May 13, 2005 - Glebe Report

2
GCI NEWSLETTER Glebe
6E1 students get into publishing
BY IAN HOBSON
My Grade 12 Communication Technology class at Glebe Collegiate published a school newsletter in April. All of the students submitted articles for
publication. The students then had the opportunity to do sample layouts of stories written by their peers and so, many different samples of the newsletter were
produced. One of the samples was chosen by a class vote for reproduction and circulation at Glebe Collegiate.
Below are three items developed by the students. Say "Doh" to Uni Tuition, written by Yu Fei Huang and Ann Dinh, considers the real cost of university;
It Works!!! a restaurant review by Jamie Kronick and Cody Elliot and, finally, Curriculum? More Like Curricusuck. In this article students Aman Singh,
Graham Barr and Connor Wilson lament the loss of Grade 13. The Grade 12s would like to thank the Glebe Report's Editor Elaine Marlin for visiting our class
and offering great advice.
Other articles included:
'Gang CultureAbdul Farhan
.8/3 Women's DayThanh Mac
Candy Store a Mountain of Fun!Lindsay Anderson, Dana Anderson-Croteau
Youth Drowning in...Beer AdsDavid Brousseau, Tor Potter, Scott Roberts
Phys-Ed vs. ObesitySarah Weitzman, Jackie Lafontaine
40 or NotIan White, Theo-Jo Garcia-De Vries
Standardized Tezting iz Bad 4 are EdumacationAlex Bissell
DietsLe Giang
SAY "DOH"
TO UNI TUITION
BY ANN DINH
& YU FEI HUANG
Lisa Simpson's average is A+ + +,
which translates to 100%. She was
mentored by late 077man Bleeding
Gums Murphy. She won the regional
Reading Digest contest; served a brief
term as Little Miss Springfield; co-
invented the Lisa Lionheart doll; allstar
goalie in pee-wee hockey;
discovered Jebediah Springfield was a
pirate; helped Mr. Burns recover his
fortune; passed second grade as the
first female cadet at Rommelwood
Military Academy; became mayor of
Springfield and is doing a better job
than her adult counterpart...and the
list goes on.
The chance of her not getting into
the country's top universities is as slim
as Homer going on a no-fat diet. Her
worries about paying for the tuition
are non-existent.
What is wrong with this pic-ture?!
Lisa Simpson is a cartoon! !!
She lives in a town called Springfield
where stresses and worries disappear
at the end of each episode.
The average student is not Lisa
Simpson and Springfield is not real.
They do not stay eight years old
forever. Us mortals all grow up and
the freedom of growing up comes
with a huge price. Putting aside feeling
stressed-out from work overload and
worries about getting into a first
choice, students are also burdened
with the worries about paying for
their tuition and if they're going away.
Lucky Lisa Simpson, her stress
ends with every episode.
If Lisa Simpson were the real one
preparing to go to university, she
would go bonkers, literally. The average
students today find themselves
juggling between endless piles of
homework and assignments,
part-
time jobs, volunteering, trying ta become
the perfect student.
Lisa Simpson says, "Look at
the facts!"
Fact: The average student entering
university has no clue on how much
their tuition will actually be.
Fact: The average university tuition
has been increasing drastically.
Fact: Tuition is at an all-time high of
an average of $5,678 for a full-time
school year and that price is
considered mediocre compared to
international students; they pay almost
double the amount.
Staying at home? There will be the
cost of tuition and the additional cost
of books, which is about $900 ta
$1,200. That is $6,578 ta $6,878 for
a year. In fodtyears, the total would
add up to $26,3 I to $27,512.
Going away? On top of the costs of
tuition and books, students must also
think about the cost of living in
residence and the meal plans, which
add up ta about $7,651. Students will
find themselves spending about
$1,000 on things such as
transportation, entertainment and
other extra costs. In a year, that will be
about $14,229 ta $14,529; in four
years, the total university experience
will cost about $57,000 to $60,000
for students going away.
Unless their parents are rich or
they live in Springfield, senior students
find themselves carrying a heavy debt
load.
Like something Lisa would say:
OFFBEAT takes New York!
Photo: Fred Daly
GCI's stomp group, OFFBEAT, came back victorious from a recent
competition in New York city with high marks: 98%, 99 %, 99%, the gold
medal and a trophy. The above photo shows the group outside Columbia
University just after its performance at the Heritage Festival.
"With every problem cames a
solution." Luckily for students they
have various ways ta clean up the
financial messes. Solutions include
scholarships, bursaries and loans.
Teachers, governments and schools
encourage students ta apply for things
such as scholarships and bursaries, but
they're not for everyone. Unless that
student has outstanding marks, great
school involvement and extracurricular
participation, then the
scholarships available are very
minimal. Students who get involved
have to juggle their time, which might
cause marks ta suffer; without
outstanding marks, a student can not
be qualified for certain scholarships.
It's a vicious cycle.
The scholarships remaining are
targeted towards minority student
groups, such as students who are
differently able, have special needs or
belong to a particular organization.
That leaves the average student out in
the cold.
But of course, there are also the
bursaries. However, they are mostly
for students with financial needs.
What about students whose parents
are well-off but refuse to pay their
tuition? These students will be faced
with huge financial problems as well.
For the students whO feel that
scholarships and bursaries are not for
them, there are also the choices of
getting students loans such as Ontario
Student Assistant Program or bank
loans. Depending on the
circumstances, loans may vary from
$7,000 to $40,000.
Research conducted in Economic
CLA4U have shown that students
who graduate with an average debt
load of $25,000 are slower in starting
a family, buying a house, etc., because
the strain from the debt is too much.
This reason makes the OSAP route
undesirable.
But of course, students can always
go with the part-time job route.
According ta statistics, a student who
works part-time can earn up ta 73 per
cent of the tuition money, but the
percentage varies depending on the
student's wage and hours. However,
the biggest problem that teachers
have been noticing with students who
Report May 13, 2005 38
Illustration: Yu Fei Huang
work part-time is that they don't have
time ta do school work and marks
suffer.
These solutions may seem like
problems more than solutions, but
the key is ta weigh all the costs with
the benefits, or think of strategies ta
pay for the university tuition. A
strategy that students can use is to get
an OSAP loan whire working a parttime
job; the money earned should
be saved up and paid in a lump sum
for the loan. That way the debt won't
be sa immensely huge and students
can get rid of some of the debt once
they graduate.
However, students should not let
these financial problems scare them
away, because "money isn't
everything," said Ms. Simpson.
University gives young adults the
opportunity ta be independent, gain
life experiences and make new
friends. Putting aside the financial part,
going ta university is one of those lifealtering
experiences, in a good way.
Students should make the best of
their time in university and even go
crazy once in a while. Hey, Lisa did
(who can forget the episode with her
running around like a savage?) and
she is still as perfect as ever.
"We love you Lisa Simpson!
You're one heck of a role model!
(for an eight year old...)."
NEW DELHI
Indian Cuisine
683 Bank at Clemow
Weekdays Lunch Buffet $8.95
Dinner Specials!
Four Course Meal for Two
(starting from $35.95)
Free Parking on Our Lot
RESERVATIONS: 237-4041