The Chronicle, Vol. LXIII, Issue 4

              Page 4 The Chronicle • November 5 1997
Campus Ministry Pians Trip To Staten Isiand
B y : R enee I sgro
Assistant Editor
SAINT ROSE - In January, a group of 10
Saint Rose students along with three faculty
advisors will spend five days working with the
homeless, hungr>, and HIV infected people of
New York City through aprogram cal led Project
Hospitality.
“it (the trip) is something that has been life-changing
(for the volunteers). Their sense of
poverty and homelessness is different after­ward,”
said Joan Horgan, staff advisor for the
trip.
Project Hospitality is an interfaith organiza­tion
set up in refurbished, tbrmerly run down,
buildings on Staten Island. There arc only 150
people employed by Project Hospitality, so the
organization relics heavily on volunteers, such
as the students from Saint Rose.
According to sources, the operation began in
1982 with one person handing out sandwiches
in the Staten Island ferry terminal. This person
realized that there was no one to refer the
homeless to, that there was no place for them to
go-
Fifteen years later. Project Hospitality offers
a multitude of services. The program has two
shelters for homeless adults, two soup kitchens,
several programs tor HIV infected homeless
and low income citizens, and afamily shelter
for 46 women and their children. Mothers
and children usually stay at the shelter about
nine months.
I I*
r .
■imk t ■
A student enjoying last year’s trip to Washington, D.C. File photo
Accoding to Horgan, it is very sobering to
“see children, and recognize the face of
poverty.”
The Saint Rose students will be guaran­teed
an intense experience by working di­rectly
with tho.se who they will be helping.
They will work everyday from 9:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. with the mothers and children in
the shelter, passing out meals in the soup
kitchens, and al.sovisitingthe homesof those
who are HIV infected.
The students will meet with faculty advi­sors
as a group each evening to discuss what
they have experienced that day and anything
that they may find disturbing. Since
homelessness can be .such a difficult thing to
understand, the issues of race and money
often come up in evening discussion.
Horgan said that theexperienceisaltering,
expecially to see how pervasive the problem
is in the larger cities.
“To see so much (poverty), you get a more
varied sense of what makes people home­less,”
said Horgan.
Campus Ministry also takes a group of
students to Washington, D.C. over Spring
Break to work with a program called So
Others May Eat (SOME). SOME was started
by a Catholic priest and the .soup kitchen
feeds approximatly 1,100 people a day.
In Washington, D.C. the inequality of
financial status is particularly hard to swal­low.
People are lined up outside for food at
7:00a.m.,before it isevenlightout,and there
are often limosines seen on the same streets.
Horgan said that they students are usually
mo.st impressed with the respect that the
workers show the homeless. In fact, many of
the workers are formerly homeless and they
all refer to the people who frequent this
e.stablishment as “guests.”
‘The humility of the operation is striking
in both places. The workers deal with the
guests with a firmness, but a respect,” .said
Horgan.
Horgan said that in pa.st years, the student
volunteers have been a very diverse group.
Last year, there were students of four differ­ent
religons in the group of 10 who went to
Staten Island. Horgan also said that it is the
general consensus of the students to want to
volunteer again.
“The students that we’ve brought seem to
be continually energized,” said Horgan.
The trip to Staten Island will take place
January 4-9. Anyone who is interested in
volunteering should contact Joan Horgan in
the Hubbard Interfaith Sanctuary at x5296.
The trip is funded slightly differently this
year, as money has been provided by a few
private donors, .so the cost for students will
be about $60. Students will also be able to
sight-see while in either city.
Students: Beware Of Scholarship Scams!
B y : E llen D evane
Staff Writer
SEATTLE- The FTC (Federal Trade
Commission) has issued a warning to
college students concerning scams that
are run by companies intending to o f ­fer
“ s c h o la r s h ip a s s i s t a n c e ” . Joe
Lipinsky, an Attorney with the FTC
says “ these companies have fleeced
tens of millions of dollars a year from
college students by enticing students
to pay money for rudimentary and
minimal services.”
In an effort to combat this growing
business, the FTC has actively pur ­sued
these companies, bringing suit
against eight companies in the last
year. The FTC also announced the
settlement of fraud charges brought
against two Seattle, Washington-based
companies as a result of misrepresen­tations
made guaranteeing financial
aid. As part of the settlement, Progres­sive
Media, Inc. and Collegiate Com­munications
Group, Inc., agreed to pay
$288,000 into a pool from which par­tial
refunds will be made to students
who suffered losses as a result of the
fraud.
The FTC is quick to point out, how­ever,
that many similar fraud schemes
are still in operation and warn stu­dents
to be cautious. The FTC cites six
warning signs of scholarship scams:
1. ^Thescholarship is guaranteed
or your money back.** No one can
guarantee that they’ll get you a grant
or scholarship. Refund guarantees of ­ten
have conditions or strings attached.
Get refund policies in writing—be­fore
you pay.
2. **You can’t get this information
anywhere else.” There are many free
lists of scholarships. Check with your
school or library before you decide to
pay someone to do the work for you.
3. “May 1 have your credit card o r
bank account number to hold this
scholarship?” Don’t give out your
credit card or bank account number on
the phone without getting information
in writing first. It may be set-up for an
unauthorized withdrawal.
4. ‘‘We’ll do all the work.” Don’t
be fooled. The re ’s no way around it.
You must apply for scholarships and
grants yourself.
5. “ The scholarship will cost some
money.” Don’t pay anyone who claims
to be “ holding” a .scholarship or grant
for you. Free money should not cost a
thing.
6.“You have been selected” by a
national foundation’ to receive a .schol­arship,
or “ You are a tlnalist” in a
contest you never entered. Before you
send money to apply for a scholarship,
check it out. Make sure the foundation
or program is legitimate.
The FTC advises that students inter­ested
in obtaining financial aid for
college check with their col lege ’s f i­nancial
aid office or visit their local
library for f ree information about
available scholarships and grants.
Inspite of repeated e fforts to discuss
these scams with a representative of
Saint Rose’s Financial Aid Office, no
one was available for comment.
FREE T-SHIRT
+$1000
Credit Card fundraisers for
fraternities, sororities & groups.
Any campus organization can
raise up to $1000 by earning a
whopping $5.00A^ISA application.
Call 1-800-932-0528 ext 65.
Qualified callers receive
FREE T-SHIRT.