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ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS BUILD CULTURAL TIES SOUTH OF THE BORDER...SEE STORY PAGE 5
PAi^AnO
February 18,1997
Volume 19 Number 19
MkLim "jm ^m"'imi['
Speaker addresses
UTSA's retention rate
By Robert Mikesh
News Editor
The spring semester president's speaker series kicked off Tuesday with a three day series of lectures aimed at addressing UTSA's freshmen reten¬ tion rates.
Dr. Vincent Tinto, professor of edu¬ cation and sociology at Syracuse —^ University, addressed members ofthe faculty, .staff and adminis¬ tration in a series of nine lectures over his three day visit.
Tinto has dedicated much of his career to studying education. "The last 20 years, I have been involved in studies of persistence in higher education, and my fo¬ cus has been on the sort of educa-      ' tion programs that institutions have used to address that question," said Tinto.
UTSA has a one year freshmen re¬ tention rate of 57 percent, according to Dr. Patricia Glenn, director of student development at the TomSs Rivera cen¬ ter for student advising.
Glenn deemed many freshmen as "academic casualties" and that a ma¬ jority of freshmen "crash and burn." She attributed these losses to UTSAs
"Institutions that are basically open enrollment, commuting institutions, have first year persistence rates that are not very different than yours." -Dr. Vincent Tinto
low admission standards, yet high aca¬ demic standards.
When asked about UTSA's reten-
Gary Wright/The Paisano
The MS computer iab recently underwent an upgrade with the removal of many older terminals and the addition of newer PCs.
UTSA blocked from IRC
By Cristina Balboa
Contributing Writer
On Feb. 5, complaints lodged against an uncooperative Lonestaruser on Intemet Relay Chat (IRC) prompted University of Texas at Austin server operators to ban UTSA's site from the popular chat medium. For the past two weeks, all Lonestar users have been denied access to IRC though the default server.
The university systems adminis¬ trator of Lonestar, Steve Kopas, ex¬ plained that "One person (who) broke the server rules" led to "everyone at UTSA" being banned.
Chris Blumentritt, a computer lab student employee, said that IRC rules are "vague," adding, "You don' t [want to] get the IRC operators mad."
Blumentritt went on to suggest an alternate route onto IRC, stating "A particular server must be identified after you type in your nickname. You can log onto any IRC server as long as you know the right server name (and specify it) when you are logging-on."
Lonestar users are among millions worldwide who engage in conversa¬ tion via IRC every day. On any given server there are hundreds of chat- rooms or channels that are titled and given topics by users to reflect the type of conversation that <:ai\ be had there.
The length or permanency of the University ofTexas ban has yet to be determined. Plans are being made to change the default server, which would once again make IRC accessible to all Lonestar users.
Lonestar system expanding
By Cristina Balboa
Contributing Writer
A recent message, posted on Lonestar accounts, announces the newly available I>OP3 and IMAP4 daemons which allow users to access their mail without logging-in. Via Eudora, Netscape or other web-brows¬ ers, Lonestar users can read and re¬ spond to mail in their UTS.A accounts.
Lonestar systems administrator, Steve Kopas, has been installing the server onto Lonestar over ttie past few days. Kopas said, "A POP3 server will give the student a lot better inter¬ face with Lonestar...than tlie menu system (does)."
Jim Kenna, computer user services assistant, explained that although the POP3 installation is incomplete, "part of it is functional." Kenna went on to sav. "Thev will be working on it
throughout the week, but eventually you'll be able to go in this route and do everything you normally would do on Lonestar."
Regular Lonestar user, Abel Tapiero, commented saying, "It re¬ ally makes it easier if you have your own iritemet provider at home. Now (>eople don't have to go through as much trouble to read their mail."
Lonestar accounts are available to all students, faculty and staff of UTSA, requiring only a student ID. Upon receiving an account, an in-depth handout is provided explaining Mow to start out, and what can be accessed via an account.
The services provided through Lonestar include electronic mail, ac¬ cess to UTSA and UT-Ajstin library catalogs, telnet, ftp, Usenet newsgroups, world-wide-web access and Intemet Relay Chat.	
tion rate, Tinto stated, "It is character¬ istic of institutions like [UTSA]." He added, "Institutions that are basically open enrollment, commuting institu¬ tions, have first year persistaiice rates that are not very different than yours. So even though it's high, it's not un¬ characteristic of institutions that have your characteristics." •a-       When asked about future trends for UTSA's retention rates, Tinto said, "It depends on the programs that the uni¬ versity puts in place for begin¬ ning students." Some universi¬ ties in settings like yours have been able to increase substan¬ tially their freshmen retention rate by addressing a variety of their needs through a range of
programs.
Continued on page 3
Gary Wright/The Paisano
Senior outfielder, Mark Perez, singles in Sunday's 11-1 route of the Praerie View A&M Panthers. The 'Runners outscored the Panthers 26-5 in 10 innings of baseball, making the Panthers vic¬ tims of the mercy rule in both games of the double-header. See related story, page 8.
President's education plan faces questions
By Charles Dervarlcs
College Press Service
President Clinton's new two-part approach to higher education spend¬ ing—a Pell Grant increase coupled with tax credits—is drawing a mixed re¬ sponse among both education advo¬ cates and Republicans in Congress.
Most express enthusiasm about the Pell Grant increase, which would raise the maximum grant for the neediest students from its current $2,700 to $3,000 next year. However, some fa¬ vor an even higher grant as an alterna¬ tive to tax components of the Clinton plan, which some argue would mainly benefit higher-income families at acost ofabout $35 billion.
The tax proposals "create a real dilemma," said Arnold Mitchem, ex¬ ecutive director ofthe National Coun¬
cil of Educational Opporiunity A.sso- ciations. He said college presidents "can't go lo parents" and criticize thc tax plan, even though it costs more than the annual discretionary budget ofthe U.S. Department of Educalion. The tax plan consists of two elc- ments — ¦¦
InlT^Vr" "fhis is the education age,'
HOPE Scholar- ^
ship to studenis and America must have an education budget right for the times."
-Richard Riley, Secretary of Education
who maintain a
B average and a
tax credit of up
to $10,000 to
offset the cost of
tuition. Families
could choose thc
scholarship or Ihc credit, which would
begin to phase out as family incomes
reach $75,000 annually.
HOPE Scholarships could last up to
two years, pari of thc president's goal to make a community college educa¬ tion within thc financial reach of all Americans. Students with HOPE Scholarships woukl remain eligible for other linimcial aid programs but would receive thc $1,500 maximum minus _,_,^^^_^„,_ other federal grants they re¬ ceive.
"Any in¬ vestment m edu¬ cation is good forthe country," Milchem said. However, "both tax plans arc ir- ¦"~'^^"^"^"^"'~"" relevant for a low-income student."
One alternative is to spend the equivalent of the tax credit on raising the maximum Pell Grant to as much as
$5,000 a year. Sen. Paul Wellstone (D- Minn.) introduced such legislation re¬ cently.
"It is frightening to imagine how expensive colleges would be without the Pell program, and how few lower- income families would be able to ob¬ tain diplomas," Wellstone said. A much higher Pell Grant would help the needi¬ est, unlike the tax plan, he said.
However, Wellstone's Pell Grant plan also would reach fewer siudents. About four million students may re¬ ceive Pell Grants next year, while at least eight million would benefit from the tax credits alone.
The tax plans also have met criti¬ cism from Republicans, who question how the federal govemment would enforce the B-average requirement of
Continued on page 3
Students not hopeful scholarships will pass
By Colleen DeBaise
College Press Service
In his State of the Union address, PresidentClinlon said his "No. I prior¬ ity" over the next four years i^ ensuring that Americans have the best educa¬ tion in the world.
The president proposed $51 billion in federal funding for education—a 20 percent increase over current spend¬ ing—and called for bipartisan support for his key education proposals.
"Education is one of the critical nalionai security issues forour future, and politics must stop at the classroom door,"   ^"'
"Education is one of the critical national security issues for our future and politics must stop at the classroom door." -President Bill Clinton
said.
Among his propos¬ als are a $10,000 tax deduction and a $1,500
tax credit or 	
¦'HOPE Scholarships" for college ex¬ penses. The president also reiterated his plan to fatten the Pell Grant from its current $2,700 to $3,000.
The education proposals are wrapped up in a package Clinton called his "Qall to Action for American Edu¬ cation." The package includes an ex¬ panded IRA that would allow tax-free withdrawals for education, and a G.I. Bill for Workers that would help pay for job training.
For the most part, college students said they were pleased with Clinton's education proposals, though few thought they would be implemented.
"I definitely support what he's do-, ing," said Hank Walther, an American University junior. "It seems like he'll have a lot of bipartisan support."
Even so, he's not sure the package would sail through a Republican-con¬ trolled Congress. "Il's a Clinton pro¬ posal, but it might not bc [Senate Ma¬ jority Leader] Trenl Lott's proposal," he said. "It might just get lost in thc politics somewhere."
Afler thc State of the Union ad¬ dress. Republicans expressed support forClinton's education goals but ques-- tioned their cost.
"It's hard to believe the President could talk about a balanced budget and a new entitlement program—for any¬ thing—with a straight face," said Lamar Alexander, former U.S. Secretary Of _____^____^____ Education under the Bush ad¬ ministra¬ tion.
The president's proposed
 ..       .1     lax breaks
would likely help middle-income students at the expense of poorer ones, and raise the cost of college for all .students, he said.
That thought is shared by Colin Campbell, a Princeton University jun¬ ior. "Everytime there's a government increase in student aid, there's going to be a proportional increase in univer¬ sity tuitions," he s lid.
Campbell characterized the $ 1,500 tax credit, or HOPE Scholarships, as a waste of government spending. The scholarships are designed to cover the cost of tuition at the average commu¬ nity college.
"I don't think community college is
Continued on page 3
President Clinton's 1998 Budget Highlights For Higher Education
  Tax Cuts and Deductions: A $10,000 tax deduction for the first two years of college or job training, limited to $10,000 per family, or a $1500 tax credit per student. The credit or deduction would be phased out for two-income families earning between $80,000 and $100,000. Tax-free withdrawals allowed for Individual Retirement Accounts for families earning up to $100,000.
  Grants: An increase in Pell grants from $2,700 a year to $3,000, starting in the 1998 school year. Families earning about $20,000 would qualify for a full Pell grant. Families earning as much as $45,000 a year would qualify for partial Pell grant funding. Some low-income, independent students would become newly eligible.
  Student Loans: A reduction in loan origination fees from 4 percent to 2 percent for need-based Stafford loans, and to 3 percent on other loans for students and parents. This would give students about $100 more a year on loans that top out at more than $5,000 for juniors and seniors. Tax incentives would encourage loan forgiveness for students who become teachers, work in homeless shelters or become doctors in rural areas.
Source: Dept. of Education
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Hayek in 'Fools Fiumm
v^E
V^- ..
Ill
Inside this
issue...
Features:
A&E:
Sports:
^ Photo Poll
,
UC student
breaks
encryption
code, pg. 5
Hayek, Perry no 'fools,' pg. 6
Baseball
sweeps
double-headei
pg-8
: students talk
about the
quality of education
at UTSA