Debt Burden on Students Reaches Record High by Jordan Lockwood Al Income, Down from the Original Beginning in Jan

Friday, November 4, 2011• Volume 97, Issue 15 • nique.net T-Pain Takeover Read a fresh take on the popular performer's pipes at Homecoming.413 TechniqueThe South’s Liveliest College Newspaper Debt burden on students reaches record high By Jordan Lockwood al income, down from the original beginning in Jan. Additionally, Average debt per student at graduation, 6% Contributing Writer 15 percent. Congress originally anyone who takes out a student 30 intended for the measure to go loan next year will be eligible to in thousands of dollars [bar] In the wake of President into effect in 2014. Obama has cap loan repayments. 25 Unemployment percent of graduates Obama’s announcement last week hastened the changes, announc- Tech students are not exempt 5% regarding new initiatives intended ing that he intends to institute the from feeling the financial strain with bachelor degrees, aged to ease the burden of student debt, changes beginning in 2012. that is now common across many 25 and up [line] the issue of rising student loan The second way the measure college campuses. 20 debt has gained significant atten- is intended to assist in alleviat- “[The Financial Aid Office is] 4% tion in the national arena. ing debt is by forgiving remaining experiencing an increase in office The plan proposed by Obama student loan debt after 20 years visits, phone calls and emails from 15 is a two-pronged expansion of instead of the original 25 years. students, often seeking assistance 3% an existing program, the Federal The new proposal, coined as with completing the applica- Family Education Loan Program. the “Pay as You Go” plan, would tion process and/or addressing a 10 One way Obama’s plan is in- allow students to cap their debt change in their own or their fam- tended to help debt-challenged repayment beginning in January, ily’s financial situation,” said Jen- 2% college students is by accelerating potentially affecting as many as nifer Mullins, Associate Director 5 a loan-repayment plan, originally 1.6 million borrowers. of Counseling and Outreach for approved by Congress in 2010, An approximate six million the Financial Aid Office. that is income based. The plan recent graduates will be able to The number of students ap- 1% cuts student loan repayment to consolidate certain federal loans 1996 2000 2004 2008 2010 See Debt, page 2 ten percent of discretionary annu- under reduced interest rates, also Infographic by Basheer Tome / Student Publications HOMECOMING 2011 Mundie Tzegaegbe, Blumer named Mr. & Ms. GT discusses ‘Big Data’ and IT By Aakash Arun Contributing Writer On Oct. 27, Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer of Microsoft Corporation held a presentation on the topic “Converging Worlds: The New Era in Computing” that fo- cused on how new technologies can be utilized to solve some of the world’s most complex chal- lenges. Mundie discussed the fundamental transfor- mation in how humans interact with computers, the merging of the physical and digital worlds and the capabilities of the present era of computing powered by insights from “Big Data” and more natural user interfaces. He also talked about the reliance of science, engineering and all related fields on the ad- vancement of information technology. He held demonstrations on the ability to use information to gain insight from very large amounts of data available to people. According to Mundie, the existence of “Big Data” is a result of the evolution of science and engineering over time that has led to increase in storage and computational capabilities that al- Photo by John Nakano / Student Publications lows users to attain data through observation. He provided an example of an Excel spread- sheet that serves as a repository without any limitations to size and the amount of data col- lected. These capabilities are called data markets and large datasets can be put into these “cloud” facilities. They represent a place where computer systems that are bigger than what governments have built in the past are now accessible to ev- eryone. Mundie explained how Microsoft has fo- cused on building facilities that allow users to attain more information and help people per- form tasks without numerical information. He provided an example of medical research activi- ties where 3D models of torsos made it clear to laypeople where organs of the body were situated and allowed professionals to highlight Photo by Sho Kitamura / Student Publications certain organs with problems and manipulate Students celebrated Homecoming Week 2011 by taking part them by examining them individually or in con- in Tech traditions including the Mini-500 (L), Wreck Parade and text. Mundie discussed the convergence of the the Freshman Cake Race. During half time of the homecoming physical and virtual world by explaining how football game, Jacob Tzegaebe and Elizabeth Blumer were it is not difficult for people to make the transi- named Mr. and Ms. Georgia Tech, respectively (T). Students, tion from the physical to the virtual world us- alumni and faculty celebrated a landmark 31-17 victory against ing devices that they normally use like the cell Clemson by rushing the field at the end of the game (R). Photo by John Nakano / Student Publications See Microsoft, page 5 2 • November 4, 2011 • Technique NEWS Debt from page 1 help out. With HOPE gutted, the The Institute for Access and Institute should go further to aid Success’s Project on Student Debt Technique plying for aid has steadily risen in those who need the help.” found that, while average debt The South’s Liveliest College Newspaper recent years. Obama’s debt forgiveness plan is about $24,000, ten percent “From the fall of 2008 to pres- has not been popular among all of undergraduates have loans of Founded in 1911, the Technique is the student newspaper of the ent we have seen an 18 percent students, however. $40,000 or more. The problem is Georgia Institute of Technology, and is an official publication of the increase [in applicants],” Mullins “While [student loan for- then exacerbated by the fact that Georgia Tech Board of Student Publications. The Technique publishes said. giveness] sounds like a fabulous unemployment rates are still ex- on Fridays weekly during the fall and spring and biweekly during the Students have varying views on idea, this will go to even further tremely high. governmental and even Institute- our financial crisis,” said Andrés “It’s certainly discouraging to summer. level involvement in addressing Celedón, Chairman of the Tech know that there’s a relentless five- Advertising: Information and rate cards can be found online at the debt issue. The proposed for- College Republicans and a third- figure monster eagerly waiting to nique.net/ads. The deadline for reserving ad space is Friday at 5 p.m. giveness of student debt after 20 year PUBP major. “If we were to wreak havoc upon you once you one week before publication. To place a reservation, for billing infor- years is particularly contentious. say that we no longer have to pay graduate,” said Shyan Zarrabi, a mation, or for any other questions please e-mail us at [email protected]. “I’m all for debt forgiveness. [our debts], the financial institu- second-year PUBP major. You may reach us by telephone at (404) 894-2830, Monday through I think student debt ties young tions that handed out the loans The Office of Financial Aid- of Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. adults down and is an anchor on would soon go bankrupt and we fers financial counseling for stu- CoverAge requests: Requests for coverage and tips should be their futures,” said John Knoch, could very well see another 2008 dents grappling with these com- submitted to the Editor-in-Chief and/or the relevant section editor. President of the College Demo- meltdown occurring.” plicated issues, and encourages crats of Georgia and a fourth-year As the average cost of loans has students to seek assistance. offiCe: editor-in-Chief: HTS major. “The costs of tuition steadily risen in recent years, the “If borrowing is necessary, we 353 Ferst Dr., Room 137 Vijai Narayanan have skyrocketed over the past average number of students taking focus on how to borrow wisely,” Atlanta, GA 30332-0290 [email protected] generation, wildly beyond the lev- out those loans has risen propor- Mullins said. “The most impor- Telephone: (404) 894-2830 Telephone: (404) 894-2831 el of inflation over the same peri- tionately. According to the Col- tant guidance that we can give is Fax: (404) 894-1650 od. While this is a systemic prob- lege Board, approximately two- options exist, but opportunities lem, I think that Tech could use thirds of graduates with bachelor are often missed through procras- more of substantial endowment to degress have student loans. tination.” news editor: Emily Cardin / [email protected] opinions editor: Chris Russell / [email protected] foCus editor: Siddharth Gurnani / [email protected] POLL OF THE WEEK entertAinment editor: Hank Whitson / [email protected] Approximately how much student debt do sports editor: Alex Sohani / [email protected] Next issue’s you have? 15% question: follow us online: Over $15,000 http://nique.net 4% What is your Twitter: @the_nique 81% Between $5,000 and Under $10,000. favorite genre of Copyright © 2011, Vijai Narayanan, Editor-in-Chief, and by the Georgia $5,000 Tech Board of Student Publications. No part of this paper may be reproduced music? in any manner without written permission from the Editor-in-Chief or from the Board of Student Publications. The ideas expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Board of Tell us at Student Publications, the students, staff, or faculty of the Georgia Institute of nique.net Technology or the University System of Georgia.

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