High Net Worth
Wealthy in talent, women's volleyball team is poised for another deep run in the NCAA Tournament /16
DM TROJAN
Student newspaper of the University of Southern California
THURSDAY
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August 29,2002
Of interest...
If baseball players continue to cry foul over fair play, they can look for replacement fans / 4
News Digest	2	Roundup	3
Opinions	4	Lifestyle	7
The Buzz	7	Classifieds	12
Crossword	13	Sports	16
vol. CXLVII, no. 4 www.dailytrojan.com
College savings plans fluctuate with economy
By JAKE BAKKILA
Contributing Writer
Last September’s terrorist attacks on America rapidly turned a stable economy into a cluster of nervous investors and devastated businesses. Despite federal aid, the attacks accelerated an already present unemployment trend. Almost overnight, many families found their economic outlook bleak and uncertain, raising the question: How could these struggling households afford to pay for college?
Financially supporting four years of post-secondary education has always been a problem for most students. However, with the U.S.
Department of Education reporting a 10 percent increase in financial aid applications from 2000 to 2001, times appear to be more difficult than ever before.
Not all colleges have faced a dramatic increase in financial aid requests, however.
USC’s financial aid office has seen a marked increase in students asking for re-evaluation of their previous quoted need, often citing “special circumstances” such as unexpected unemployment and devalued family savings, said Catherine Thomas, director of Financial Aid. In almost all cases, applicants have only their family’s total finances on which to rely rather than a college-only saving plan.
“Families with specific college saving plans are few and far between," Thomas said.
Unfortunately, the weakened economy has damaged college saving plans as well. Among these plans is the 529, a saving schedule designed specifically for post-sec-ondary education and offered and operated by the applicant’s state of residence.
Each state has its own 529, and although all are tax-free and advertised as relatively conservative investments, some have been much more successful than others. The value of many 529 plans has dropped in the current bear market, with Detnews.com reporting a 21 percent decrease in the value of Utah’s all-stock savings plan for the last quarter of 2001.
However, the 529 has been a help to some, such as Rahul Maini, a freshman majoring in electrical engineer-
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"Families with specific college savings plans are few and far between.'
CATHERINE THOMAS director Financial Aid
Parking shortages persist
Transportation: i4s spaces become harder to find, campus officials commission studies to research possible locations
By ALISON SHACKELFORD
Contributing Writer
Student demand for campus parking continues to rise, but spaces and finances for new structures are limited.
“I’ve been here since 1996, and it seems like every year it gets worse,” law student Jon Liljeblad said. “We need a new parking lot.”
Building a new parking structure
on the University Park Campus is “an option Transportation Services is looking into,” said Brian d’Autremont, director of Transportation Services. Though little information is available now, d'Autremont expects to know more in about a month.
“We're doing a lot of studies, and we have outside engineering firms looking into possible locations,” he said.
It costs about $18,000 per space to build a parking structure regardless of where it is built. Underground parking is $41,000 per space on average, d’Autremont said.
The money to pay for a new lot all comes from parking fees.
Last year, there was a net gain of about 400 parking spaces when spots were added to the roof of the Parking Center. This year has seen a net loss of about 300 spaces, most of which disappeared when new academic buildings were constructed over old parking spaces. Transportation I see Parking, page 6 I
Spaces
It takes about $18,000 per space to build a parking structure no matter its location. Underground parking costs about $41,000 per space.
Getting in check
Mike Fanous I Daily Trojan
Checkmate. Daniel Laurene, president of the USC Chess Club, battles it out with Srindhar Ramanujam at the Involvement Fair. Representatives of organizations talked with students at the fair to help them become more involved on campus.
New site connects students to mental health information
Online: Ulifeline.org seeks to provide evaluations, articles and advice about depression to accommodate college needs
By REBECCA TEGAN
Contributing Writer
USC is planning to make a Web site that provides information about mental health available to students, said Dr. Bradford King, director of Student Counseling Services.
Ulifeline.org is an online service targeting college students with questions about issues ranging from suicide to sex to even nutrition. It is an offshoot of the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit organization started in 2000 by Philip and Donna Satow
after their son, Jed, committed suicide in 1998 in his sophomore year at the University of Arizona.
“I see UIifeline.org as a tool to expand the safety net to catch kids who need help,” Satow said. "If I can really save kids’ lives, it’s much more meaningful to me than being a businessman.”
Logging onto Ulifeline.org allows students in participating universities access to their university's health center Web site as well as a variety of informative programs from colleges across the country. To log on, students
click on their university and epter their ID number and access code.
The Web site is a “great place where students can find answers to problems regarding depression, family issues, substance and sexual abuse,” said Rebekah Smart, a clinical staff psychologist at the Student Health Center.
Services available include a “Self e-Valuator” from Duke University’s Medical Center in which students answer a series of yes-or-no questions addressing concerns they might have about depression and suicide. Students can also take this quiz if they are concerned about a friend.
“If 1 had someone I was worried I see Web, page 3 I
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Assistance. Ulifeline.org offers mental health help to college students.