The All State

» By CHRIS COPPEDGE – ccoppedge@my.apsu.edu

For some students, the HOPE Scholarship is something of a beacon, lighting the way towards funding classes, but that might change with the current proposal to slice the funding in half for students who don’t quite measure up.

“The HOPE Lottery Scholarship funding program is being reviewed,” said Financial Aid Supervisor Jennifer Ellis. Evidently, the expenditures of the program have been outpacing the annual net proceeds.

As such, a “Lottery Stabilization Task Force” has been assembled in order to create a better policy and help maintain expenses.

They have proposed a “recommendation package” that is expected to pass into law and be fully established by the 2015-16 academic year. The first recommendation would make certain only students attending a four-year institution who meet both the GPA and ACT criteria for the HOPE would get the full award.

Students who only meet one of the criteria will receive half of the award. The current amount offered per academic year for students at a four-year institution can be up to $4,000.

Other recommendations in the “package” include providing $10 million in funding to the Tennessee Student Assistance Award program when the scholarship changes are implemented, increasing the General Shortfall required reserve from $50 million to $100 million and requiring the Comptroller to study the effectiveness of the HOPE Scholarship changes.

Currently, the HOPE Scholarship’s traditional component requires an entering freshman to have a minimum 21 ACT or overall weighted GPA of 3.0. This extends to home school graduates as well as GED applicants.

Nontraditional students must be Tennessee residents, be enrolled at an eligible postsecondary institution and need to have completed a FAFSA form.

Students who received the full award for their first two years with only one criteria will continue to receive the full award in their third year.

The on-the-ground reactions seem surprisingly fair-minded. “I could see how it’s fair, because a lot of people only do one portion, yet get the whole reward,” said former student Joseph Sabinske.

Freshman Zach Scouten is of a similar mindset. “I did the bare minimum throughout high school, but I still put my best foot forward for the ACT,” Scouten said. “So how can you really judge who gets the full reward and who doesn’t?”

There is also a “HOPE Access Grant” for students at two-year institutions, according to the Tennessee State Board of Education’s website.

In order to receive this, students attending a four-year institution need an 18-20 score on the ACT and a 2.75 weighted GPA.

Supplements to the HOPE include the $1,500 Aspire Award, which students with a household income less than $36,000 can earn, or the General Assembly Merit of $1,000, which only students with a 3.75 GPA or 29 score on the ACT can receive.

For technical students, there is also the $2,000 Wilder-Naifeh Technical Skills Grant, which can go to any student who has enrolled in a TTC (Tennessee Technology Center), and can lead to eligibility for the HOPE within three years of completing a TTC program. TAS

» By MADELYN FOX- mfox9@my.apsu.edu

Papa John’s relationship with APSU just keeps getting better.

Not only did Papa John’s Pizza open a store in the APSU food court in the fall of 2010, but the pizzeria, also a corporate sponsor for APSU Athletics, is now offering APSU students, alumni, faculty and staff a 20 percent discount on all online orders.

Customers are merely required to enter the promo code APSU303 during their online checkout and will receive the discount on their order, 5 percent of which goes right back into the APSU Athletics department.

Steve Shaw, director of Corporate Relations at APSU, explained the 5 percent will go to a variety of different aspects of the athletics program at the discretion of Athletics Director David Loos.

This could take the form of anything from facilities upkeep and repair to academic resources for APSU athletes who are struggling with classes.

The inspiration for this discount reward program came from Papa John’s, who wanted to do something slightly different with their sponsorship this year.

As they entered into discussions with Shaw and the Office of University Advancement about continuing that sponsorship, they suggested the 20 percent discount as a more visible way of giving back to the students and 5 percent back to the Athletics program. The discount is intended to simultaneously strengthen their relationship with the general APSU community.

The 5 percent donation generated from the discounted sales is received as a monthly payback to APSU.

According to Sunny Restuccio, general manager at the Madison Street store, they have similar arrangements with several other Montgomery County Schools, all using the online ordering system to eliminate confusion and errors in computing.

Want a free pizza? Keep a lookout for Papa John’s representatives at upcoming athletic events where they will be handing out cards explaining their new points rewards program, which is already responsible for giving away around 400 free pizzas. Instituted in October, this particular deal lets customers earn points towards a free pizza while still receiving other student discounts on those orders.

Papa John’s has instituted several other programs designed to benefit APSU students, namely the $8 large 1-topping pizza deal, which is redeemable only at their Madison Street location with the online code APSU8.

Papa John’s is also one of the businesses featured on the StudyMasters discount card, offering a large 1-topping pizza for carryout at $6.99 and a large 1-topping pizza for delivery at $7.99.

The StudyMasters discount is redeemable at all four Clarksville locations.

More information on these and other daily specials can be found at www.facebook.com/papajohnspizzaMadisonSt.APSU. TAS

» associated press

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — A task force has been formed to look into the problem of suicides in Montgomery, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart counties.
The counties were selected because they’ve had more than their share of suicides when compared to the rest of the state, Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network Executive Director Scott Ridgeway told The Leaf-Chronicle.
Ridgeway said Cindy Johnson, who is the Community Education Director for the Behavioral Health Care Center at Clarksville, will lead the task force. He said Johnson has worked tirelessly against the problem since losing her son to suicide in 2009.
Ridgeway said Johnson was selected because he considered her “one of the best examples I know of someone turning their grief and pain into action.”
Since losing her son, Johnson has given several interviews, recorded public service announcements and worked with suicide survivor groups to combat the problem. She also wrote a book about her experience titled “Turning Tragedy into Hope — Becoming the Person You Never Even Imagined You Could Be.”
The decision to set up a task force targeting the region came after nearby Fort Campbell, which straddles the Tennessee-Kentucky state line, worked with the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network to bring down its suicide rate. TAS