Maroon

              The Maroon ESTABLISHED 1923 VOL. 76 NO. 3 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1997 Loyola University New Orleans Privacy violated by old policy By ELIZABETH STUART Staff writer A complaint filed by Martin Welles, fourth-year law student, has prompted the Bursar's Office to change its policy of requiring students to disclose their social security numbers and amounts of their financial aid refunds in order to pick up their refund check. Welles complained to Student Finance when he was forced to sign a list with his name, social security number and refund amount when he went to collect his check Sept. 4. "They're holding the check ransom, coercing the students to sign if they want their check," Welles said. "It's not just about me. It's about all the unsuspecting students who are unwillingly giving up their right to privacy," he said. Welles went to Jay Calamia, associate vice president of Financial Affairs, and the same day, the Bursar's Office had Welles sign a separate piece of paper to accommodate him. Calamia consulted with the university's lawyers, and they said the Bursar's Office did not divulge private information and did not violate Welles' privacy rights. The list Welles refused to sign is used to confirm which students pick up their checks, Calamia said. No changes to the current process were needed, Calamia said, but he has changed the form based on Welles' concern. Now, students have to print their names, sign their signatures and give the dates and check numbers on the list. No identification is required to obtain the check. Welles did not want to impart his information because many other students would have access to it when they signed the list. He said signing the list violated his rights according to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act passed in 1974. The FERPA permits universities to give out only "directory information," which includes students' names, addresses, telephone numbers and majors. Sherry Lee Alexander, assistant communications professor, talked to Welles and has concerns about his complaint. She said publicized social security numbers "have the potential for abuse by others who see them." "Hie reason why I am concerned is for privacy concerns," she said. "With computers, anyone can have access to another's life with their social security Two out of three college students own a CREDIT CARD. Oftentimes abuse leads to high DEBT and students must PAY off their creditors. CHARGE! By STEPHEN STUART Life & Times Editor The first weeks of school bring a rush of new freshmen, lines in the bookstore and another September tradition: credit card companies. Tables in the Danna Center become recruiting stations with application forms and free offers for signing up, including the ever-popular T-shirts. Credit card applications and pamphlets appear in bookstore bags and on bulletin boards. Offers pop up in students' mailboxes and continue throughout the year. Students nationwide have increasingly responded to the companies' marketing efforts in recent years. Now nearly two-thirds of college students own credit cards, according to a June 9 article in U.S. News C6 World Report. Universities have raised concerns about whether the companies meet a strong market demand and provide a means to build a good credit history or entice students with good offers that beat the competition but open the door to large debts. CONSUMER CREDIT TIPS Answers to frequently asked qusetions about credit cards. Q: What is the difference between annual fees and annual percentage rates? Why should I care? A: You should pick a credit card with the lowest available APR if you will probably carry a balance on the card. But if you are likely to pay the full balance on your card each month, you should pick a credit card without an annual fee. The APR doesn't matter if you don't have a balance. Q: What is credit life insurance, and do I need it? A: Credit life insurance pays your unpaid balance in the event of your debt Few people need it since the cost usually outweigh the benefits. O: How long will negative information stay in my credit file? A: Seven years. Source: Personal Finance, Houghton Mifflin Company 1997 Schools like Tufts University and Boston College have prohibited oncampus sales by credit card representatives, according to a Nov. 8, 1996 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. At Loyola, the Danna Center Advisory Board has made changes over By SARAH BARNETT Credit cards have become an increasingly popular method of payment for college students both at Loyola around the nation. Loyola has taken steps to limit the number of companies promoting cards on campus. Escrow back in budget By MICHAEL GIUSTI News Editor For the second consecutive year Loyola overestimated the number of students expected to attend classes, leading to approximately $1.2 million to be set aside into an escrow account. "Escrow will definitely be implemented," Eckholdt said. "The discussion going on among the vice presidents and Fr. Knoth is the size of the escrow." An escrow account sets money aside in the university's budget because sufficient revenue has not been collected to balance the budget. Each department is required to set aside money from its budget to make up for this deficiency in the master budget. The amount of money put into escrow will not be determined until the final retention numbers are calculated next week. "We don't know the retention numbers yet. We don't know if we have improved on that rate," he said. "The original thinking back in April and May of this year is that the escrow will approximate a millionone or a million-two," Eckholdt said. "That number will be shaken down and finalized between now and the end of September." According to Eckholdt, the amount of money placed in escrow is directly proportional to enrollment. Although this year's freshman class is the biggest since 1988, Eckholdt said other factors caused the amount of students at Loyola to come up short, one of which is the retention of upperclassmen. "Preliminary indications are it is questionable how much we have improved it (retention)," Eckholdt said. The second factor in deciding how much money to put into escrow, Eckholdt said, is law school enrollment. "The law school was budgeted at 710t0715 full time students.That is a significant revenue factor," Eckholdt said. "We are trying to determine the enrollment right not. It doesn't appear that the 715 will be achieved." See CREDIT, Pg. 5 Tribal Traditions fgfgfgfd ikK-ifT3Peace'Man 8 Observations in the facets of Loyola life. fWT- Pg. 11