Fix Social Security offset glitch, says AFT 

Congress needs to act to eliminate provisions in Social Security that penalize teachers and other public employees in states that do not participate in the federal retirement program, says an AFT leader from Texas. In testimony before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee's Social Security Subcommittee on Jan. 16, John O'Sullivan, secretary-treasurer of Texas AFT, said the current system is "unfair and unjust" to public employees like those in Texas and about a dozen other states that don't participate in Social Security. Two provisions in the current law-the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)-result in reduced benefits for public employees who earned Social Security credits through other private sector jobs during their working lives or have spouses who receive benefits.

Mattie Moon is a case in point. She is the chair of the social sciences department at Los Angeles City College and chapter president of the Los Angeles College Faculty Guild. Her husband, Elmer, passed away in 1999, and the following year, thanks to President Clinton's signing of the Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 2000, she was able to collect his monthly Social Security benefit. Next year, however, that benefit will end, when she retires herself. "I feel that it's not fair for people like myself to not receive Social Security."

"It is ironic that spouses who never work a day receive the full benefit, while hard-working public employees lose any spousal benefits," O'Sullivan said. The AFT supports a full repeal of the GPO and WEP provisions in Social Security, and passed a 2002 convention resolution to that effect. One obstacle in the current budget climate is the cost of repealing the provisions, which would total about $80 billion over 10 years.

Learning to question Internet authorities
Sometimes, college students can be too trusting 

Today's college students trust the accuracy of Internet information too much, according to a new survey published by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA's Graduate School of Education & Information Studies.

"The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 2007" reports the results from an annual survey that examines the attitudes of incoming freshmen. The survey, which was taken by more than 270,000 first-time, full-time students at 356 colleges and universities, asked questions about study habits, Internet use, parental involvement, and the importance of diversity and environmental concerns.

One of the most striking findings is the degree to which today's freshmen unquestioningly accept what they read on the Internet. While 75.9 percent of freshmen report that they frequently used the Internet for research or homework, only a little more than one-third (35 percent) of students report that they frequently evaluate the quality or reliability of Internet-based information. According to the report, faculty members think students should cultivate the habit of evaluating the accuracy of information, which is an "essential part of liberal education and intellectual development."

The report also found a far more encouraging trend: The importance of diversity to college students continues to grow. Among incoming freshmen, 36.7 percent of students expressed the personal goal of helping to promote racial understanding, the highest this figure has been since 1994. This figure is much higher for students at black colleges and universities, where 64 percent see this as an essential or very important personal goal.

Global understanding also has become more important to incoming freshmen. The survey results have shown steady increases in students with the personal goal of improving their understanding of other countries and cultures, from 43.2 percent in 2002 (when the survey first asked this question after 9/11) to 52.3 percent in 2007.