Changes in Pell Grants could lead to mixed results for UIS students

By Tom Cronin - Public Affairs Reporter

 Hundreds of UIS students could receive larger Pell Grant awards next academic year if Congress approves President George W. Bush’s fiscal year 2006 budget proposal, but some of these same students might also see Pell Grant reductions as a result of recently enacted revisions to the federal tax tables used to determine financial aid eligibility.
According to a White House press release, Bush announced on Jan. 14 that his budget proposal would expand the Pell Grant Program so it could provide more financial assistance to low-income students. The proposed budget would increase the maximum annual Pell Grant award from $4,050 to $4,550 over the next five years, and it would increase investments in Pell Grants by more than $15 billion over the next 10 years, the release said.
Jerry Joseph, UIS director of financial assistance, said that all Pell Grant recipients at UIS would receive larger awards – with some annual awards being increased by as much as $100 – under the proposal. According to Joseph, 719 UIS undergraduates were receiving Pell Grants as of last week. The Pell Grant award ranged from $200 to $4,050 per academic year, with an average annual award of $2,298, he said.
To increase funding to the Pell Grant program by $1.3 billion and eliminate the program’s $4.3 billion shortfall, the Bush administration has proposed eliminating the Perkins Loan program and recalling the federal portion of revolving funds held by participating institutions, according to a summary of the budget proposal on the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site.
The education department’s summary stated that the number of Perkins Loan institutions fell from 3,338 to 1,796 between the 1983-‘04 and 2003-‘04 academic years. The administration felt that students could be better served if the education department diverts the Perkins Loan funds benefiting a “small group of institutions” to the Pell Grant program, according to the summary.
UIS is part of this “small group of institutions” receiving funding for Perkins Loans. According to Joseph, 35 UIS students received Perkins Loans last year, and 44 students on the campus were Perkins Loan recipients the previous year.
Joseph said that financial aid administrators at UIS do not agree with the proposed elimination of the Perkins Loan program. At UIS, Perkins Loans are typically awarded during the summer to students who “max out” on their Stafford Loan eligibility during the fall and spring semesters, according to Joseph. Perkins Loans are also given to students enrolled in the Teacher Education Program because the loans are forgiveable, he said.
“The problem with the education budget is whenever they propose an increase in one area, they’ve got to offset it by something else,” Joseph said. “… So now with [Bush] proposing the Pell, to come up with those funds, he’s got to find some money elsewhere in the budget to offset that increase.”
Although the elimination of Perkins Loans and other federal education programs will likely benefit the Pell Grant program, it is estimated that students will lose a combined $300 million in Pell Grant assistance because of federal tax-table revisions that will change financial aid eligibility for many students.
The Department of Education implemented the revisions in December following Congressional approval in November of a spending bill authorizing the changes to the tax tables.
According to a recent press release, U.S. Sen. Jon S. Corzine, D-N.J., introduced legislation on Jan. 26 proposing to ensure that students’ Pell Grant awards are not reduced or eliminated as a result of the tax-table changes. The legislation was co-sponsored by 31 of Corzine’s Senate colleagues – 27 Democrats, three Republicans and one independent. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., was one of the cosponsors.
An estimated 89,000 students will lose their Pell Grants under the tax-table revisions, the press release stated, with another 1.3 million receiving smaller Pell Grant awards.
“I am outraged that the Bush administration is going forward with these punitive cuts in Pell Grants, which will adversely affect 1.3 million American students,” Corzine said in a Dec. 22 press release. “For these students who are simply working to get ahead, this is a scene from ‘The Grinch who stole my education.’”
Joseph said that some UIS students could see Pell Grant reductions ranging from $100 to $200 per academic year as a result of the tax-table revisions, but the reductions will probably affect “very few students” on the campus. He added that it is “most unlikely” that any UIS students will completely lose their Pell Grants because of the revisions.

By Ron Felten - General Assignment Reporter

  To toga or not to toga? That is the question being investigated by the Committee on Greek Life, a group commissioned by Tyson Roan, president of the Student Government Association.
Roan explained that the committee’s purpose is to gather information and to weigh the benefits against the possible negative effects of having a Greek system, comprised of fraternities and sororities, on the UIS campus.
At this point, the committee is researching various aspects of Greek life and soon will publish a series of columns in the Journal in an effort to inform the UIS student body of their findings.
“The committee has no vested interest in this either way,” Roan said. “We may have personal interests [as individuals] one way or the other, but we can espouse those in our letters to the editor [of the Journal]. When we come together as a committee, however, we are completely neutral.”
Roan handpicked the committee’s members, being certain to balance the number of those for a Greek system with those opposed to it. While a mixture like this may appear volatile, Roan said it is working well. “My biggest anti-Greek advocate just gave a lot of great suggestions to the person who wrote the pro-Greek article,” Roan said. “This truly is an objective committee and we really do have the best interests of the students at heart.”
While several attempts have been made by various groups to bring Greek life to UIS in the past, Roan said this committee is by far the most formal and, because of its impartiality, the most legitimate.
Roan explained that the committee will complete its work in three distinct steps. The first will be the educational phase, which will include the aforementioned Journal columns. The second step will be to gauge student sentiment, which will be done via survey and in tandem with the UIS student government elections in March. The final step will be to issue a final report that will include a complete analysis of the student surveys.
Roan emphasized that the will of the students will likely be the most important factor the committee will have to consider. “After the surveys [are analyzed] we can try to persuade the administration to do one thing or another,” Roan said. “I am convinced they also have the best interests of the student body in mind and will take our recommendations very seriously.”
In Roan’s opinion, this investigation could not be happening at a better time. With the first class of non-honors, general education freshmen to be admitted to UIS in 2006, Roan said he thinks “Greek life would eventually develop. We want to make sure it happens right.”
While the 2006 school year and the hundreds of new students it will bring are quickly approaching, Roan emphasized the importance of taking the time to conduct the necessary research and to measure the student body’s will before taking steps in either direction, for or against Greek life.
“It would be kind of scary if we were to move ahead with Greek life with no input from the students,” Roan said, acknowledging that the collective opinion of the student body is likely divided. “The administration is just as split on this as anyone is, and so are the faculty.”
Roan said he will support whatever decision the students make as long as it is beneficial to UIS. But he did suggest that if the university ultimately decides to implement Greek life on campus, a lot of work would need to be done. “We currently do not have the infrastructure in place to support a Greek community,” Roan said. “But we first have to decide if this would even be a good thing for our university.”

UIS Students light up the stage for the Talent Expo
Everyone came home a winner, even if the didn't place

By Janee Mitchell - Feature Writer

Gerald Sabb sang and played his guitar, playing the song "3 x 5" for the audience

On Friday, Feb. 11 UIS had its very own American Idol show, only in this show everyone leaves a winner. The student center was crowded with students eager to see the talent show and its outcome. The difference between the UIS Talent Expo and American Idol is the absence of Simon, Paula and Randy. Jamie Crain, R.A., foxglove court; Sheryl Frye, clinical counselor; and Marque Haupert, resident director, campus apartments, were the talent expo judges.

The talent show began at 7pm with the light, melodic vocal stylings of Kate Johnson, legal studies, singing How Far, Martina McBride. The mood of the talent show progressed and digressed all evening with songs from different genres of music, from upbeat tunes to slow love songs and songs about life.

Chad Eversgerd, biology, proudly sang Time, a song he composed himself, expressing experiences with college and the uncertainties of life. The show reached its climax with a dramatic presentation of a Jesse Jackson speech, performed by Kimberly Jones, biology. The fiery piece captured the audience with its “hold on and hold out message.”

UIS Students Joshua Beal and Alisha Backus perform a duet of "A Little Fall of Rain" for the Talent Expo

The real crowd shocker however came with the performance by Ryan Reese, criminal justice, playing Solfeggito, a piano piece. The performance captured the audience’s attention and held it through the end of the performance. The audience was left in suspense, not knowing which key would be struck next and how fast or slow it would be.

Reese said he has been learning the piano since he was 6 at the Woolridge Music Studio. He had played Solfeggito for recitals before and felt comfortable with the song, so he chose it for the talent show. Reese said the song had been challenging and hard to remember. During the talent expo he played two different variations of the song back-to-back, starting slow, than fast. His rendition of the challenging piece did not let the crowd down.

His performance of the piece gained him the first place title and the $100 visa gift card that came along with the honor. Reese said he will be using his winnings to celebrate his 19 birthday this month. He dedicates his performance to his mom, who encouraged him to move away from his shyness and play in front of people, for Valentine’s Day.

A mother’s encouragement seems to be a common thread for the Talent Expo’s top performers, as Jones dedicated her performance to the memory of her deceased mother. Jones won the second place prize, a $65 visa gift card, which she, like Reese, plans to use for her approaching birthday. Both performers participated for fun and with their mothers in mind, not expecting to win; yet they walked away with the highest awards.

Ryan Reese won first place for his performance of "Solfeggio." Reese recieved a $100 VISA gift card for his victory, which he plans to use for his upcoming 19th birthday

There was also a third place prize, $35 visa gift card, which was to be divided among the members of the World Percussion Ensemble, and various other prizes awarded which included tanning certificates, pizzas, Quizno subs, bowling and various other prizes awarded to those who did not win the cash prizes.

The talent show was split into two acts with approximately five performances in each. There was a break between the two acts during which pizza and beverages were served. At the close of the final act the UIS Choir kept the expo goers busy as the judges deliberated. Restlessness began to settle as the judges took longer than expected, but the UIS Choir kept the crowd’s attention with its original and crowd-pleasing style.

Although Reese, Jones and the World Percussion Ensemble were the only cash prize winners everyone walked away from the Talent Expo a winner. There were no Simon-type remarks from the judges, even when warranted, and everyone left cheerfully.

Entreprenuership Center to open University Hall as part of governor's Oppurtunity Returns program
Facility to provide information and resources to businesses

By Jason Satek - SGA/General Assignment Reporter

On January 27, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development announced an agreement to open an Entrepreneurship Center at the University of Illinois-Springfield. An expansion of the Central Illinois Entrepreneurship Center Network, it is hoped that this facility will provide information and resources to aid existing local businesses and to those persons motivated to start a new one.
Armed with $50,000 in Challenge Grant money, the center will be able to reward successful applicants with a maximum of $5,000, provided they can produce matching funds, thereby aiding their business ventures and hopefully stimulating the local economy and providing new employment.
The College of Business and Management will be closely associated with the Center, and current plans have the Entrepreneurship Center being placed within University Hall, the new consolidated office building and classroom structure.
Part of Governor Rod Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns program, this center, along with a similar one located at Milikin University in Decatur, will service southern Illinois and hopefully help add to the “48,000 new jobs across the state last year,” the Governor is quoted in the press release.
Andrew Ross, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, spoke about the subject. “This is going to help them expand what they’ve already been doing.” The 50,000 dollars “is an initial grant. The fiscal year 2005 ends at the end of June. If it is as successful as we hope, we will continue support. We will examine it and see how it goes,”
Other than the grant money, what is provided by the center? “What entrepreneurs are a lot times looking for is to come in to talk to somebody, bounce ideas off someone who has been there and done something similar like that. Advice and counsel can be just as important as financial advice. This will bring all these services under one roof.”
Asked about benefits to students of UIS, Ross replied, “Being interested in and exposed to entrepreneurs can help spark their creativity and their ideas. Taking something from an idea to the marketplace could be another venue to explore these things.”
Some information about the day-to-day operation of the Entrepreneurship Center must still be specifically determined. No timetable was available for the full implementation of the center’s services. Also, who will perform support duties at the center, and the final makeup of the advisory and approval board, which will review applications and make merit judgments on those projects they consider likely viable for a certain level of growth and success, has not been released to the public.
Dean of the College of Business and Management and Professor of Business Administration Ronald McNeil, the UIS individual largely associated with the project was unavailable for comment, having flown to eastern France to interview potential Masters of Business Administration students.

Corrections

Editor’s Note:
Sara Paver wishes to clarify her comments, which appeared in the article entitled “Are the rumors true?” in the Feb. 9 issue of The Journal. The article states “she wishes there was a variety of instructors besides always having the same regular Cap teacher. Paver believes she was misquoted and actually said that one of the aspects of the Cap Program that she enjoys is that the classes represent professors from many different disciplines. Paver would also like to clarify the statement that appears in the article regarding 30 students abandoning the Capital Scholars Program. “What I told [the reporter] was that some of my classmates and I had sat down to see if we could name all of the people who had left from our class in total and we came up with about 30. I am a sophomore, so this means that from the time I came here as a freshman my class has lost about 30 people,” Paver wrote in an e-mail.

In the article entitled “Chancellor Ringeisen signs agreement to expand the diversity of UIS students,” which appeared in the Feb. 2 issue of The Journal, Johnathan GoldbergBelle’s name was spelled incorrectly. Also, the caption beneath the picture should have read “Chancellor Richard Ringeisen signs an agreement presented by Johnathan GoldbergBelle, director of the office of international affairs, which will expand the Global Experience Programs available at UIS to include Australia and Romania.” The Journal apologizes for the errors.

Changes in Pell Grants could lead to mixed results for UIS students

Committee on Greek Life weighs positive and negative aspects of Greek system on campus

UIS Students light up the stage for the Talent Expo

No permanent decision made regarding temporary buildings

Corrections