SA to help students voice educational concerns

By Matt Gronlund

The Student Association in conjunction with the United States Student Association is holding a letter writing campaign addressing the issue of National Service.

National Service is part of President Clinton’s proposed education program in which college students can waive their tuition costs in exchange for some type of community service after they graduate.

The letters will be presented by the USSA at a hearing on March 22 in Washington D.C. Secretary of Education Richard Riley and Director of National Service Eli Segal will be in attendance to listen to students’ concerns.

“The hearings are a really good idea because these people (Riley and Segal) are directly involved with Clinton,” said Maura Jandris, adviser of the student political education and action committee.

“They’re willing to listen to the students’ concerns and relay them back to the president, who will take them into consideration in the formulation of his policy.”

Students who want to express their concerns and write a letter must hand in their letters by 4:30 p.m. today in the SA office on the second floor of the Holmes Student Center.

“The SA is not necessarily for or against Bill Clinton’s policy, we are simply a vehicle to enable the student’s voice to be heard in Washington,” said Anna Bicanic, SA public relations adviser.

In other news, the SA is sponsoring a poetry contest to promote awareness and to allow students to express their concerns regarding multi-cultural issues.

Poems can be no longer than 250 words and must be submitted to the SA office by March 26. Registration forms can be picked up in the SA office.

Prizes will include gift certificates for merchandise and dinners at local DeKalb establishments.

“It (the contest) encourages students to think about multi-cultural issues, and it is an incentive because of the recognition they get from writing poetry and receiving prizes,” Bicanic said.

“We all need to sit down and think about people that are different from us and our opinions, whether they be negative or positive and strive to understand and accept other ethnic groups.”