University of Virginia Library

Student Financial Binds
Eased By Honor Loans

When student bank accounts get
low, traffic to the Rotunda picks
up.

The traffic flow and the state of
the bank accounts are directly
related, since the Rotunda is
headquarters for the Ivey F. Lewis
Honor Loan Fund representative.

Twice a week, students seek out
the desk of Elizabeth B. Hoskins to
exchange friendly banter and plea
their cases for help.

Depending on the nature of
their financial needs, they may

borrow up to $25, all interest free,
to meet their emergencies. In
return, they sign an honor pledge to
repay the sum as soon as they are
able.

"We don't give loans except for
legitimate school expenses," Mrs.
Hoskins said, "and we don't like to
lend money for fines or traffic
accidents."

Most of the loans help tide
students over until late checks
arrive from home or scholarship
funds, she said. But in her three
years of working with the loan
fund, she has had pleas for money
for everything from textbooks to
Thanksgiving dinner.

"I'll never forget that young law
student who wanted money to buy
turkey and trimmings. His in-laws
were paying their first visit, and the
budget wouldn't quite stretch to
cover a Thanksgiving dinner for
four," Mrs. Hoskins said.

Arm in a sling and eye blackened
by a recent fall on icy
sidewalks, Mrs. Hoskins peered at a
crowded ledger, showing that 312
loans, totaling $5,791, were disbursed
by the fund during the last
school year.

"There are very few men who
fail to pay us back," she said.

"It's an honor loan, and students
treat it as such."

"It does take a few longer than
others to reimburse us, however,"
Mrs. Hoskins said. "Last spring we
received a check to cover the $25 a
student had borrowed 16 years ago.
Added to it was $24 to cover his
self-imposed charge of six percent
interest per year.

"We often receive gifts such as
this one from students who have
borrowed money and want to show
their appreciation," Mrs. Hoskins
said.

The fund is administered by
Raymond C. Bice, associate dean of
the College of Arts and Sciences,
and is maintained through gifts and
the interest on a modest investment.

"In the 16 years that I have
administered the Ivey F. Lewis
Honor Loan Fund," Mr. Bice said,
"I have learned that the students of
the University are truly worthy of
the trust we place in them."

The honor loan fund got its start
30 years ago with the success of a
student's sandwich sales to fellow
students. He was making so much
money from his peers that they
prevailed upon him to share some
of his profits. The result was the
honor loan fund.