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St. Louis County cops apologize for flier wording

By WTOP Staff

JIM SALTER
Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis County police apologized Monday for the wording of a flier announcing a seminar to help officers interact with the media.

The flier on county letterhead says topics of the Oct. 24 program at the St. Louis County and Municipal Police Academy will include “Feeding the Animals” and “Meet the 900-pound Gorilla.” Some community activists and others have posted about the flier on social media, saying the “gorilla” and “animals” references have racial overtones.

St. Louis County police spokesman Brian Schellman and seminar leader Rick Rosenthal say the terms are not meant to be racial. The seminar follows the fatal Aug. 9 police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson. Brown was black; the officer who killed him is white.

“Any suggestion that these terms are new, or are in any way a specific reference to the recent tragic events in Ferguson, Missouri, or are in any way a racial slur is simply not correct,” Rosenthal, a police media consultant, said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press.

Rosenthal, a former anchor for WGN-TV in Chicago, said the “gorilla” and “animals” references are tongue-in-cheek phrases aimed at the media. His 1999 book, “Feeding the Animals,” deals with how police departments give information to reporters.

Rosenthal, president of Winnetka, Illinois-based RAR Communications, has run the consulting firm for nearly 20 years and has led hundreds of similar training sessions for police in several states. He has led classes about dealing with the media in St. Louis County nearly every year since 2002.

Schellman said Police Chief Jon Belmar and his command staff were unaware of the flier and its wording until they began getting calls from the media after the flier was posted on Internet sites.

“Being that the flier was sent by our Police Academy, we apologize for anyone hurt by the wording of the flier,” Schellman said. “We believe Mr. Rosenthal’s use of the terms ‘900-pound gorilla’ and ‘feeding the animals’ were mentioning police departments from across the nation dealing with the media and meant no racial harm.”

Managing the media in the aftermath of the shooting of Brown, who was unarmed, was certainly a challenge for St. Louis County and other police agencies. The protests and unrest that followed the shooting drew print, broadcast and web-based reporters from all over the world, and some were arrested during the protests. The aggressiveness of police toward protesters and the media was often criticized.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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