The QC, Vol. 86, No. 03 • September 23, 1999

              WHITTIER
uaker
September 23,1999
ampus
COLL
■ Review
Ex-Riddler
Frank Gorshim
delights Shannon Center with
saucy humor.
E G   E^
^r        ^*  M.
\ *      .    .''   '
SPORTS
■ Football receives
severe drubbing
Poet football was
destroyed 45-0 in
their first league |
game, Sat. Sept.
18.
V.
The Voice Of The Campus Since 1914
V  John Greenleaf
OPINION    TOPIC
How Is the Relationship Between Students and Administrative Offices
Students discuss the pros and cons
of dealing with offices ranging from
financial aid to the registrar.
CAMP  UjS
Where
ale
is it? V
Due to an inexplicable computer
crash, the product of hours of toil
were instantly whisked into the electronic netherworld. Keep your toes
crossed for next week.
Graham Denies Allegations of Delays in Financial Aid
■ ADMIHISTRATION
by Sean Jernigan
QCAsst. News Editor
Director of Student Finances Catherine
Graham denied student allegations on Tuesday, Sept. 21, which suggest that the Office
of Student Financing has not processed
their requests for aid in a timely fashion.
According to Dean's List student, rising
sophomore Ryan Collard, her decision not
to return to Whittier was made because she
did not have a financial aid package in late
August when she began classes at the University of New Mexico (U.N.M.) by default.
"Over the course of four weeks I called
and asked for my package and they kept
saying it would be here in about a week,"
Collard said. "I told them I needed it so I
could decide. Eventually I just asked for
my scholarships so I could see if I could
afford it, but they never called me back."
After putting in a call to Director of
Admissions Urmi Kar, Collard received
her package. However, she had already
started at the University of New Mexico.
When asked to comment on allegations
that late financial aid packages dissuade
students from returning to Whittier, Graham cited statistics on the institutional performance of her office over the last year.
The office received over 3,000 requests
for aid packages and made over 1,500 offers to returning and newly accepted students. Graham cited that less than 3% ofthe
total packages are still outstanding, totaling less than 50. Of these students, most are
upperclassmen.
"We've got some lazy juniors and seniors that know the system and know they
don't have to have an aid package to register for classes," Graham said.
According to Graham, the Office of
Student Financing delivered aid packages
on July 1st to almost all students who
completed their paperwork by the March
2nd deadline. Graham pointed out that her
office had reduced the paper work students
need to fill out by eliminating the student
profile, and by being one of only a handful
of schools selected for the Laureate program, which allows students to apply for
their loans on-line. These factors came
together to get students' funding sooner for
the first time in Whittier's history.
"We dumped over a million dollars into
students accounts during the first week of
classes. That's the first time that's happened
in this institution's history," Graham said.
Graham also attributes the Office's success to their aggressive campaign in late
winter to inform students about the financial aid process. In the cases of those students that did not meet the March 2nd
deadline, Graham's office sent out three
letters over the summer to every student
with an outstanding package and called
everyone on August 4th.
Graham articulated the Office's role as
of facilitating the financial needs of the
student, and distanced herself from the
registration process. Her goal forthe Office
is to streamline the financial aid process for
Catherine Graham.
students and their families.
"Financial Aid is not a mechanism of
registration—it is a way to assist families in
paying their educational expenses," she said.
Many students still cite the Office of
Student Financing as presenting an obstacle to attending Whittier.
"I turned in my paper work in February,
See ADMINISTRATION Page 5
Department of Education Will
Share $50,000 Technology Grant
Weingart Halt Hosts
Open House
■GRANTS
by Steve Alvarado
QCAsst. News Editor
The Education and Child Development program at Whittier
College, which runs the Broadoaks
children school, is sharing a
$50,000 teaching and technology
grant from AT&T with McKen-
dree College and Berry College.
The College will receive a total of
$ 16,3 80 from that grant to implement hardware and software needed for the program.
The AT&T Foundation for In
dependent Higher Education's
Learning Network Teaching and
Technology grantwill create anelec-
tronic link between the three institutions that will be used to improve
teacher training and the use of technology in elementary school classrooms, according to Professor of
Education Kathleen Ralph.
"[The] grant will improve the'
way we assess the technological
skills of teachers in training,"
Ralph said. "The focus of the
grant is to work on developing a
model in evaluating and prepar-
Kathleen Ralph.
ing the competence level of future
teachers in the uses of technology
in the classrooms as well as their
professional life."
Whittier College, as well as
McKendree and Berry, was chosen for its diversity and setting.
McKendree College is in Leba-
non, 11., a suburb of St. Louis.
Berry College is in Mount Berry,
a rural Appalachian region of
Georgia.
Students in the public and private schools associated with each
ofthe colleges will be introduced
to the learning power of technology by becoming electronic pen
pals with one another via e-mail.
Teachers will improve their technological skills via e-mail, the
World Wide Web, trouble shooting, curriculum portfolio development using software programs
and evaluating the software programs for the classroom.
There will be 24 teachers participating in the program, which
will consist of eight faculty members of the College, eight Broadoaks professors and eight other
teachers ofthe Norwalk, La Mirada and El Rancho School District
of Pico Rivera. Also, 16 students
enrolled at Broadoaks and the
Berry College elementary school
will take part in the student learning development portion of the
program.
Ralph feels that the AT&T
grant program will be beneficial
to the education department. "In
some schools, a child's use of
technology surpasses the knowledge of the teacher," Ralph said.
"We want teachers to be on the
forefront."
'AAAm^AA-     ,to    .        • A      ... ■     .
The Office of Admission and OffK
intersection f- jlthat
it was "scing
Catherine Graham believes that the move io the
Weing ;amsaid,
"It's wonderful that we have private offices so that
personal and individual counseling can take place."
ISSUE 3 • VOLUME 86