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413 lines
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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IS THIS AN UNTAMPERED FILE?
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This ASCII-file version of Imprimis, On Line was
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packaged by Applied Foresight, Inc. (AFI hereafter).
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Every AFI-packaged ASCII version of Imprimis is
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distributed in an "-AV protected" ZIP file format.
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"AV" is the authenticity verification feature provided
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to registered PKZIP users, which Applied Foresight,
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Inc., is. If you are using the MS-DOS PKUNZIP.EXE
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program written by PKWARE Inc. and do not see the "-AV"
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message after every file is unzipped AND receive the
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message "Authentic files Verified! # JAA646 ZIP
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Source: Applied Foresight Inc. (CIS 71510,1042)" when
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you unzip this file then do not trust it's integrity.
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If your version of PKUNZIP is not the PKWARE-authored
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program (for instance, you are running a non-MS-DOS
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version), then this message may not be displayed.
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Trust only genuine AFI-packaged archives ... anything
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else may be just that: ANYTHING ELSE.
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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Imprimis, On Line -- December 1992
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Imprimis, meaning "in the first place," is a free
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monthly publication of Hillsdale College (circulation
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360,000 worldwide). Hillsdale College is a liberal arts
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institution known for its defense of free market
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principles and Western culture and its nearly 150-year
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refusal to accept federal funds. Imprimis publishes
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lectures by such well-known figures as Ronald Reagan,
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Jeane Kirkpatrick, Tom Wolfe, Charlton Heston, and many
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more. Permission to reprint is hereby granted, provided
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credit is given to Hillsdale College. Copyright 1992.
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For more information on free print subscriptions or
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back issues, call 1-800-437-2268, or 1-517-439-1524,
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ext. 2319.
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------------------------------
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"Hillsdale College vs. the
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Federal Bureaucrats -- Again"
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by George Roche, President
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Hillsdale College
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------------------------------
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Volume 21, Number 12
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Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan 49242
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December 1992
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------------------------------
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Preview: What follows are excerpts from remarks
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President George Roche prepared for delivery to the
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Hillsdale College faculty and staff on August 22, 1992.
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We chose to share these remarks with our Imprimis
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readers because we believe that they reflect an
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attitude that stands in sharp contrast to what passes
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for "educational leadership" on other campuses.
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------------------------------
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A School with a Stubborn Streak
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From its humble beginnings, this small rural school had
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a stubborn streak that prompted it to champion
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principle over expediency. In Historic Hillsdale
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College, Professor Arlan Gilbert cites a State Board
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Visitor's report from October 14, 1882:
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"In these times when there are such inducements to
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surcharge the college curriculum with modern subjects,
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we think it very credible that this College [Hillsdale]
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should maintain its integrity with respect to the
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humanities. So far as we could observe, there prevailed
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in the College a sincere and well-directed effort to
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educate rather than instruct."
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It is hardly likely that a similar government
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report in the 1990s would compliment us for defending
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the traditional liberal arts. We would be assailed
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because we have not surcharged our curriculum with
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"modern" subjects and academic fads ranging from
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deconstructionism ("there is no objective truth, only
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different interpretations") to gender or race-based
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teaching (disguised as multiculturalism).
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Hillsdale has always been a conspicuous symbol of
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old-fashioned independence and is an institution that
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has never abandoned its history. But living up to our
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history becomes more difficult every day, for the
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"powers that be" place less and less value on
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independence. How different things would be if the
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government would credit Hillsdale College with the
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mandate in the State Board Visitor's 1882 report! But
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instead it has created a centralized bureaucracy
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intolerant of local rights and power and hostile toward
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individuals and institutions that prefer to be
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responsible for their own destinies.
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Wrongfully, America's colleges and universities
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encourage this bureaucracy. They eagerly compete for
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federal funds and seek an active partnership with
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government. But not at Hillsdale. We don't view
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government as a partner but as a threat to our very
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way of life. And in my 21 years as president, the
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threat has changed and grown yearly. I now think of it
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as the Greeks did Proteus: it changes shapes constantly
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and with each change it is uglier and more difficult to
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combat.
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The Financial Crisis in Higher Education
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At first glance, however, it looks like the threat is
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to other schools, rather than to us.
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Today, many institutions of higher learning are
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conducting their financial affairs only a step or two
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ahead of insolvency. Sixty percent of all public and
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private colleges were forced to cut their operating
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budgets in 1991-92--many in mid-year. It is not just
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small schools that are in serious financial trouble.
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Harvard had a $42 million deficit last year. Yale has
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deferred $1 billion in maintenance. The entire state
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university system in California has promised 17-33
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percent cuts across the board this year and Oregon's
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public colleges will have to slash 20 percent over the
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next several years.
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In the short term, this means increased student
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fees, postponed capital expenditures, increased class
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size, and hiring and salary freezes. In the long term,
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it means more dependence on tuition revenue, outdated
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facilities and equipment, smaller endowments, fewer
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programs and fewer courses.
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Approximately 20 percent of all schools have cut
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full-time faculty and are relying more and more on
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part-time instructors. In the past year, the Chronicle
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of Higher Education and the Wall Street Journal have
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documented the uncertainty and hardships on hundreds of
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campuses. Overall, America is spending more than ever
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before on higher education, yet her colleges and
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universities are experiencing an unprecedented budget
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crisis. Clearly this is an indication of a collapsing
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infrastructure.
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Exploding Federal Grants and Loans
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If Hillsdale College had not gotten its own financial
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house in order in the last two decades, we would be in
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similar trouble. At other pre-opening conferences
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around the country, I can guarantee that the mood is
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substantially different than it is here today. We have
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many blessings for which to give thanks.
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But before we become complacent, we must realize
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that we currently face one of the greatest problems
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ever to confront the school. It comes as a result of
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the Higher Education Amendments of 1992, passed as
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Public Law 102-325. For the past year, all signals
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seemed to indicate that President Bush would not sign
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the legislative package that covers all federal tuition
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assistance programs. He was urged by his education
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secretary not to sign. He publicly and repeatedly vowed
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that he would not, yet he did sign on July 23, 1992.
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As a consequence, a federal Pell Grant-- available
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to any student with financial need---increases from a
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maximum of $2,400 to $3,700 next year.* By 1997, Pell
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Grants will peak at $4,500. Of course, Hillsdale has
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been replacing Pell Grants and other federal grants and
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loans with private funds ever since 1985 when the
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Supreme Court ruled that such funds made colleges
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"recipient institutions" subject to total federal
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control.
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So why are we in danger?
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We aren't competing against other colleges for
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students--we are competing against the federal
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government. We are simply unable to replace all the
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federal grants and loans our students would have
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received on a dollar-for-dollar basis. The hard truth
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is that students are eligible for thousands of dollars
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more if only they will choose another school. The
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pressure not to attend Hillsdale is enormous, but
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students continue to choose us anyway, even if it means
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that they or their parents are forced to assume a
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heavy financial burden.
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In 1991, a student with what is termed a "full
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need factor" could have received some $8,650 from the
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government in Pell Grant, Perkins Loan and Supplemental
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Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) funds. At
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Hillsdale, by comparison, the same student received in
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private funds only $4,220. By 1997, a "full need
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factor" student will be eligible for $11,500 from just
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three government programs. Where will Hillsdale come up
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with the funds to compete?
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No matter how exceptional we are, we have to be
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concerned about being priced out of the market by
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skyrocketing federal assistance programs that literally
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force students to attend other schools. We have never
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been and will never become a school for a select few
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based on the ability to pay. But we aren't setting the
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rules of the game--the federal bureaucrats are.
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Beating the Bureaucrats at Their Own Game
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We have to beat them at their own game. We have been
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doing it for 148 years, after all, and we will keep on
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doing it, as long as we remain committed. There is a
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national leadership audience of thousands of heartland
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Americans who already support us in our efforts.
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Twenty years ago, the College's endowment was
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slightly under $3 million. The Freedom Fund launched in
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the late 1970s brought in over $30 million. In the late
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1980s, we began the FreedomQuest 150th anniversary
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campaign with its goal of $151 million. Many of you
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here took part in the extensive planning sessions that
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shaped the heart and working agenda of this campaign.
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It is your campaign meant to secure your future and the
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future of Hillsdale College.
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When we celebrate our 150th anniversary in 1994-
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95, we will be uniquely positioned in American higher
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education, and there will be many more chapters to come
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in Hillsdale's proud story.
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But I will warn once more about being too
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complacent. When we set the goals for the FreedomQuest
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campaign, we could not know that federal assistance
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programs were going to explode by 40-50 percent. And
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although the Higher Education Amendments are not due to
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take effect for another year, their impact is immediate
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since we are currently recruiting students for 1993-94.
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The Department of Education already has a total
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aid budget of more than $19.5 billion. Last year, it
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overspent its Pell Grant budget by $1.5 billion and
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there is every expectation that it will continue to
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exceed its authority. In 1986-87, 75 cents out of every
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dollar of need-based tuition assistance came from the
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federal government. That figure will increase
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dramatically next year, and as it does, our colleges
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and universities will become, in effect, incarcerated
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wards of the state. If you teach or work at such a
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school, you might as well request that your salary be
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paid directly by the U.S. Treasury. You work for the
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government.
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Hillsdale must become more competitive. We are
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already on the right track. Last year, 73 percent of
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Hillsdale's students received some sort of financial
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aid from private sources. Fifty-one percent of that aid
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was need-based while the other 49 percent was merit-
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based. The need-based funds come from the Hillsdale
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College Independence Grant and Loan Program. The
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average grade point of the 51 percent was 3.2 on a
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scale of 4.0. This not only reflects the sound quality
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of the students, but the strength of their belief in
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what the College has to offer them. Their appreciation
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is evident in the fact that our student loan program
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has a zero percent default rate.
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So much for the good news. The bad news is that
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changes affecting Guaranteed Student Loans (GSL), now
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known as Stafford Loans, are going to make it even
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harder for students to attend Hillsdale. The government
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is the ultimate guarantor, but these are still
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essentially private loans handled by commercial banks.
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In the political jockeying behind the Higher Education
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Amendments, a battle was mounted to remove Stafford
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Loans from the banks and place them under the direct
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control of federal government. Eventually, a compromise
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was reached in which students from 300-500 schools will
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receive direct aid.
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This "pilot" program, which nobody expects to
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remain limited very long, was agreed upon despite the
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fact that under the old system, default rates were in
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excess of 50 percent. This year, more than $2 billion
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Stafford Loans are in default. Direct aid will only
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make matters worse. It wipes out any remaining vestiges
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of institutional accountability and it will drive up
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tuitions and federal assistance even further.
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Long ago, Hillsdale anticipated that the
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government would seize control of this private loan
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program. So we included $10 million for the College's
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endowment in the FreedomQuest campaign to replace the
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funds involved. However, there is a more immediate
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concern. It would only take an administrative ruling
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within the Department of Education to determine right
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now that all Stafford Loans are really federal loans.
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Without warning, we would have to raise an extra
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$600,000 or more each year on top of everything we are
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struggling to raise already for scholarships, grants
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and loans--the hardest category of all for which to
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raise funds.
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Why Hillsdale's Future Looks Bright
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That is a very real threat. It will undoubtedly change
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and grow even more menacing. Still, we have the means
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to ensure a bright future. At the FreedomQuest
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campaign's outset, we established benchmarks of so many
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million dollars to be raised each year.
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Every year since 1987, we have exceeded those
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benchmarks. (You might be interested to know that our
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auditors, the nationally-known firm of Arthur Andersen,
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has told our board of trustees that it uses Hillsdale
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College as the financial model for its edu cation
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clients.)
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The more knowledgeable you are about the financial
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aid crisis in American higher education, the more you
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can appreciate Hillsdale's independent stance and the
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ways we can continue to defend it. We can remain
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competitive, too, with your help. Encourage prospective
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students to visit your classroom, keep current parents
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involved, attend admissions-sponsored open houses,
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participate in campus events. Most of all, remember
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that your classroom teaching and hands-on academic
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advising are what attract students to the College and
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keep them here.
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Students choose Hillsdale not only because of the
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high caliber of our faculty. They also choose us
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because we are different from other colleges. While
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other institutions exist merely to exist, we have a
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special mission and a special identity.
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Our mission is to kindle in the next generation a
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love and understanding of what Edmund Burke aptly
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called "the perma-nent things" and "the moral
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imagination." During its formative years, the College's
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founders defined education as the preservation,
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refinement and transmission of values. Its tools
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included reason, tradition, moral concern, and
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introspection. It was an undertaking that sought
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meaning in human life, justice in human affairs,
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dignity in human aspiration. That definition best
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describes Hillsdale College's mission then and now.
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As for our identity, it is rooted in our fierce
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and steadfast independence. It is not just a matter of
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our refusal to accept federal funds or federal control;
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we have always chosen to go our own way.
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A few years ago another government official
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reported his observations about the College--just like
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the State Board Visitor in 1882. He summed up our
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identity this way: "Hillsdale College is a beacon to
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all who labor for freedom." This visitor, whose name
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was Ronald Reagan, had cause to appreciate our
|
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|
|
identity. I hope that you do too.
|
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|
||
|
|
------------------------------
|
||
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|
|
||
|
|
Footnote: * Once more promising more than it can
|
||
|
|
deliver, Congress will not be able to budget more than
|
||
|
|
$2300-$2400 per student for now. Federal assistance
|
||
|
|
conforms to the laxest possible standards. Perkins
|
||
|
|
Loans can be obtained without an acceptable credit
|
||
|
|
rating_the same is true with the private/public
|
||
|
|
Stafford Loans. Even if an institution knows that an
|
||
|
|
individual has no intention of repaying, it is required
|
||
|
|
by law to certify the loan as long as the eligibility
|
||
|
|
requirements are met. And under the Higher Education
|
||
|
|
Amendments, a family's home and farm equity and college
|
||
|
|
savings accounts are removed from the asset column, so
|
||
|
|
more and more students are eligible for more and more
|
||
|
|
money that the government does not have but spends
|
||
|
|
anyway.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
------------------------------
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
George Roche has served as president of Hillsdale
|
||
|
|
College since 1971. "Firing Line," the "MacNeil-Lehrer
|
||
|
|
News Hour," the "Today Show," Newsweek, Time, Reader's
|
||
|
|
Digest, and the Wall Street Journal have chronicled his
|
||
|
|
efforts to keep the College free from federal
|
||
|
|
intrusion.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Formerly the presidentially-appointed chairman of
|
||
|
|
the National Council on Educational Research, the
|
||
|
|
director of seminars at the Foundation for Economic
|
||
|
|
Education, a professor of history at the Colorado
|
||
|
|
School of Mines, and a U.S. Marine, Dr. Roche is the
|
||
|
|
author of ten books, including five Conservative Book
|
||
|
|
Club selections. Among them are: America by the Throat:
|
||
|
|
The Stranglehold of Federal Bureaucracy (1985), A World
|
||
|
|
Without Heroes: The Modern Tragedy (1987), Going Home
|
||
|
|
(1986), and A Reason for Living (1989). His most recent
|
||
|
|
book is One by One: Preserving Freedom and Values in
|
||
|
|
Heartland America (1990).
|
||
|
|
###
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
|
||
|
|
End of this issue of Imprimis, On Line; Information
|
||
|
|
about the electronic publisher, Applied Foresight,
|
||
|
|
Inc., is in the file, IMPR_BY.TXT
|
||
|
|
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
|
||
|
|
|