European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 27, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday May 27,1991 the stars and stripes a. Page 9? education boy s Mountain of knowledge pays off v Washington a David Stillman a 14-year-old Idaho boy with glasses and braces relied on hours of study and at least one educated guess to win the National geography Bee. After 40 minutes of the arcane and unpronounceable it came Down to one question a what Type of land form is commonly associated with Orographic precipitation a a a Mountain was David a answer and it on him a $25,000 College scholarship. Carlos de la Fuente whose wide Grin and confident manner in the presence of to cameras made him an audience favorite guessed a brain  the 11-year-old from Chandler Ariz went Down to. Defeat. He got a $15,000 scholarship and said head be Back next year seated beneath the Seal of the National geographic society the 10 finalists All boys showed such knowledge of maps geology history and religion that some adults in the Audi once were unashamed to shrug in Igno Ranee at the questions. John Taylor a sixth grader at Mem with Hill elementary Middle school in England was the department of do sense dependents schools representative he was not among the finalists. Taylor 11, has attended the me with Hill school since kindergarten. His Mother Anne Taylor is a teacher there a Stillman now the Pride of Nezperce a town of about 500 in Western Idaho won the top prize in his second attempt in two years he said that on occasion he resorted to guessing. For some of these questions though All the guessing in the world  have done any Good. Try this one a olduvai Gorge in Africa is part of a fault system where scientists have found a great number of hominid fossils. Name this fault  if you answered a East Africa rift system a a then you might also have read enough books to know what a karst is. The answer a the term for the Type of Topography characterized by sinkholes caverns and underground  Here a another one a according to the theory of Continental Drift during the mesozoic Era the supercontinent Pangaea became two landmasses. The Southern landmass is called Gondwanaland. What name is Given to the Northern landmass a its Lauresia. The Bee was part show Biz. Host Alex Trebek of tvs a jeopardy a Fame found himself in a Battle of wits with artillery one rarely finds on a commercial game show. He had Bis pronunciation corrected and had to counter complaints about name cards and flashing lights. At one Point he found himself having a huge Bow and Arrow pointed at him to illustrate a question he was Reading about the fierce Yano Mami people of South America. The National geographic society which started the Bee three years ago estimated that 5 million students in fourth through eighth grades took part in the initial round at 38,000 schools in january and february. A \ j-1. A a. ,. A rms  a. A a a a a  May 9 i a jew up or i maw  nov rec thousand exact n. Riggs \ a s map David Stillman raises the $25,000 Check he won at the National geography  speller ready to enter the big time by Jimi Jones education writer it was the night before the adventure and while his mom packed his Luggage National spelling Bee contestant Jeff Sellers did some final preparation of his own a a a a a. A c a. A a the s just come Down the Steps with his list of words in his hand a said Louise Sellers on Friday night a the lives with  Jeff who on March 16 became the Winner in the ninth annual european spelling Bee spent the final few hours saturday studying before leaving for the Scripps Howard National spelling Bee in Washington. Jeff and his father senior master sgt. David Sellers a communications technician with the nato airborne warning and control system at Geilenkirche Germany left on a bight from Brussels Belgium. Jeff took a three week. Sellers break after winning the 199.1 Competition in i Heidelberg run by the european. Congress of american parents t eachers and  since then in be been studying pretty hard a said the 13-year-old from a cent High school in the Netherlands a a in a  i do Well,  National spelling Bee now in its 64th year involved 9 million pupils this year. A a. A a the finals were to begin monday with More than 200 pupils participating a i think i have prepared All that 1 can and what happens happens a he said. Jeffs All expense paid trip to Washington is sponsored by the stars and stripes lie and his dad were excited about the Opportunity to visit Washington. A. A �,.��  a. A a a a a a a a a neither of us have been there be lore d avid Sellers said Friday. A a we re also looking Forward to the sightseeing.  is excited about another Competition. Although he is a Little nervous lie thrives on Competition.  three rounds will be words he a familiar with then they open tip the dictionary a David Sellers said. A from there its the Luck of , a and a lot of  probe blasts student loan program by Jason Deparle the new York times Washington a the Federal student loan program is a plagued with fraud and abuse at every level a allowing Shady Trade school operators to prey on the poor and Rob taxpayers of billions of dollars a yearlong Senate investigation concluded last week. The permanent subcommittee on investigations said the department of education through a Gross mismanagement ineptitude and neglect a had Quot All but abdicated its responsibility to students and taxpayers alike. As a result the programs future is a changing in the balance a said sem Sam Nunn d-ga., who chairs the panel. These conclusions come As Congress is expected to approve major changes this year in the student loan program As part of its reconsideration of the Laws governing higher education which expire this year. Education Secretary Lamar Alexander has acknowledged the need for major changes since taking office in March and the department proposed new guidelines last month. In a statement on monday Michael j. Farrell alexanders chief aide for the loan program said the Senate report a provides significant and very usable information and this will make my Job  a Senate aide said the administration and the com Mittee Are generally in agreement on the changes that Are needed to save the program. A a we re on the same Page a the aide said. But lobbyists for the Trade schools Are expected to fight Many of the proposals. In eight years losses under the program have risen More than 500 percent to $2.7 billion last year from $448 million in -1983. Losses to taxpayers Over that time total almost $13 billion. The investigation traced Many of the program abuses to profit seeking Trade schools which account for 22 percent of the Loans but 44 percent of the defaults. Ten percent of the students at four year colleges default on their Loans compared with 39 percent of the students at Trade schools the report said. Many of the Trade schools aggressively recruit the poor passing out leaflets in housing projects and welfare offices. School representatives help the students sign up for federally guaranteed Loans for thousands of dollars much of which Are turned Over to the schools. Those Trade schools Promise lucrative jobs As for example truck Drivers beauticians or medical assistants but the students often Lack the ability to Complete the courses. In other cases the courses themselves Are flawed taught in ill equipped buildings by unqualified teachers. As a result the investigation concluded Many students wind up worse off than they started still unemployed and now deeply in debt. When they default on the Loans the taxpayers pay through the loan gun ram tees to the Banks. Examples of abuses heard in testimony included that of a Texas truck driving school that arranged $5,000 in Loans for a student who could not get a state License because she had Only one foot. Some Industry representatives called the abuses limited. In a statement monday Stephen Blair president of the National association of Trade and technical schools a lobbying group said the Trade schools play a Central role in training americans for skilled jobs but he conceded a we agree that Federal student Aid programs must be  but several experts testified that abuses were wide spread. Quot the system is so fundamentally Rotten that it simply does not and perhaps cannot keep up with uncovering All the bad actors Quot Elizabeth Imholz told the subcommittee. She is with the South Brooklyn l Egal services which represented some of the students. The schools Are regulated by three layers of authority state licensing agencies private accrediting groups and the education department. But state agencies Are often a woefully undermanned a the report said. In addition Quot accreditation can be bought a and the education department has Quot a dismal record Quot of indifference to the abuses the report said