With the freeze on federal student loan payments expiring this October, the worries and wonders of DU seniors regarding this issue are mounting.
Some believe that student loans provide an important system for students from all economic backgrounds to help pay for college; Others point to the high levels of student debt and economic hardship as reasons for reform or the canceling of student debt altogether.
According to data from the Education Data Initiative, the U.S. has racked up over $1.7 trillion in student loan debt. Federal student loan debt accounts for 93.1% of that figure. Furthermore, the average student loan debt balance is $37,718; factoring in private loan debt, that number could rise to as high as $40,000.
Over half of Americans surveyed by the Education Data Initiative said they supported $10,000 of debt cancellation per borrower, while around 47% said they supported cancellation of up to $50,000 per borrower. Conversely, around 31% of respondents surveyed said they opposed student loan cancellation altogether. When factoring in political views, the data becomes significantly skewed, with 78% of self-identified liberals supporting student loan forgiveness while a mere 39% of self-identified conservatives supported the practice.
Some students at DU expressed the importance of forgiving student debt for those who could not make enough to pay it back on time.
“The resuming of student loan payments will hit the working class hard,” said Zack Hogan, a senior majoring in social-legal studies. “The government should cancel debt for those who don’t have high enough paying jobs to compensate for the burden of it.”
Hogan is one of many students with a debt obligation, and although he could not provide exact numbers, he estimated he would be making “many years of payments” after graduating.
Other students disagreed.
“I don’t think there’s an issue,” said Nyomi Davis, another senior majoring in Social-Legal Studies. “College is really expensive and if you take out a loan, it’s your responsibility to pay it back.”
Davis does not have any debt obligations and is attending DU on a full-ride scholarship.
Views on this issue continue to be varied, both for DU seniors and the general public. Some, especially those burdened by debt, continue to emphasize the strain debt places on young people, while others believe that such a burden, however strenuous, is a personal responsibility nonetheless. With ever-increasing levels of student debt year after year and the freeze on federal student loan payments soon to expire, this issue is sure to play a significant role in public discourse.
