COLLEGE OFFICIALS DELIVER"GETTYSBURG ADDRESS" ON STUDENT AID - July 16, 1985

Sep 28, 2026

College administrators delivered remarks during Gettysburg hearings focused on reauthorization of the 1965 Higher Education Act and the federal role in postsecondary student aid. Speakers argued the need for stability, consistency, and predictability, while debating how to balance federal loans and grants amid rising college costs. Officials cited consequences for students facing heavy debt and potential reductions in educational diversity, while others demanded efficiency, improved loan collection, and changes to Pell Grant administration.

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COLLEGE OFFICIALS DELIVER"GETTYSBURG ADDRESS"ON STUDENT AID

Reauthorization and student aid commitment

Balance of loans and grants

Hearing participants and concerns

ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUP SEIZES FLOOR OF NIH TO PROTEST PENN'S ANIMAL TESTS

Protest actions at NIH

Tapes of Penn laboratory tests and demands

University and NIH responses

CURRAN HEARING PUT OFF UNTIL AFTER SUMMER RECESS;HEARING ON FINN BYPASSED

Postponed humanities nominee review

# COLLEGE OFFICIALS DELIVER"GETTYSBURG ADDRESS"ON STUDENT AID Reauthorization’85 Tuesday,July 16,1985 GETTYSBURG,Pa.--College administrators came here yesterday from throughoutrural Pennsylvania and Maryland with their own Gettysburg Address:keep thefederal commitment to postsecondary student aid strong and unyielding. "If I were to leave you with only a single message today,I would want to em-phasize the need for more stability,consistency and predictability in the fed-eral government's role in support of higher education,"said Ronald Cowell,aDemocratic state representative in Pennsylvania. Cowell's remarks came during another in a seriesof field hearings held by the House PostsecondaryEducation Subcommittee in preparation for the re-authorization of the 1965 Higher Education Act. Yesterday's hearing,at Gettysburg College,attracted six members of Congress. The rolling hills of southeastern Pennsylvania and western Maryland have at-tracted thousands of students to the many institutions located here.And thosestudents are worried about the future. "Adequate financial aid is of paramount interest to our students to ensure…access to higher education,"said Kenneth Woodbury Jr.,president of HarrisburgArea Community College."Without continued federal financial aid to needy stu-dents many would forfeit their chances for higher education and continue inlower paying jobs returning less to the federal treasury over their 1fetime." W e Lney a suppuILeua CUuLuueu leuea pescein higher education,the administrators were not unanimous in their assessmentof how strong that role should be.Robert Iosue,president of York College ofPennsylvania,said institutions have not economized and have no right to go tothe federal government with their hands out. "We suffer from being overfed and filled with fear,and willing to sacrificeour self-reliance,"Iosue said。"We need to be financially efficient as ademonstration that we are a full partner with the family and the government inproviding a reasonably priced education to all our people." Other administrators,however,gave ideas for 1mproving the federal aid pro-grams as well as requests for additional funding,rather than self criticism.Among the suggestions:reauthorization of loan consolidation,improvment ofloan collection procedures and decentralization of Pell Grant administration. Perhaps the sentiments most often expressed by those testifying was the need to(more) July 16,1985 reestablish the balance between loans and grants.Because of the rapid in-creases in college costs,coupled with only modest hikes in federal grant aid,administrators said students at their institutions are forced into heavy debt. Joan Coley,Western Maryland College director of financial aid,said studentsat her institution have an average debt of $10,000 to $12,000 at graduation.Melvin Palmer,the school's vice president and dean of academic affairs,saidthe continued imbalance between loans and grants wil1 result in a decrease inpostsecondary educational diversity."We feel that the lack of student aidwill drive the needy one way and the well-to-do another way,"he explained. Rep.William Goodling,R-Pa.,in whose district the hearing was held,agreedthat the federal role in higher education funding is necessary. But he em-phasized that the federal government is facing a severe budget deficit."Wemust face the reality that federal resources are not 1imitless,"he said in hisopening remarks."Everyone must pitch in and do their part to reduce the de-ficit-equally across the board."--Bill Reinhard # ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUP SEIZES FLOOR OF NIH TO PROTEST PENN'S ANIMAL TESTS An animal rights group went a step further yesterday in its goal to shut down aUniversity of Pennsylvania laboratory when about 100 members occupied the eighthfloor of the National Institutes of Health,which sponsors the school's braintests on live animals. Members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals(PETA)en

FAQs

What was the main focus of the Gettysburg College hearing about student aid?

Speakers discussed reauthorizing the 1965 Higher Education Act and keeping the federal commitment to postsecondary student aid strong and predictable.

What issue did administrators raise about federal financial aid?

They emphasized restoring balance between loans and grants because rising college costs and modest grant increases were pushing students into heavy debt.

How did the animal rights protest at NIH relate to Penn’s laboratory tests?

A PETA group staged a sit-down protest after entering NIH, demanding that NIH officials view a videotape compiled from stolen Penn laboratory footage of live-animal tests.

Sep 28, 2026

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