4 ~?~q,4d .O4Va aec~4s and cd4emeone (0 (et APRIL 1, 1993 TheVoiceoftheStudents ofHoidaA&MUniversity-Tallahassee,Fla lo. 11 Local restaurant cited for discriminatinbCOup By Varonika Brown within two months, Soul Evans said. in town, had 26 African-American FAMUAN Staff Writer The owners will also give COUP employees, 25 of whom were cooks. It salary information and a notorized copy also had 72 white employees, eight of Charging Buffalo's Original Wings of the racial make-up of the company. whom worked in the bact: and Rings restaurants with discriminatory He believes that restaurant's change The salary information COUP employment practices, a local civil rights of heart is due to media attention and collected reveals that waitresses earn $8- group has asked the restaurant to hire COUP's promise to do "whatever 10 per hour, bartenders, $7 per hour, more African-Americans for managerial possible, non-violently" to ensure that cooks, $4.75 per hour and managers positions. Buffalo's met their terms. $300-500)per week. After initially refuting the charges, Soul Evans said COUP's terms were COUP decided to investigate after the restaurant, which is popular among based on survey results and taped "recognizing that there was a color line students, agreed Monday to comply with testimonies of Buffalo's employees. in the restaurant that supported the demands made by the Coalition Opposed The survey was conducted recently in saying 'white is all right in the front but to the Unity of Prejudice. the restaurant with the management's black is in the back, way back,'" Soul "In the beginning, Buffalo's was consent. Evans said. aggressive and disputed fihe existence of Questions on the survey ranged from COUP's objectives regarding racial segregation, but ... agreed to neet restaurant, refused to comment further on how long the employee had been with discriminatory practices is to "abolish the the demands," said COUP president Soul conversations with COUP. Buffalo's to how many minorities held color line in Tallahassee and see that Evans. Buffalo's has agreed to hire six high-paid positions at the restauranL. Katrina Gary, spokesperson for the African-Americans for visible positions Buffalo's, which has three locations See COUP, page 2 Loan payback increasingly difficult frsue its FAMU students worry about responsibility By Empish J. Thomas FAMUAN Staff Writer Finding a job after graduating with a bachelor's degree is not Diana Strickland's only worry. The 26-year-old Florida A&M University engineering technology student, who is graduating this term, is also wordied about how she is going to pay back her student loans. "It is my responsibility and I will repay it," Strickland said, adding she took out loans totaling $8,000 and has repaid $1,200 of itso far. "I had to get loans because, after two years of school, I was declined other '''........''''''~'''' '' ''"''' ''''~' ''' ~'"''''' ~~''"''1'' ''"~'I ......~'''..... 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''''~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'~~~~~''' ''~' ~'~''''' ''' ~~''' ''''' ~'~" '~~' '''' '' ~~''' ''''''''''''' '''''' ''''~~~~~~ ' ''' '''''~ ~~~~' ~' ' '''' ' '' '~ ~''''' ' ''~ ''''''''''''''' '''''''''"'' ' ~' ~ ~~~'''''' ''' ''''' ~' ' ' ' ' ' '' ' '' ' ' ' ' types of financial aid," she said. She said the federal government refused to give her aid after former President Ronald Reagan last decade cut the amount of financial aid given nationwide. Jude Eugene faces a problem similar to Strickland's. Though the 24-year-old FAMU graduate student needs to make payments on his loans he cannot afford to do so. "As a student I am not making much College Press Service Economics and Statistics. rate. of a salary," he said. "1 can't make the The Stafford program was created to That's an important point, Seaks payments right now." Eugene and Strickland are not alone in GREENSBORO, N. C. - provide loans to students who otherwise said, because the U. S. Department of Graduation is a key factor in the might be unable to afford a college Education announced earlier this year that their worries and their fears are fairly well repayment of college loans, according to education. However, students who the 558 institutions could face the loss of a study that recommended universities borrow the money and later refuse to pay all or some of their eligibility for the aid According to Tom Lockridge, a develop stronger programs to encourage back their loans account for about 20 program because they had default rites of collections supervisor at the Florida students to complete their education. percent of the total costs of the Stafford page 2 Graduation lowers the probability of loan program. See PAYBACK, page 2 See STUDENTS, default by 10 percentage points, "With Stafford default claims according to Terry Seaks, an economics reaching $2 billion per year in 1990, and professor at the University of North with over $10.6 billion in cumulative Carolina at Greensboro and co-author of defaulted loans, it is important that the study. policy makers understand the factors that The study tracked 1,834 students at influence student loan default," said the two- and four-year colleges and study, conducted by Setks and Laura universities in Pennsylvania who had Greene Knapp, assistant director for borrowed money from the Stafford policy analysis at The College Board. Student Loan Program, known prior to Aside from making stronger efforts 1988 as the Guaranteed Student Loan to prevent students from dropping out, Program. The study's findings were the study also showed that there is little reported in November's Review of universities can do to reduce the default 2 The Famuan/April 1,1993 According to Soul Evans, Buffalo's STUDENTS COUP said the absence of minorities in visible Continued from page 1 Continued from page 1 and managerial positions was because market is competitive," Strickland said. businesses with large black clientele hire they lack the needed skills. Department of Education's Office of Graduates with loans have a grace blacks. However, within the past two Student Financial Assistance, 30 percent period, called a deferment, of six months The organization was formed last weeks, Buffalo's has found' three of the FAMU students who took out after graduation to start repaying the year and aims to fight prejudice, African-Americans to fill the void, Soul loans last year are currently in default. money they borrowed, said Saundra inge, homophobia and sexism in Tallahassee. Evans said. lie said 8,725 FAMU students took the associate director for student financial It frequently works with other civil rights It is our suspicion that they were out loans totaling about $42.5 million aid at FAMU. groups in the capital city. there all along,' he said. from 1992 to January. 2,618 who have If the students are having difficulty Charles Evans, president of the There are five other Tallahassee already graduated, have yet to repay and repaying their loans they can request Tallahassee branch of the NAACP, said restaurants that COUP has targeted but owe a total of about $5.5 million. forbearance. Forbearance is a further while the COUP is investigating the Soul Evans declined to divulge the Lockridge said he does not know if deferment of payment on the loan employment practices of area restaurants, names. the other students who took out loans are amount or the interest on it. Students the NAACP is looking into the racial He added Buffalo's compliance is a still in school. have to work out a forbearance agreement make-up of retail stores such as Dillard's "green light" for COUP to pursue Others, however, say most students with lenders. and Gayfers. investigations into other restaurants. arc very cooperative in repaying loans. Alton Royal, the director of FAMU's Most people are honest and try to financial aid office, said his office is not PAYBACK college because of financial problems. said Cheryl if they can't find work or lack pay back their loans," responsible for collecting loan Continued from page 1 And, Rageth, customer service specialist for repayments. He said the financial aid required job skills, the government is ENIPAC Service Corp. "Students are office only processes the loans and keeps 55 percent or higher, or had failed to unlikely to collect the money, regardless willing to repay their loans and will records on the students, including lower default rates of 40 percent or more of how much it is owed. sometimes work out a payment plan." addresses and phone numbers. from the previous year. College students who are most Rageth's company does the paperwork for Inge said lenders usually grant The study