The QC, Vol. 86, No. 24 • April 13, 2000

              TO     .                                .        ■•■,,.
■ How Diverse Are We?
Students discuss the multi-
faceted Diverse Identities Program, question how much diversity is enough and if we're there
yet.
■ Asian Night 2000
Students thronged to the Ruth B.
Shannon Center to see the
wonders of the Orient.
■ Fantasists Revenge
Chopped into a thousand pieces
for 60 years, the magical franchise rises again to dump sentimentality into the pop culture
well.
■ FOOTBALL??
After a disappointing 0-9 season
the Poets have hired four new
offensive coaches to boost
scoring in games.
WHITTIER
♦COLLEGE
April 13,2000
\ John.'(jnaikaf
'•- . 'Whittier
The Voice Of The Campus Since 1914
US
http://www.whittiep.edu/iic
Financial Aid Reminder Letters Sent to Students
Correspondence Issued at Unprecedented Early Date; Catherine Graham Attributes Success to Technology
■ FINANCIAL AID
by Amy Stice
QC News Editor
Financial aid reminder letters
were mailed to the permanent addresses of students on Wednesday, April 12. This is the first time
that these letters, which notify students of outstanding paperwork,
have been sent out before summer
vacation. Director of Student Financing Catherine Grahamclaims
that this is the first step towards
the distribution of award letters
before the traditional July 1 mail
date.
"It is quite possible that as a
result of this effort some students
may receive their 2000-2001 financial aid award before the
Spring Term is over," Graham
said.
Graham cites increased technology, specifically the web-based
Laureate processing program, as
the reason for the increased efficiency of the Office of Student
Financing. Whittier College is a
test site for the program, along
with the University of Southern
California and the University of
California at Los Angeles. According to Graham, the program
does the same job that used to
occupy a College employee full-
time. The elimination of excessive paperwork has allowed the
Office more time to prepare financial aid packages.
The reminder letters were
mailed to those students who did
not submit the basic financial aid
documents due March 2. In addition, 30% of those who applied
for financial aid were randomly
selected for Department of Education verification, a process in
which selected students must submit additional tax forms and a
verification worksheet. These students also received reminder letters.
Although the reminder let
ters were mailed at an unprecedented early date, the Office of
Student Financing cannot guarantee that award letters will be issued
earlier than in previous years, as it
is the Office's policy to mail these
in batches. Therefore, award letters cannot be mailed until all students requesting aid have submitted all necessary forms. About 600
students need to complete additional paperwork, including the 213
students randomly selected for
verification.
Furthermore, award letters cannot be distributed until tuition and
fees for the 2000-2001 academic
year are announced by the President's Office. There is no official
deadline for this announcement.
The financial aid process must
be completed yearly for all students who hope to receive any form
of aid. The Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is
processed by a federal processor
and the Aid Renewal Request Form
is processed by the Office of Stu
dent Financing. The application
goes through a series of checks,
including a social security check
to ensure that the applicant' s name,
social security number
and date of birth match,
a selective service
check for all men between the ages of 18
and 26, a check for previous drug convictions
and a background
check for any previous
defaults on student
loans. If any of these
checks alert the Office
of Student Financing of
anything suspicious, a
letter is sent to the student asking for verification.
Although Graham
is optimistic about the
efficiency ofthe Office
of Student Financing
and the progress of the
preparation of financial
aid packages, she stress
es that award letters cannot be
distributed until students return
all requested additional forms to
the Office.
Catherine Graham.
Redwood Renovations to be Completed by Summer
■ RENOVATIONS
by Valerie Vera
Asst. News Editor
Maintenance began renovations in Redwood Building in
March, home ofthe ASPECT program, to be completed by this summer.
The planned renovations include repainting Redwood, repairing the bathrooms, converting old
offices to classrooms, installing
news
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m QC Takes a
Vacation
Because of Spring Break,
the Quaker Campus will
not be published again
until Thursday, May 4.
The last issue of the year
will be published on
Thursday, May 11.
new carpet and blinds, doing electrical work, and organizing a new
computer center to replace the
current ASPECT computer center in Hoover Hall.
"Of course, it will be better. It
is a very old building, and we
want to work in a nice building,"
ASPECT student Martin Roca
said. Roca is from Spain and this
is his first year at Whittier.
Redwood housed the offices
of professors in the anthropology, political science, religious
studies, social work, and sociology departments, which are now
located in Platner. "Our faculty
has suffered for years. I figured
now that the faculty has a new
place, we want to give something
to our students so that they feel
that we're taking care of them
too," Interim Vice President of
Finance Hoang Hau said. Hau is
coordinating with ASPECT to
make the renovations in Redwood. The estimated cost of the
renovations are unavailable at this
time.
"We want the facilities to
make [ASPECT students] happy
and I would like it for them to feel
good about our campus," Hau
said. "In order to have an AS
PECT program we have sale
agents in charge of foreign programs. They go to other programs
and look at their facilities. If they
come and look at Redwood, we
want to make it look good." The
ASPECT program brings in revenue to the College. Hau feels that
it is beneficial for Whittier Col
lege to make ASPECT a program
that is attractive to prospective
foreign students so that the program can expand.
The goal is to make Redwood
a place where all ASPECT classes are held. "It's good for our
students. They used to have to
send them to Deihl or to the Sci
ence building and they felt like we
were sending them away. Now
they will feel part of ASPECT,"
Housing Coordinator Ilina Faru-
que said.
Faruque is also working on
having minor renovations done to
See RENOVATIONS, page 6
The Redwood Building, which houses the ASPECT program, is undergoing renovation.
ISSUE 24 • VOLUME 86