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State Senate Passes Conflicting Bills Providing Student Scholarships
 
 
 
 
 
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State Senate Passes Conflicting Bills
Providing Student Scholarships

By SANDY DIVINE
and BUCK COLE

Two conflicting bills to
provide aid to students
attending college in Virginia
have been passed by the state
Senate and are headed for a
court test.

The Senate last week
overwhelmingly passed one
bill authored by Sen. William
F. Stone (D-Martinsville). The
Stone bill does not take the
student's financial need into
consideration and is aimed
primarily at students attending
private colleges. The House will
consider it today.

The Virginia Supreme Court
declared unconstitutional a
similar bill introduced by Sen.
Stone in 1972 because of a
provision that allowed the state
to waive loan repayment if the
student maintained a
satisfactory grade point
average. The court ruled that
this made the loan a grant.

The current version of Sen.
Stone's bill allows for the loan
to be repaid by service in the
armed services, working for the
government or residing in the
state after graduation.

The other bill introduced by
Sen. Paul W. Manns
(D-Caroline) to provide aid to
students based on need was
passed Tuesday by the Senate
and House. This proposal has
the backing of the Council of
Presidents of the State
Institutions of Higher
Learning, chaired by VPI
President T. Marshall Hahn.

Sen. Manns' bill includes the
council's recommendations
made to the state legislature on
Jan. 5. They hold that aid
should be available to students
enrolled in any state college
whether it is public or private
and should be restricted to
Virginia residents on the basis
of "demonstrated financial
need."

"Such a program would
benefit those Virginians
enrolling in private institutions
and would doubtless enlarge
the number of students
attending those institutions,"
the Council stated.

"Students taking advantage
of this plan should not
have any limitations placed on
them as to the opportunities
they might wish to pursue

following the completion of
their education," the council
said.

The college presidents also
oppose Sen. Stone's bill
because it lacks "the necessary
budgetary and administrative
controls now existing for
public institutions for proper
accountability of the use of
such public funds."

According to Edwin M.
Crawford, Vice President for
Public Affairs, the conflicting
bills will be passed by the
House and then taken to the
Virginia Supreme Court to test
their constitutionality.