Sac City Express » Opinion

The price is NEVER right

Online Staff — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:53:41 +0000

One of the most difficult monetary challenges that college students face each semester is having to buy expensive required textbooks—an average of $1,137 during 2010-2011, according to the College Board. Recent estimations by the Government Accountability Office reported that textbooks cost a quarter of the average tuition for state universities and three-fourths the average tuition at community colleges.

Paying more than $100 for each textbook is a tall order, especially if professors require two or more books for a class. Last year, according to The Huffington Post, seven out of 10 undergraduates at 13 college campuses did not purchase textbooks for their classes due to high prices.

There really is no way to avoid required textbooks. However, there are many alternatives to buying expensive required textbooks that students can consider if they wish to keep some money in their wallet without jeopardizing the quality of their education.

Through services like Chegg, Amazon and Barnes and Noble, students can rent or buy e-books, which are books in digital form that are accessed through any electronic devices. Apple Inc. said e-books will be made available to schools for $15 or less. According to web, mobile and tablet ePublishing specialist YUDU media and statistics from the Association of American Publishers, sales of e-books have tripled and have been increasingly available in the United States since 2009.

Because each textbook has its own set of prices for different versions, students should consider buying or renting e-textbooks, especially when new editions are required. It’s always safer to consider all available options before actually diving into buying required textbook materials for classes. Renting and buying used textbooks are usually not options because textbooks are often being updated with new editions. Used books can be expensive, too, and aren’t easy to find, which makes the option to sell back textbooks unlikely for most students.

Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) reported used books cost up to 75 percent of new prices, which are typically higher than online prices. Books that are being used again for the next term may be bought back for 50 percent of the new prices. But if it is unclear whether a book will be used again or not, it may be repurchased for 10 to 30 percent or less.

However, for students who have financial problems or just don’t think that it is worth paying $100 or more for a single textbook that they may never use, City College offers a two-hour checkout for books that professors have on reserve at the Learning Resource Center. Some professors will even let students use older editions.

The RISE program on campus offers a limited supply of textbooks donated by students and professors on a first-come, first-serve basis. Students borrow the books they need for free, and all they have to do is return them at the end of the semester.

Students shouldn’t have to give up trying to find that perfect price range or have access to required textbooks. There is always a price to pay for higher education, so choose wisely when it comes to finding the best available alternatives for educational expenses.

Lost in translation

Kate Paloy — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:17:20 +0000

Illustration by Patrick Higgins

History textbooks have long been respected as closest to the truth and based on fact. Scholars and historians spend much time and effort in the research and fact checking of these publications. Yet approximately every two years history books get rewritten or updated.

“Battles over what to put in science and history books have taken place for years in the 20 states where state boards must adopt textbooks, most notably in California and Texas. But rarely in recent history has a group of conservative board members left such a mark on a social studies curriculum,” wrote James C. McKinley in The New York Times.

For example, the state of Texas buys a large enough percentage of textbooks so that what the Texas Board of Education decides to use sets the stage for how history is taught in elementary and high schools across the country.

How much of the original history has been lost in translation? How much of history is being rewritten?

City College History Professor Carl Sjovold says the rewriting of history textbooks is common practice, and it is the choice of the textbook that makes the difference. As the History Department chair, Sjovold says the challenge is no different for him than any other history teacher.

“Since we are not a K-12 [institution], we don’t have a board looking over our shoulders,” said Sjovold.

The important viewpoint depends on who is writing the book. Every country or state wants to be seen in a good light, not much different from a family choosing to not share ugly secrets of a family member. However, even so, the choice of the textbooks that best enhances their coursework is an annual challenge for professors.

Academic freedom is a different matter at the community college level. The academic freedom to choose textbooks and interpretations of history exercised by City College professors is important because students will in turn relate that information to others, especially family.

So when Texas rewrites history, whitewashing America’s mistakes, how is the country not destined to repeat them? The political philosophies of the Republican Party and a strong support for American capitalism won the vote of the Texas Board of Education for future history books in March 2010, according to The New York Times. The conservative change was considered an added “balance,” making one wonder if the truth seen today will make the history books of tomorrow.

Certainly the recall of the Civil War, World Wars 1 and II, Korean War and Vietnam involving this country told by two different fighting sides would have varied points of view. When collecting historical facts about this year alone, how much will we read differently a year from now as more information is discovered?

We need to always consider the source of what we hear and read because history changes, depending on the teller and the political tenor of the times. City College professors in any discipline, especially history, have the academic freedom to research and choose whatever texts best reflect the teachings in their classes.

Let’s not wear our mistakes as a nation in shame but tell the truth to better ourselves as a country and move forward as one people.

Kicking the bad habit

Harold Williams — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 04:12:29 +0000

Following the passage of California’s smoking law in 1994, which restricted the smoking of tobacco products in all enclosed places of employment, I remember avid smokers complaining that they could no longer smoke while eating in a restaurant or working in the office.

Although the smoking law was passed to restrict smoking indoors, a number of cities have passed restrictions on smoking in public areas outdoors. Elk Grove is the latest city to increase smoking limits outdoor. According to The Sacramento Bee, the Elk Grove City Council recently approved an ordinance prohibiting smoking within 300 feet of playgrounds, schools, day care centers, or other places where children gather.

Smoking inside any public building was no longer optional and new restrictions can only have a positive effect both on health wise and environmentally.

According to the 1994 law, AB-13, smokers are restricted from smoking within 25 feet of parks and playground. 25 feet is not far enough away from playgrounds and other public areas. Places like public parks and playgrounds are obviously outdoors, which means that when the wind blows in the direction of play areas, so does secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoking, for one, is the leading cause to our health hazards. Before I kicked my four-year smoking habit, there was always one thing that I disliked—even more so now—walking behind or in front of someone who is smoking. Not only it is it harmful to the smoker’s health, but I don’t want to dodge puffs of smoke or walk around smelling like a pack of cigarettes, especially now that I don’t smoke any more.

Based on research from the American Cancer Society secondhand smoke is responsible for 3,400 deaths in the United States each year. Research shows that conditions caused by smoking, such as lung cancer, heart disease and emphysema, can be caused by secondhand smoke as well.

However, advocates of smoking may argue that smoking outdoors is less harmful, but individuals exposed to secondhand smoke have a 20 to 30 percent higher chance of developing lung cancer and heart disease, according to the United States Surgeon General.

According to www.breathcalifornia.org, people are at risk of breathing in secondhand smoke anywhere there are smokers. It can also travel about 20 feet in every direction and may stay around for hours.

Additional smoking restrictions are a must. It is not necessary for anyone to smoke when near or around areas where children are present. Smoking in front of or near children may have negative influences, because children imitate a lot of what they see. Playgrounds and daycare centers are places where children should be safe from health hazards and negative influences.

In addition to health-related problems, smoking restrictions help improve air quality and have positive effects on public health and the environment. An additional 300 feet from a nonsmoking area isn’t as bad as lifetime commitment to an addiction or the rocky road to its recovery either.

Reuse, recycle, and reconsider

Salvatore Faro — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 04:05:02 +0000

With the changing climate and increasing global population, it has come to the point where we as Americans should start and need to reduce the negative effects we have on the environment.

In 2010, cleanair.org reported that the average American office worker used about 500 disposable cups per year. If a small group of just 10 office workers chose to use reusable glasses at work that would cut the use of disposable cups by 5,000. California is the highest populous state in the country with a state population of just over 37 million, according to 2010.census.gov. If every office within our own state had reusable glasses in their break rooms, the positive effects would be tremendous. If society as a whole made a strong effort to use reusable canteens and bags, rather than plastic bottles and bags, the benefits would be astonishing.

But the repercussions of disposable cups, bottles, bags, and containers go much further than the landfills that they are poured into. The energy and money spent disposing of the plastics is an unnecessary expense.

Last year, California alone, spent $25 million dollars sending plastic bags to landfills, with an additional $8.5 million dollars to remove the trash and litter from streets, according to cleanair.org. The state could certainly use the savings with California’s current budget deficit soaring at $20.7 billion dollars in 2011 to 2012, according to lao.ca.gov.

Despite the fiscal advantages of reusable products, the biggest returns come environmentally. America alone uses approximately 1 billion shopping bags per year, creating an absorbent amount of 300,000 tons of plastic waste, stated clearnair.org. Unfortunately for the environment, plastic waste does not completely decompose. Instead, plastics break down into smaller and smaller particles that can pollute the surrounding ground soils, water, and animals.

On a more positive note, there are several easy and cost-effective substitutes for plastic containers.

Within companies and offices, where paper cups are most common, the use of glass and ceramic cups can be encouraged. It would save money in the long run and help businesses with fewer purchases of paper cups, while simultaneously helping to lessen trash impact on the environment.

For the daily shopper and citizen, reusable totes made from recycled material provide a healthier alternative when shopping at the grocery store. The small investment to buy the reusable bags will go a long way to helping our world. Rather than buying a bottle of water, reusable plastic or metal canteens can be used for a beverage on the go.

Most Americans tend to use plastic bags when shopping because it is what we are accustomed to. Plastic and paper bags have been provided to us for years, which dragged us into the bad habit of constantly using and relying on them. Leaving reusable bags in the car at all times is a helpful way to change that habit.

If we wait and keep putting this issue to the back of our minds it may reach a point where it is too late to reverse these detrimental side effects. Whether it is convenience or just something we are used to, it makes no difference. Putting forth the extra effort to use reusable bags and bottles will benefit our health, environment, and businesses for future generations to come.

Helping hands

Samneang Thach — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:09:46 +0000

Photo by Sammie Thach

Fifteen units, weekly quizzes as well as biweekly deadlines—that made up the load of work I carried just for school. Between that, a new job and helping my family, I also had to find time to squeeze in 15 hours of volunteer work for a service-learning project I dreaded.

When I was assigned my service-learning project for a psychology class, I added it to my list of things I did not look forward to doing. However, when I arrived to start in October as a first-time volunteer at Meals on Wheels’ Skyline site and found the coordinator prepping to feed 80 seniors alone, I was more than eager to step in and help.

Meals on Wheels is a nonprofit organization dedicated to delivering nutritional meals to seniors across the nation. According to the Meals on Wheels Association of America website, the service provides millions of meals to seniors experiencing hunger and challenged by limited mobility.

Today, many nonprofit organizations are overwhelmed and understaffed. According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics, there are over 1 million nonprofit organizations in the United States. That number is drastically disproportionate to the 62,000 active volunteers who were accounted for in the 2010 census, reminding me why there is such a loud cry for volunteers.

As a way to contribute to causes, some Sacramento City College professors assign service-learning projects so students like me can help and create deeper learning, excitement and enthusiasm throughout their courses, according to Pam Flaherty, professor of sociology and Community Service Learning.

All this sounded like a mandated volunteer service to me. But throughout the four days that I completed the 15 hours for my service-learning project, I also helped feed more than 50 seniors every day by serving and preparing their meals which included fruits, milk, bread and their prepackaged lunches. I also helped sanitize and wipe tables before and after the meals were served.

In addition to understanding how hectic the MOW Skyline site can get without any volunteers, I was also touched by the Asian seniors’ life stories and related them to the grandparents I no longer have.

Jessica, the site coordinator, and I spent a majority of our mornings prepping alone. In addition to preparing food, she had to log information from the kitchen, perform daily inventory counts and update registration. I always told her, “I don’t know how you do it.”

On the days that I did meet more volunteers, I was relieved for Jessica. There was one volunteer who always brought her bike upstairs and parked it by the elevator outside the dinning facility. Jessica told me that particular woman really loves helping other people, which came to me as a surprise because she looked as though she could’ve used a little help herself.

“Once you’ve volunteered, you learn what that feels like. It’ll be very gratifying in giving back,” said Flaherty, which also offered a possible reason why some people put other people ahead of themselves.

However, I would not have felt or understood the rewarding and necessary impact of volunteering if it wasn’t for the assignment of my service-learning project.

I turned in my service-learning project in the form of a journal, one of the many options the service-learning project required. I included detailed accounts of my experience and my thoughts and reflections upon my volunteer service days. By doing this, I was able to sit back and critically understand the contributions my effort provided for.

Flaherty also said that students given the opportunity to do service-learning in any number of their courses, in addition to the civic engagement component, tend to have better retention and become lifelong volunteers. All of this proved true in my case.

Through it, I have found a volunteer site and established a rapport with the site’s coordinator that allows me to volunteer as casually and occasionally as I want to.

Looking back at my service-learning experience, I am happy to say that the gratifying feeling of volunteering definitely trumped the headaches and frustration I initially encountered when I was trying to fit it into my schedule. I now urge fellow students, full and part-time, to get involved in their community and give back in whichever way they can.

Flaherty is a good resource to start with in finding sites. She has a plethora of service-learning options that vary from the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services to the online option for busier students who can write action letters for Amnesty International.

Today, I am proud to say that even after I finished my project, I returned to help Meals on Wheels Skyline and served their Thanksgiving meal to seniors. I will be back Dec. 19 to serve their Christmas meal thanks to the service-learning project.

Visit the Meals on Wheels Association of America website at www.mowaa.org.

Undocumented, Unafraid and Unashamed

Online Staff — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:04:44 +0000

Photo by Jeff Rawlinson

I was a prisoner of the education system of California, imprisoned by the emotions of being undocumented. I have been jailed by a government that controls who I am and who I want to be. Undocumented means being afraid of the government that is supposed to protect the rights of its entire people. It means being afraid to drive to school. Afraid to finish high school and imagine what might come next. It’s being afraid to walk freely through the green parks full of blossoming flowers and tall green trees to protect us from the sun. It’s being afraid to walk through the skyscrapers that scream “business” in the city and make you dream of the future. It’s being afraid of walking through halls that lead me to a classroom with memories of the past on every wall, reminding me of who I am and who I was.

Undocumented means having to live with a fear of what tomorrow might hold. Tomorrow I might wake up in my purple and pink room surrounded by homework and books. Or I might wake up in the unknown country in which I was born, one with brick houses, dirt streets, and a cultural heritage that is unfamiliar to my present.

I was undocumented in grade school and had the same privileges as my classmates. I was undocumented in junior high with the same rights as everyone else. I was undocumented in high school with no proper identification, no green card, no license, and no freedom, and this time I was not like everyone else.

I was not born undocumented. My family left Mexico when I was eight years old because my brother was born with psoriasis. In Mexico, doctors did not have an answer or diagnosis for his skin condition, and as a last resort my mother saw a curandera (shaman) because doctors did not have an answer to my brother’s sickness. The curandera told my mother that she had been put under a spell by someone when she was pregnant. The only cure for my brother was to leave Mexico, so we immediately did. We left our town, our house, our belongings and our family in Mexico, and crossed the border with the hopes of a better future.

After we moved to the United States, I arrived at a new third grade classroom where I met my American teacher. She did not speak or understand Spanish. The classroom was an open, inviting room full of desks pulled together into groups at the center of the room. On one side there was an open space where we sat, and the teacher read to us. I could see the colorful pictures in the book she was reading, but I did not understand what she was saying. The people, the culture and the language were unfamiliar to me in the beginning. But soon the culture and the language became part of me. By fifth grade I was not an outsider any more. I was part of the American culture, and I could understand English and talk like everyone else.

In middle school the playground was the best place to be; recesses and lunch were the best times. From the swings to the slide, we would run and scream as we laughed at each other. The freedom of the trees, the freedom of the air gave me my own freedom with the friends I loved. The basketball courts were a cultural fusion—brown, black and white—mixed in junior high, united by an orange striped ball that bounced to the rhythm of the ground. One hot Thursday evening I found myself in a pink dress with a white gown over it; I was graduating from junior high and continuing to what I thought would be my best years of life in high school.

But high school proved that I was not like everyone else. My peers received driving permits, drivers’ licenses, first jobs, acceptance to universities. I received apologetic words from counselors who did not know what to say to me.

Undocumented with my dreams, I was tied down to my fear, tied down to laws, and tied down to my parents’ decision to move to the United States. I thought attending college was not an option for me—until a friend told me that I was able to attend college. She always told me that I was intelligent and that I could do it. So I took the assessment test while in high school for Sacramento City College, and that was my first step to community college.

Community college was and is a dream because without college I would not have a dream to fight for. Community college offers me the possibility of a higher education and a better life for my family and me. With the passage of Assembly Bill 540, we undocumented students are able to attend college and pay instate tuition just like any other California resident. To pay for tuition and books, I have to work a full-time job, which takes a lot of time away from school, but to continue my dream I will sacrifice by working long hours and more.

Fighting for the California Dream Act, surrounded by dreamers at the Capitol building, I joined others demanding the right to attend college like the citizens we feel we are. We are dreamers with backpacks full of dreams and long breaths of faith as legislators play with our dreams. We imagine the futures we might have if the Dream Act passes.

The word “undocumented” has made me the person who I am, not the person who the government wants me to be. I am not a criminal. I am not an alien. I am a college student who will fight if necessary to attend school.

Now when I enter a college classroom, I also change my feeling about being undocumented to the spirit of a college student. Here, desks line up in rows and columns facing the chalkboard that at times is white, not green, with the knowledge of the professor filling up the space. I sit front row center with a yellow Ticonderoga pencil and a purple notebook ready to fill my spirit with the knowledge that the professor will share. Sitting in the blue plastic desk, I turn to the right and see my reflection. I turn to the left and see my spirit. I turn behind me and see my past, and when I look forward, I see my future and begin to dream of what tomorrow might hold.

I was once asked by teachers in high school, “What do you want do after high school?”

“Nothing,” I said. “Look for a full time job to help my parents.”

That was my only answer, but it was not what I wanted. Now that I am in college, counselors ask me, “What do you want to do after college?”

Now I answer, “To graduate from community college and transfer to a university to receive my bachelor’s degree.”

College was a dream for me in high school, but now that I am in college, the university is not only a dream—it’s also a dream that I can make a reality.

With the education I have acquired, I can proudly say that I am undocumented, unashamed and unafraid.

In Bank of America, we trust

Michael Jones — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:00:35 +0000

In September, Bank of America announced a plan to levy a $5 fee on customers who used their debit cards for purchases. Customers who only used their debit cards for withdrawing money from ATMs were left unaffected, but it still caused an intense backlash that made the bank give up its plans in October. It showed that customers still can effectively voice their opinions and cause change, but it also brought up the issue of whether Bank of America should have tried to levy this fee in the first place.

The answer to that is no, for a variety of reasons.

The bank made a horrendous business decision when it bought Countrywide Financial in 2007. Initially, Countrywide gave the bank a boost of $447 million, according to Bloomberg in 2007. But recently, details about Countrywide’s illegal business practices have come to light.

According to Business Insider, Countrywide’s CEO Angelo Mozilo was charged with fraud because his company underwrote loans that were so horrendous, they helped create the choking economic climate that the country is still in.

Bank of America then tried to rectify the situation, but instead, only made it worse. According to the Nevada State Attorney General, as reported by The New York Times, Catherine Cortez Masto, Bank of America raised interest rates on Nevada borrowers after the bank had promised to lower them. Furthermore, the bank violated the settlement by not giving loan modifications to homeowners who qualified for them, then foreclosed on those same homeowners even as modification requests were pending.

Masto said these practices violated an agreement that the state had reached with Bank of America to settle lawsuits that accused Countrywide, now a Bank of America company, of “predatory lending.”

According to The New York Times, Nevada citizens received loans from Countrywide, and sent in complaints to Masto’s office. She found that Bank of America “materially and almost immediately violated” the terms. Bank of America did even more than that, according to the Nevada complaint, Employees lied to customers about modification requests, giving customers false reasons as to why the requests were denied.

So much lying and deceiving, and Bank of America still wants its customers to cough up more money.

Now that Bank of America owns Countrywide, B of A has to take care of the issue at hand. It made settlements with states, including Nevada, according to the New York Times. The online newspaper, The Blaze, said the Countrywide purchase cost $30 billion after “legal fees and writedown’s” and now they’re trying to recover those losses by underhanded means. It’s a good thing that this idea never made it into practice, but it’s obvious that the bank will try other things to squeeze money out of its customers who need to become acutely aware of their bank’s motives and potential offenses.

Just because this problem seems over with for now does not mean that customers should forget about Bank of America’s wrongdoings and underhanded business practices.

Taking the alternative route

Online Staff — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:58:05 +0000

Photo by Josh Cantu

Like many other students on campus, I have to commute not only to school but also to work. Besides spending time going to all of these places, a lot of us are spending our hard earned money as well on getting there as well.

It’s no secret to anyone that gas prices have sky-rocketed in recent years, but what may have come as a surprise to some is how these high fees have put a dent in our wallets. I know that when I first began driving, I underestimated the effect that being able to travel at my own leisure would have on my bank account. I quickly began to see that conservation was key to affordable expenses.

Each week I spend about $45 in gas. I commute to school from my home in Elk Grove and then to my job in East Sacramento. That’s my $180 weekly paycheck! It’s outrageous but, unfortunately, it looks like gas prices are not decreasing.

Gas is far less expensive than expected. Some experts predicted that gas would rise as high as $6 a gallon nationally by September. Analyst Richard Hastings said that gas prices are lower than that perceived amount because, “It was an outlier scenario,” as he told National Public Radio.

While many may consider gas prices to be at a comfortable rate, as a student with not a lot of income, I’m in desperate need of alternatives. There are so many other places I’d rather invest my money, such as saving up for things like a better car, a place of my own, school supplies, daily parking passes, eating on campus and a number of other things. In thinking about what I can do to make commuting more affordable, I believe these options could help all students.

One great option that nearly all Sacramento City students have is our Regional Transit stickers on our I.D. cards. There are many buses, along with the light rail routes, that pass near or directly at City College. I’ve found it really helpful to be able to drive to the light rail station in Elk Grove, park my car there and then take light rail to campus. There’s also carpooling. Make friends with a classmate—you never know if you may live near them or near their route to school. Splitting the costs of gas with a friend or two is a lot cheaper then shelling out the entire amount alone.

Also, skating and biking in good weather are also great ways to get to school. They’re also great for exercise and that is extremely affordable—it doesn’t get much better than that. If you insist on driving, check local gas station rates at www.sactogasprices.com to find the closest affordable gas station near you.

It’s important to utilize all our options before deciding to pay the high expense of gas—like carpooling or in my case, taking the light rail. There may not be much we can do to change high gas prices, but we can surely make changes that let them affect us less.

Uncertainty with disabled students and their loans

Saralyn Adkins — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:37:30 +0000

Many students with disabilities are discovering a hard truth: that they’ll be stuck paying off student loans after they can no longer afford to go to college.

Because of the Federal Department of Education’s refusal to accept any agency’s determinations of disability other than the department’s, many disabled college students are forced to pay off student loans for tuition when they are unable attend school for a variety of reasons. And rather than accept Social Security’s determinations for disability, the Education Department chooses to use its own set of vague definitions to determine whether candidates with disabilities are worthy of having their loans forgiven.

The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Aug. 29 article, “Education Department Backs Away From Fix to Help Disabled Student Borrowers,” detailed the issues many students with disabilities face with their student loans.

Social Security’s criteria for determining an individual’s disability claim are fairly straightforward. If people are unable to do work they were previously capable of, unable to adjust to other work due to a medical condition, and the disability is expected to last longer than a year, then people are eligible to receive disability benefits.

However, when dealing with the Department of Education, people need to be prepared for more vague requirements, as it defines a disabled individual as “any person who: has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment.”

Obviously, anyone who qualifies for Social Security disability benefits would meet the Department of Education’s standards, but because the department refuses to accept any other agency’s disability findings, the Department of Education’s processes are often drawn out and redundant.

Due to the Department of Education’s redundant findings processes, students with disabilities are often subjected to collection calls far before any decision is made to forgive the loans they are unable to pay off, whether in their favor or otherwise. The Education Department, seeing the obvious flaws in its system, has been promising reforms, some of which involve accepting Social Security’s disability findings, although no notable changes have been made yet.

Fortunately, it seems that this issue does not directly affect many City College students because community colleges are rarely so expensive that students need to take out student loans. For example, the average University of California student pays $29,450 in tuition and fees, according to the University of California website, whereas the average community college student pays $2,713, according to College Board’s website.

City College students with disabilities aren’t typically affected by these Department of Education guidelines, according to Disabilities Resource Center Coordinator Dr. Gwyneth Tracy.

“This is a population that we wouldn’t be seeing,” Tracy said. “We don’t see these people because they are no longer able to attend college.”

However, the consequences facing university and transfer students are much more dire. With tuition costs rising every year, it’s becoming more and more difficult for students with disabilities to pay off mounting student loans, loans that most working graduates have a hard time paying off.

According to ProPublica, university student Donita McDonald was left to pay off $24,000 in student loans after being diagnosed with a serious mental condition. While Social Security easily concluded that she was incapable of working and going to school, the Department of Education subjected McDonald to yet another intensive application process. After spending almost two years under consideration, McDonald’s loans were finally forgiven in full the day after ProPublica’s article was published.

The fact is the Department of Education appears to be going out of its way to avoid helping those it theoretically protects. In America’s time of need, government institutions should focus on doing right by the people, regardless of their own financial challenges. Compared to the average college student’s, the federal government’s deficit is almost unfathomable. Arguing over whether or not to forgive a student’s loans is comparable to a grown man taking a fifth grader’s lunch money.

Unless the Education Department gets its act together soon, students across the United States will be left to pay thousands of dollars for an education they didn’t complete.

Greedy growers emerge from billion dollar industry

Online Staff — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:43:44 +0000

Illustration by Patrick Higgins

The recent crackdown on medicinal marijuana has rattled many cages, but it doesn’t mean the end of the industry. An estimated $14 billion a year industry, according to CNNmoney.com, is sure to tempt greed and catch the attention of the money-hungry. The California government should be taking steps to prevent corruption instead of giving the impression that the marijuana industry has free reign in California.

Four U.S attorneys are currently prosecuting marijuana dispensaries accused of abusing the system by pocketing cash and drug trafficking. The feds say California is the country’s largest supplier of marijuana, according to npr.org, using state laws to conceal interstate drug trafficking. States that do not have laws allowing medicinal marijuana use receive pounds of marijuana that was grown legally in California and exported on the black market.

A dispensary in North Hollywood is accused of shipping up to 600 pounds of marijuana a month to the East Cost, according to The Sacramento Bee.

Federal prosecutors in Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego sent warning letters to property owners whose tenants are targeted medicinal marijuana growers and dispensaries threatening to seize their property if the operations were not closed within 45 days, according to The New York Times.

A lawyer for the medicinal marijuana industry told The New York Times that the federal crackdown is unfair.

“The government’s irrational policy has reached a breaking point,” said Kumin. “The federal government said it will not prosecute patients, and yet they want to shut off their supply. This doesn’t make sense.”

Recent suits have been filed by dispensary owners and other industry lobbyists against the federal prosecutors’ crackdown, according to The Washington Post, calling for restraining orders to be issued until after court proceedings.

Any institution, especially when opportunity for revenue is so great, has the potential to be taken advantage of. Until recently, many Californians were under the impression that the federal government would not intervene and were convinced of that when President Obama announced the federal government’s “hands-off” policy in 2009. But the industry boom has produced some swindlers that state law needs to prove it can regulate so that the feds will back off.

Although the system has been corrupted by some, it is still a legal system in the state of California, and now it is the responsibility of California to protect the industry that has brought them hundreds of millions of dollars in local and state taxes and provided thousands of jobs to the unemployed.