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(01/07/10 5:00am)
Riddle me this, if you want to change something in your life, what benefit comes with waiting until Jan. 1 to initiate the change? The answer: none. In reality, New Year's resolutions have potential to do more harm than good. Let's assume, like everyone else in the world, your new Year's resolution is to lose weight by eating healthier and exercising more. When your new lifestyle doesn't deliver immediate results, and you don't look like Nicole Richie by February, statistics have shown there's a good chance you'll resort to even worse habits than when you started. Next thing you know, your New Year's resolution is out the window, and you've gained 10 pounds. Fail. To set the record straight, I'm not saying you shouldn't set goals to be more healthy or stop a bad habit. But seriously, if you realize in October that you need to change something in your life, putting it off until January is just plain stupid and lazy. And if you wait until January, statistics have shown there's more than a 90 percent chance you'll fail. According to researcher John Norcross and his colleagues, who published their findings in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in 2002, around 40-45 percent of adults make resolutions every year. Six months in, less than half will be successful. Only 8 percent will last through the year. If you're part of the half that does make a resolution, congratulations, you are the ultimate procrastinator. You better have a really good, detailed plan and timeline to reach your goals since you've been sitting on them for so long. Unless, of course, you irrationally made a last minute resolution, just for the hell of making it, in which I still think you're going to fail. On a more positive note, kudos to anyone who has successfully completed their resolution. I apologize if this editorial offends you. For the rest of you, do yourself a favor. Wait until February and start over. Then you'll know you want to change for the sake of improving your life, rather than changing for the sake of change. Best of luck in 2010. It'll still suck as much as last year. t&c;Jeana Harrington is a senior public relations and journalism major and is the business manager for the t&c.;
(05/21/09 4:00am)
While Otterbein claims to foster a diverse and inclusive community, our true culture may only touch on diversity at a superficial level. On Tuesday, more than 30 students, faculty, staff and guests attended the discussion "Do Diverse Worlds Connect at Otterbein College?" where participants raised questions and issues relating to Otterbein's diverse culture. Six faculty and staff panelists led the discussion, agreeing that Otterbein welcomed diverse cultures, but could still put in more intentional efforts toward connecting the different "pockets" of Otterbein's community. "We're like bubbles. We rub each other, but we don't connect," said Lisa Patterson-Phillips, director of the Office of Diversity. "We need to recognize the ways we are different but start to see our similarities." Patterson-Phillips, one of the main panelists, also said that different pockets of Otterbein's campus are "nice" to one another, but don't truly connect for fear of uncomfortable conversations. Thomas Ahrens, interim director of international education, said Otterbein needs more places and events with intentionality of connecting and sharing space. Other panelists, including representatives on behalf of the black and women's studies programs, disability services and the GLBTQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) Advisory Commission, shared their perceptions of Otterbein's inclusiveness, and further agreed they would like to see more. Marsha Robinson, interim director of the black studies program, said one drawback to Otterbein's inclusiveness is certain students not ready to be part of one human family. "We need to address the undercurrent," Robinson said. "Some students are not ready to change." In group discussions, students also voiced their opinions of Otterbein's inclusiveness and overall agreed that many students on campus are not accepting of others. Senior sociology major Jasmine Thomas noted that Otterbein is "diverse on paper," but in reality, students have a tendency to group based on their background and interests. Even in the Cardinal's Nest, Thomas said grouping is apparent from table to table. To end the discussion, participants brainstormed steps to improve Otterbein's connectivity. Ideas included more opportunities to share and discuss diverse cultures and infusing diverse ideas into curriculum and classes. "The real world is so much bigger than Otterbein and people need to experience it," said Thomas. "People need to grow up, get over it, learn to agree, disagree and work together. It gets old seeing people hung up on such trivial things." t&c;
(04/23/09 4:00am)
Otterbein College Democrats (OCD) is teaming up with Ohio State University's Equality Coalition in support of a house bill that will be proposed next month. The Equal Housing and Employment Act (EHEA), co-sponsored by state Reps. Dan Stewart (D-Columbus) and Ross McGregor (R-Springfield), would protect Ohioans from "losing their job, being denied housing or to be refused public accommodations based on their real or perceived sexual orientation," according to Equality Ohio's Web site. "Why would you not want people getting equal rights?" said Chelsie Lakeman, vice president of OCD. "You're in college to open yourself to new ideas. Regardless of whether or not they affect you, you learn to accept people different than you." OCD will work with the Equality Coalition by rallying at OSU's South Oval, a student hang out on campus, on April 29. Students will also attend Lobby Day on May 13 to speak with their legislators at the Statehouse. "Our main goal is to get people to the Lobby Day," said Chelsea Ferrin, OCD president. "Ohio State is running the show and we're supporting their efforts." Alongside the Ohio State rally and lobbying, OCD will circulate an on-campus petition asking Otterbein students to support the EHEA. "The bill relates to a lot of Otterbein students who may be affected by it somewhere down the line," Ferrin said. As part of the Equality Coalition, the Ohio State Democrat's are working to get local representatives such as Stewart and Columbus Councilwoman Eileen Paley to attend the rally. "Overall, our goal is to be the grassroots power and energy behind the lobbying efforts to pass this bill," said Matt Caffrey, president of Ohio State Democrats. "We want to show that ordinary people care and we'll do what it takes to support the effort." Last Thursday's Day of Silence, as part of the Integrative Studies Symposium, culminated in the annual "Speak Out" rally, featuring Robyn Ochs, GLBT speaker, writer and activist. Otterbein students were invited to share their experiences and show their support for the GLBT community. Legislation similar to the EHEA has been introduced in the past two sessions of the Ohio General Assembly, but did not move beyond sponsor testimony, according to Equality Ohio's Web site. t&c;
(11/06/08 5:00am)
President-elect Barack Obama wasn't the only person who made history Tuesday night. This year, the 24 million 18-29-year-olds who cast ballots also shared the honor. "Yesterday, more young people voted than in any election since 18-year-olds won the right to vote in 1972," said Heather Smith, executive director of Rock the Vote. "This is a truly remarkable moment; young people have spoken and elected the next president." The record turnout marks the third major election in a row with increased voter turnout, according to Rock the Vote. With 4 million more young voters than 2004, the turnout rate increased 6 percent from the last presidential election. Many Otterbein students can congratulate themselves for participating in this historic election. Some professors cut classes short to allow more time for students to head to the polls, and many students went home to vote. "I wanted to vote in my own precinct and take part in the process on Election Day, at the polls," said Claire Tinkler, senior visual communication major. "It feels really empowering as a young person to be part of an election where our values and votes have been so important." Students had both positive and negative reactions to last night's historic events. "I don't necessarily agree with all of his views but the whole thing brings a great sense of equality to our nation," said freshman business major Devon Latimer. "I was ecstatic and surprised that the U.S. is ready for and voted for a black president," said Julia Oesch, sophomore psychology major. "For a long time, I didn't really trust the government and now I feel much safer." Other students weren't so thrilled. "I was disappointed but I still voted and did everything I could," said Brian Colopy, junior biochemistry major. "I just hope everyone who voted was informed and I'm interested to see what changes and what happens." Tuesday night, students and staff gathered in the Campus Center for an Election Watch Party, sponsored by the Vote Naked campaign, Greek life and High Stakes: The 2008 Presidential Election (SYE 422). "It was a good opportunity to involve students in the election on election night," said Kristin Sutton, Vote Naked campaign coordinator. Whether or not they support Obama, students agree that his administration will bring change. "I'm a little uneasy since everyone seems to be democratic now but this is a big moment for our country and it shows we've come a long way," said Bethany Hyder, junior nursing major. "It restored my faith in the country by getting the candidate that I wanted in office and emphasizes all that we can do and change as Americans," said Tinkler. "I'm elated!" t&c;
(10/30/08 4:00am)
The national presidential election is less than a week away, but on campus, Otterbein's presidential search is just heating up. Tomorrow, Tom Morrison, chair of the presidential search committee and chairman of the Board of Trustees, will announce the names of the three presidential finalists. Throughout November, the Otterbein community will have the opportunity to meet each candidate while they visit campus. The first finalist will visit Nov. 5-6, with the second and third candidates following Nov. 11-12 and 13-14, respectively. "It's important for everyone to get to know the candidates and be able to ask them questions," said Mary Kerr, executive assistant to the president and coordinator of the presidential search. "It's also important for each candidate to become familiar with campus and the various constituents who make up this community," she added. Current president, C. Brent DeVore, announced his retirement plans last winter, to be effective June 2009. The incoming president will assume DeVore's position after. "As students, we're going to be directly affected by whoever takes over," said Chelci Fauss-Johnson, junior broadcasting major. "It's important to get some sense of who they are and to see how they fit in with the campus atmosphere." The finalists will meet with board members, administrators, faculty, staff and students throughout their two-day visits. Evaluation forms will be provided at the end of each session for feedback and recommendations, according to an e-mail sent by Kerr on Monday. "Because we have a shared governance system here at Otterbein, everyone on campus has an interest and a voice in the process of selecting a new president," said Kerr. All of campus is invited to an open forum for each candidate, from 2-3 p.m. on Nov. 6, 12 and 14 in the Chapel. Selected students will also have lunch with the candidates during their visits. t&c;
(10/23/08 4:00am)
With the election less than two weeks away, the political race is heating up, both on and off the campaign trail. Otterbein College Republicans (OCR) and Organizing Otterbein for Obama (OOO) are two major political groups on campus endorsing their party's candidate. At Sunday's McCain rally, OCR recruited and organized over 70 volunteers to help out throughout the day. Aside from the rally, "Activities that we plan have a lot to do with being seen around campus," said Tom Davis, senior actuarial science major and co-chair of Otterbein College Republicans. The group meets every Wednesday to go over upcoming events and organize conservatives on campus. "It's easy for us to take a back seat on what seems to be a dominated liberal-mind campus," said Davis. "We try and organize ourselves in a way that will best promote our values and candidates." Members of OOO were also at Sunday's rally, demonstrating on behalf of Dem. Candidate Sen. Barack Obama. According to Becky Rollo, evening circulation supervisor at Courtright Memorial Library and representative from OOO, their message was "not anti-McCain, but pro-Obama." Any sign mentioning McCain in a negative way was not allowed because, "the candidate we're supporting has made it extremely clear that he wants a positive campaign." Rollo said that OOO members were spat at, yelled at and verbally abused. "They said 'you're a baby killer, you're a communist.' We tried to just turn the other cheek," she said. Now, OOO is coordinating with Westerville for Obama in the campaign home stretch. "The number one request from the Obama campaign is that we canvas the school through Oct. 28," said Rollo. The group will meet Tuesday, 3 p.m. in Roush 213, and will be driving Obama supporters registered in Franklin County to Veterans's Memorial Hospital to vote early. Students both involved, and not involved in either organization, have shown their political support through joining groups on Facebook. As of Wednesday night, over 600 students were members of one or more political Facebook groups, including "Otterbein College Republicans 08/09" (33 members), "Otterbein for McCain" (81 members) and "Otterbein for Obama" (513 members). "It's exciting that students are this engaged in the campaign," said Bob Gatti, dean of students and vice president for Student Affairs. Students have mixed emotions about what they've seen. "I think it's important to support the candidate of your choice but I think some of the messages have gotten a bit out of hand," said Kaylyn Williams, senior nursing major. Mike Ruffing, senior sports management major, echoed that opinion, saying "It's cool to be a part of everything that's happening, but I'm ready for the election to be over." t&c;
(09/18/08 4:00am)
Ohioans have come to expect crazy weather patterns, but hurricane-force winds that knocked out power across the state still came as a surprise Sunday night. The combination of Hurricane Ike and a low pressure cold front led to wind gusts in excess of 70 mph which persisted for several hours and resulted in widespread damage, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) Forecast Office in Wilmington, Ohio. Across Franklin County, trees were uprooted and power lines fell, but Otterbein remained largely unharmed. Overall damage was minor on campus. According to David Bell, director of physical plant and telecommunications, "We lost five large trees and six mature ones." He added that some windows blew in at Clippinger Hall and the Thrift Store, and light fixtures fell at Towers and Center Street. "We were very fortunate," said Bell. Campus only lost power for five hours, around 4-9 p.m., with the exception of Clippinger Hall, which regained power Tuesday morning. The City of Westerville determines priority in restoring power and Otterbein is high on the list. "First, they fix St. Ann's and traffic control, and we're up with them," Bell said. Although the Campus Center lost power, Bill Taylor, general manager of Bon Appetít, said he still served dinner from 5-6:30 p.m. "We fired up the grills that we had used for the weekend and had enough food for everyone who came through, probably 250-275 students, about the same as usual for the first dinner," Taylor said. He added that no food was thrown away, saying "We kept the fridges closed and everything came back on around 9 p.m. so we didn't lose anything." Otterbein classes started regularly Monday, while the majority of schools in Franklin County remained closed. American Electric Power (AEP) spokeswoman, Terri Flora, said Franklin County was the hardest hit, according to an article in the Columbus Dispatch. Monday morning, AEP announced 292,332 customers in Franklin County were without power, nearly 58 percent of its customers. By Wednesday, the number had dropped to 35.9 percent. Official NWS observations measured 75 mph maximum wind gusts at Port Columbus International Airport and gusts of more than 60 mph over a three hour time period. The Dispatch said that MedFlight was grounded for three hours during the late afternoon and was cleared to fly by 8:30 p.m. Sunday night. At least three people were killed in Southwest Ohio and more than one million homes lost power throughout the day. Remnants of the storm can still be seen across Ohio and on campus. The Service Department began cleaning on Monday. "We're at it all day long, but it will still take a good week or so," said Bell. t&c;
(09/18/08 4:00am)
The past year has been plagued with bankruptcies, failing mortgages, sky-rocketing gas prices and high unemployment. Despite an increase in tuition and the cancellation of last year's Academic Interest Day, Otterbein welcomed its largest incoming class to date, with 770 new students. This includes 673 incoming freshmen and 93 transfer students, according to unofficial statistics provided by the Office of Admission. The total number is a 6.9 percent increase from last year's incoming class of 732 and well above the Office of Admissions' expectations. "Our goal was 720 new students and we clearly beat that," said Tom Stein, vice president of enrollment. This places Otterbein right on target with the 2007 Strategic Plan, approved last fall, which calls for a 2 percent increase in enrollment each year. "Otterbein is dependent on enrollment so we're always pushing to increase it," said Cass Johnson, director of admission. "We tried to cover more territory this year by visiting more high schools and college fairs and using more technology wherever we could." Stein said the Office of Admission simply worked harder to keep in contact with prospective students. Johnson agreed, saying "We continually enhance what we do with students who show interest." She added that continuing to waive online application fees and having more endowed scholarship money available helped as well. Admission also worked to increase ethnic and geographic diversity. "We had a concentrated effort in Columbus City Schools and worked with more urban centers and a Hispanic outreach program," Johnson said. "We also got our name out there at out-of-state high schools where we've had students in the past." The number of minority students rose 4.8 percent from last year and out-of-state enrollment increased as well. While Otterbein welcomes its largest incoming class, it also welcomes the minor glitches that come with it. Retention has always been an issue, but the college is taking some steps to try and keep the rate from increasing this year. The Director of Admission, Cass Johnson said, "The main goal is to admit students who we think will succeed." There are different reasons that students do not come back after their first quarter at Otterbein. Cindy Davis, Chair of the Retention Committee, said, "Some people don't register again because they are not happy with their major and they don't know what classes to take or they decide on a major that Otterbein doesn't offer, so they leave." We will try to contact people that haven't registered yet to figure out why and try to help them if there is a problem," Davis said. Stein also added that classes are tight and "parking is at a premium, too."t&c;
(05/29/08 4:00am)
For every hour spent in the classroom, college students are expected to spend double the time on homework. It's easy to imagine professors putting in about the same hours, but with the use of adjuncts-- or part-time professors--on the rise some wonder whether these adjuncts are capable of putting in the same amount of time. Adjuncts are part-time professors who could potentially work full-time hours, but do not receive the benefits or the office space. Matthew Marx is a journalist teaching the Otterbein and Columbus State community. A few weeks ago, he also had classes at Capital and Ohio Dominican. "There have been times in the past where I've had six classes and times where I've only had one," said Marx. "The numbers vary. I've never been full-time but I have had a full- time load." Marx is one of 144 total part-time faculty at Otterbein, compared to 162 full-time faculty. Of those 144 part-time, 93 are professors. "It's hard to tell exactly how many adjuncts we have because we consider them 'part-time staff,'" said Alma Holl, assistant to the vice president of Academic Affairs for Students and Academic Services. Susan Millsap, chair of the communication department, said adjuncts are generally hired because more course sections are available than faculty to teach them. "The communication department relies heavily on adjuncts because we're so big," she said. At Otterbein, part-time professors must have at least a master's degree or have extensive professional experience. "We want good professors teaching classes," Millsap said. The health and sport sciences department has 18 classes taught by adjunct professors, followed by music with 16 and theatre and dance with 14. According to Holl, this is because each of those disciplines has specialized classes and therefore more professors are required. "While dance professionals have experience, they typically are an expert in one aspect. In order to have specialists in each technique, we have to hire adjuncts," said John Stefano, chairperson for theatre and dance. "It's the same with theatre. We just don't have full-time positions, but we hire part-time faculty for their expertise in a certain area," he said. The Associated Press published an article pertaing to the increasing use of adjunct professors by colleges. "In many fields, there are already too many PhDs awarded for the full-time academic posts available, creating a surplus of likely job seekers. That pool becomes adjuncts, who command wages and benefits so low that universities find them irresistible hires," it said. While hiring adjuncts may financially benefit colleges, it could have a negative effect on students. An article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (The Chronicle) said that first-year college students are more likely to drop out if their gatekeeper, or beginning, courses are taught by part-time professors. Adjuncts are often running back and forth between different campuses, don't have set office hours and cannot be found around campus. The Integrative Studies program, which usually covers many of the beginning courses, currently has 11 classes taught by adjuncts, compared with 29 in the fall. In the Integrative Studies composition and literature classes especially, flexibility is necessary to deal with varying class sizes, said Alison Prindle, English and Integrative Studies professor. Freshmen classes are capped at 18 students and sophomore classes at 25, so it's important to have enough professors available to cover all sections. The educational debate concerning part-time professors brings to light both the downside and the upside of having non-permanent professionals on staff. "I can bring real world experience to the position that full-time professors cannot," said Marx. t&c;
(05/21/08 4:00am)
The Issues-Adding the A+ grading system-Student involvement in the search for a new president-Ideas on how to update the campus-Providing bicycles for students and encouraging sustainabilityStudent Council met with Mary Kerr, executive assistant to the president, on Monday to discuss student involvement in the presidential search and other campus issues. As Otterbein President C. Brent DeVore's retirement draws near, students are concerned that their voices will not be heard in determining his replacement. "Students will be the ones most affected by the change, so we want to have a say in what happens" said sophomore Ben Leffel, Student Council president. "We all have a lot of respect for President DeVore and we want to make sure that we have that same respect for whoever takes his place." Student Council hopes to host "Meet and Greets" in the near future with potential candidates. "We'd like for students to have a chance to meet the candidates, speak with them and really see what they're all about. We think that's really important," Leffel added. "One thing we want to make sure of is that we get all students involved," said Kerr. "The presidential search committee hasn't determined exactly how the candidate interview process will work but I'm sure there will be appropriate representation from all students, including undergraduate, graduate and continuing studies." Kerr also motivated Council to continue their efforts in voicing student concerns and initiating changes on campus. "I see the role of student council as a forum to discuss issues that students may wish to bring to Senate and to discuss any bill proposals before Senate meetings so students can make informed decisions," she said. Council furthered their discussion of Otterbein's curb appeal and brainstormed ideas to update campus, including adding sculptures and murals on and around buildings, placing more benches and picnic tables near dorms and sidewalks and increasing signage. In addition, Kerr addressed Council about the possibility of providing bicycles for students to use as a means to get around campus and the surrounding Westerville area. "Some colleges are providing bikes for students to use if they don't bring their cars to campus. This alleviates some of the parking congestion," said Kerr. Both students and personnel could access the bikes and support one of the strategic plan's goals of moving toward sustainability. Also on the agenda was the A+ grading system. The scale would balance out the A- making it possiblefor students to earn a 4.0 grade point average. "It would benefit students by rewarding those who put in the extra time and dedication to get a higher grade," said Will Ferrall, Student Council treasurer. While other schools similar to Otterbein do not use this system, council doesn't mind being original with their idea. "Senior Year Experience, Integrative Studies and College Senate are all unique to Otterbein, so why not have a unique grading system as well?" Ferrall added. Council is currently working with faculty on a proposal for this system and hopes to have it completed by the first Senate meeting next fall. The meeting closed with a recap of council's May 7th meeting with President DeVore in regard to the West Main Street Bridge. Student Council will wrap up the year Monday, June 2 at 7 p.m. t&c;
(05/08/08 4:00am)
The governing body of Otterbein College, the Otterbein Senate, is unique in it's inclusion of both faculty and student opinions. This past fall, students decided to increase their voice in Otterbein governance and establish the Student Council.The group wanted to make sure the student voice was heard concerning changes happening on campus.The Council met twice this week, first in its regularly scheduled meeting Monday night, and again yesterday when the members met with Otterbein President C. Brent DeVore to discuss how students can help lessen the impact of the reconstruction of the West Main Street Bridge.According to DeVore, Otterbein is doing everything they can to minimize the reconstruction's impact on students. "The best way you can help is to put your creative minds together and see what you can come up with," he said.The project is scheduled to begin in April, 2009 and be completed sometime in August, so it should only affect students for one quarter."It's only a short amount of time, but it's going to be a problem for students and we need a solution," said sophomore Ben Leffel, Student Council president. "Student Council is working on some explanatory research to see if there is anything we can do."Monday's meeting focused primarily on enhancing "curb appeal" and furthering sustainability by requiring professors to post class material online, instead of printing out many copies of required materials.We think parts of the campus could use a little sprucing. It's a problem that is also recognized by the administration," said Leffel. "We want the campus to look nice for prospective students, and the community, and with student input we can accomplish that."Abíódún Góké-Paríolá, vice president of Academic Affairs, encouraged students at Monday's meeting."We don't look bad at all, but we could definitely look a whole lot better. We can't think with limited imagination, but we need to ask, if we could dream, what would we want to look like," he said. Currently, Student Council is also working on converting to an A+ grading scale, and establishing a student activities fee that would be disbursed to organizations for funding. They are also working with Bon Appétit to improve food services.Student Council will be meeting Monday nights during the even weeks of the quarter. Mary Kerr, executive assistant to the president, will be attending the next Student Council meeting, tentatively scheduled for Monday, May 19."Student Council created a voice for the students," said sophomore vice president Emily Hoffman. "We produce strictly student-driven initiatives and provide an opportunity to turn ideas into realities." t&c;
(04/24/08 4:00am)
The first official College senate meeting of the quarter started off with a heated debate about Otterbein's possible conversion from quarters to semesters.Concerns arose regarding how the switch will affect the college and whether or not the community will actually benefit.John Ludlum, co-chair for the semester conversion study sub-committee, provided comparisons of the two systems and then opened the discussion up to the floor.The semester system would only require 120-132 hours to graduate, while the current quarter system requires 180 hours. Terms would last 15 weeks instead of 10 and students would take an average of four classes per term, instead of three.Students strongly favor leaving the system as is, with 51.8 percent against the change and only 4.7 percent in favor,"One of the reasons I came to Otterbein was for the quarter system and six-week break," said senior Lindsay Davis. "There may be some students turned off by that, but some students are also drawn to it. There's a lot of appeal in the quarter system."The majority of the faculty, on the other hand, disagrees. Only 7.3 percent of faculty strongly opposes the new system while 42.7 percent strongly agree."If we go to a semester system we'll have more opportunity and more flexibility," said Abíódún Góké-Paríolá, vice president of Academic Affairs. "It's no advantage to us if everybody else is on semesters and we're on quarters."Students voiced concerns that Otterbein is being "peer-pressured" into changing its system because of other schools making the transition, including The Ohio State University. However, according to Ludlum, Otterbein began considering semesters before other schools voted to converge. According to the system plan, any change that is going to happen will occur after current students have graduated. "If they make the change to semesters it will not affect you," said Góké-Paríolá. Information about the potential semester conversion can be found on the Strategic Planning Process Web site.Senate will continue its discussion and vote on the conversion at the next meeting. Faculty and students also voted to fill 30 positions in nine committees, the largest number of contested elections in recent years, according to Susan Millsap, parliamentarian.In addition, a bill passed from the curriculum committee which added CHEM 265 (Introduction to Biochemical Techniques) to the course offerings for next year."Biochem requires a lot of foundational courses and in this major it hasn't been possible to take an actual biochem class until your senior year," said Jerry Jenkins, chemistry and biochemistry chairperson. "This course will get students an earlier start and allows them to get some hands on experience of a biochemical nature." t&c;*Have an opinion? Click here and let us know about it on our new facebook wall*
(04/17/08 4:00am)
The one thing most college students can rely on when facing steep tuition costs is the almighty "student loan." Someone, somewhere, will lend you enough money to stay in school, and even better, you can defer those loans until you are no longer enrolled in college. Unfortunately, this time-honored tradition of "robbing Peter to pay Paul" is going through a renovation that could leave some students in the lurch.According to CNNMoney.com, "more than 55 lenders who originate 13 percent of college loans have stopped making loans in recent months."College Loan Corporation, National Education and Student Loan Xpress - three of the lenders that have stopped making loans - supplied Otterbein students with school loans."We started hearing about this in the fall but it wasn't until 2008 that we saw lenders that we work with beginning to close up shop," said Phil Bovenizer, associate director of financial aid. "We saw that and we knew, 'hey, this is kind of serious.'"This spring, seven students' loans were cancelled before they could be disbursed for the quarter. "This was the first real disturbance for us," said Bovenizer. The problems with loans have stemmed from two major factors: the subprime mortgage credit crisis of 2007 and the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (CCRAA).The subprime mortgage credit crisis forced lenders to rely on more expensive funding for loans, according to FinAid.org. Additionally, the CCRAA cut lender interest income.The combination of these factors made education loans less profitable for lenders, which led directly to companies suspending loan activities.An article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (the Chronicle) said that last month Congress urged the Education Secretary to prepare for a potential crisis in access to student loans. However, lawmakers have been reassuring students and parents that a crisis is unlikely. Bovenizer agrees with the lawmakers, saying students aren't facing a crisis yet. "The list is getting lower but there will still be plenty," he said. In response to the industry's warnings, some colleges are considering relying directly on loans from the Federal Department of Education.The Chronicle stated, "At least 42 institutions have asked the Education Department this year for authorization to offer direct lending."Within six months, the Education Department plans to introduce computer systems that will enable colleges to offer bank-based loans, or private loans from a banking institution and direct lending at the same time.While direct loans haven't been affected yet by the lessening of profits, their services to students are not as good as private lenders.The idea of switching to direct lending also raises the question of whether or not the federal government could support the surge of new applications if the credit market worsens and private lenders continue to close their doors. Currently, about four-fifths of student loans are controlled by private lenders outside the federal government."The average student only cares about getting their bills paid," Bovenizer said. "If the cost of getting funds increases, the cost for students increases too. Students just need to be careful about what they're signing.""All I know is I wouldn't be here if it weren't for student loans and neither would most of my friends," said sophomore broadcasting and theatre and dance major Cassandra Cardenas. "Hopefully this doesn't get any worse or a lot of people are going to be in trouble." t&c;