council voted 8-1 against the amendment to the Fire Prevention Code at their meeting on Monday, November 1.
This bill requested a regulation of smoke detectors in homes to be interconnected so that when one goes off, they all go off. This bill also asked that land lords be responsible for these new detectors.
The cost of these smoke detectors would have a negative effect on land lords. “We’re talking about people that have contacted many of us here that are telling us it’s going to be a burden on them,” council member Pat Jones said. “They voted us in these offices and they’re wanting us to hear them and I think they’re telling us loud and clear they can’t afford this right now.”
According to the St. Joseph fire department chief, the smoke detectors cost approximately $40 each and are good for ten years. Therefore, they would cost under $3 per month.
On the issue of price, council member Starr said that she knew of some families who would not be able to afford these smoke detectors and they would not have even the ones they have now, had the fire department or Red Cross not bought them.
Council Member at Large, Donna Jean Boyer, in opposition, thought that the new smoke detectors would be more beneficial. “They would know that they are protecting not only their own families but the families that are trusting them to keep the property safe,” she said.
This bill was one of the most important discussions of the night and the one which triggered the greatest amount of discussion. Other than the amendment to the Fire Prevention Code, each bill on the agenda passed, save for bill #255-10 and bill #246-10.
Bill #255-10, requesting the purchase of a Native American hunting buffalo exhibit for the Remington Nature Center of St. Joseph was withdrawn.
Bill #246-10 which authorized an agreement with Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co., Inc. to design the Whitehead Creek Stormwater Separation Conduit and an agreement with Black & Veatch Corporation for program management services was postponed.
Among the bills passed, the council voted 9-0 to pass bill #243-10. This bill was to enter a contract with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to provide Child Care Health and Safety Consultation Services. The department will offer more extensive training for the care of those with special needs.
As well, bill #1636-06 which authorized a contract with the International Association of Fire Fighters was passed. As did #261-10, authorizing the purchase of 7 patrol cars and 1 crew cab truck for the St. Joseph Police Department.

Journalism 202
City Council Meeting Story
November 6, 2010

Newt Gingrich Convocation

The former speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich will be speaking at Missouri Western State University’s 2010 convocation about jobs, economic growth and prosperity, in the Looney Complex on Oct 7.
The Executive Director of the MWSU Foundation, Dan Nicoson anticipates about 3,000 people in attendance at the convocation.
Newt Gingrich, who is a presidential candidate hopeful, has also authored 19 books and served as Time magazine’s Man of the Year in 1995. Gingrich is the general chairman of American Solutions for Winning the Future and he is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. As well, he was elected to Congress in 1978 and served the Sixth District of Georgia for 20 years, along with many other achievements.
Gingrich, in comparison to last year’s convocation speaker, RFK Jr., is a conservative. “We do try to balance the political perspectives of the speakers over the years,” Nicoson said. “I am appreciative of the fact that our sponsors and patrons appreciated that the Convocation on Critical Issues brings nationally recognized speakers to our community and they are supportive whether or not they agree with the perspective of the speakers.”
Bringing Gingrich to speak on campus took a lot of planning and involves many factors. When budgeting the convocation, Missouri Western relies greatly on guarantors, as opposed to spending the university’s operating funds. Rather than his normal speaking fee of $75,750, Gingrich is only charging the university $50,750. $38,200 of which has already been donated by sponsors.
According to Nicoson, the university begins to work with the speakers bureau to decide who would be available and is within their price range. They submit a proposal to the speakers bureau to inform them of the dates during which the university can host the convocation. The person who is chosen is someone “who will help us achieve a balance in political or other perspectives, and to do the best we can at achieving diversity in the speakers over the long term,” he said.
Despite the hard work it requires, many students are intrigued to hear Gingrich speak. President of the College Republicans, Kelsey Breckenridge is happy that Gingrich will be the speaker for Missouri Western’s convocation this year. “I know how difficult it can be to get young people interested in politics and showing up to the polls,” Breckenridge said. “The more people are immersed in the issues the more likely they are to make smart, researched decisions when voting so hopefully this will give some the motivation to understand the issues and realize the seriousness of their vote and how it affects every aspect of their life.”
Like Breckenridge, Missouri Western sophomore Loriann Winslow is also glad that the foundation brought in a conservative to speak this year. “I am excited to hear a republican speaker,” Winslow said. “I am sure a lot goes into bringing someone to school to speak, so I think everyone should see him even for that reason alone.”
Nicoson, as well, hopes to see many people from the university and surrounding community in attendance. “Our eagerness to hear these speakers should not be affected by whether or not we agree with the views of the speakers. For that matter, how do we really know if we agree without hearing them? We may leave the presentation approving of what the speaker said or taking exception, but either way we have availed ourselves of the opportunity to listen and then further develop our own views.” Nicoson said.
A convocation dinner will be held on Oct 6, the night before the speech. The dinner, at $40.00 per plate, sold out to 500 attendees in just three days.

Journalism 202
Newt Gingrich Convocation story
Monday, September 27, 2010