Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Columbarium construction well underway
Students often joke that they never want to leave college. Construction of a columbarium, underway on campus might provide the opportunity for former students, faculty and staff to fulfill those wishes.
The columbarium, being built on the hillside below the Library, offers a memorial wall with niches in which to inter the ashes of those who have opted for cremation. Use of the columbarium will generally be reserved for alumni, full-time degree-seeking students, faculty and staff, trustees, and retirees.
“The Muskingum campus is a place that many alumni call ‘home,’” explained Carson Walburn, vice president for institutional advancement at Muskingum. “The Muskingum University Columbarium provides a final resting place for those alumni.”
The word “columbarium” comes from the Latin word, “columbary,” the dwelling place of a dove, which Christians believe is the symbol of the Holy Spirit.
The structure is being built of sandstone, granite, and brick and features a wall, about five feet high, composed of individual niches that can accommodate up to two urns. Each niche will be engraved with the individuals’ names. The area around the columbarium will offer space for reflection and meditation.
In addition to Muskingum, a handful of universities and colleges have followed the practice of churches in offering columbaria. The University of Richmond, University of Virginia, The Citadel, Notre Dame University, Hendrix College, Centre College, and Chapman University have built columbaria.
A niche at Muskingum can be purchased at any time. The current purchase price of a full niche is $4,000 and a partial niche is $2,000. Muskingum University owns the property and assumes the responsibility of perpetual care for the columbarium. For more information, contact Muskingum’s Office of Institutional Advancement at 740-826-8130.
Socialism: What Does That Really Mean?
What’s in a word?
A few professors asked me to consider a story on the definition and usage of the word “socialism.” If you have any access to the world outside Muskingum College, you might know the word is being thrown around using various definitions.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, Fourth Edition, “socialism” is:
- Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy.
- The stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between capitalism and communism, in which collective ownership of the economy under the dictatorship of the proletariat has not yet been successfully achieved.
Obama and his massive spending plans that have, in part, purchased shares of stock in companies like AIG, have aided the fire in terms of worry and fear of a socialist society.
It’s an interesting topic. Hopefully we’ll have a story on it next week. Until then, what is your definition of “socialism?” How do you feel about the ways the word is being used?
Students Can’t Put Off Loan Repayment Anymore
Enjoy not having to make payments on your student loan? Don’t get used to it, because starting tomorrow that will no longer be the case for students borrowing from Sallie Mae, the bank most of us evidently borrow from.
From the story in Saturday’s Dispatch:
The company, formally known as SLM Corp., is replacing its signature loan with a shorter-term version that requires students to make interest payments while in school. For many families, the move is expected to push private loans out of reach in an already-tight credit market.
The upside is that the cost of a private student loan will be cut by about 40 percent, said Jack Hewes, chief lending officer for Sallie Mae, which is based Reston, Va.
Families also would repay loans between five years and 15 years, compared with the previous 15 years to 30 years. Despite the shorter term, Sallie Mae says the monthly bills upon graduation wouldn’t rise dramatically.
This is because the interest payments students make while in school would avoid negative amortization, where the loan balance grows because of deferred interest.
The loans will be available for the 2009-10 school year.
As an example of how the loans will work, Sallie Mae paints the scenario of a student who wants to borrow $17,000 over two years.
For the first semester of freshman year, the student would pay $40 a month. That figure would rise each semester, reaching $160 by the second semester of sophomore year. The $160 monthly payments would continue until graduation.
Once out of school, the student would owe only the principal of $17,000.
This would be paid off over the next six years at $328 a month. Under the previous setup, the student would have repaid the money over 15 years at $250 a month.
The new requirement will lower the total cost of the loan to $28,000, compared with the previous $45,000.
At a time when President Obama has promised to make college more affordable and Governor Strickland is pushing his education plan, this comes at quite a hit. This will most definately have an impact on some students’ decision to go to or remain in college.
Tri-Valley Super Comments on School Waivers
Governor Ted Strickland’s education plan implementing all-day kindergarten isn’t without its loopholes. Waivers can allow districts to opt-out, allowing them to dodge Strickland’s key requirements, an article in today’s Columbus Dispatch explains.
Under Strickland’s plan, the Tri-Valley Local School District, in Muskingum County, would get no increase in funding over the next two years — despite being required to make changes that would require more classrooms and more teachers and thus much more spending. Tri-Valley Superintendent Mark Neal commented in the Dispatch’s front page story:
“I see waivers not only as a way to continue not to fully fund the cost of a high-quality education, but also as a tool to further exacerbate the disparity between low-wealth and high-wealth school districts,” said Mark Neal, superintendent of Tri-Valley Local Schools in Muskingum County.
“Basically, the model acknowledges what an adequate education should look like and then provides a way for those who cannot afford it to opt out.”
But at the same time, Neal said, he’d be grateful for waivers. Tri-Valley would receive no additional state aid during the next two years under the governor’s plan and would not have the money for the additional teachers and classroom space required under the proposal, he said.
How frequently waivers would be granted and under what circumstances has yet to be determined, according to the Dispatch.