Taking the student loan crisis off the shelf

Since the rise of the pandemic, it seems as though college students have only appeared on the news when being blamed for spreading COVID-19. Though it is certainly true that there are some students who have been indulging themselves in negligent behavior, the constant depiction of us as delinquents only serves to hide a pressing issue. College students across the country are in desperate need of financial aid.

Fortunately, this reckless-student narrative has begun to shift over the last few weeks. And it couldn’t have done so any sooner.

Currently, the national total of student loan debt exceeds $1.68 trillion. According to the Federal Reserves, the average amount of outstanding student debt was between $20,000 and $24,999 in 2019. It is estimated that the majority of these individuals spend between $200 and $299 a month towards paying off their student debt.

On February 4,2021, prominent House Democrats led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) put pressure on President Biden to potentially use his executive power to cancel a portion of student loan debt. Their resolution would forgive up to $50,000 of federal student loan debt per individual. President Biden instead favors a plan that would forgive up to $10,000 of student loans per individual, and he has called on Congress to draft this proposal.

Though the student loan crisis is not a recent development, it is an issue that has often been overlooked. In the face of the pandemic, it is more vital than ever that progress is made.

To the surprise of no one, the pandemic has forced the typical college education to take a backseat. Grab and go meals replace time spent in the dining hall with friends. Classes are taken on Zoom in the confinements of dorms and childhood bedrooms.

And yet, despite these detrimental changes, the cost of tuition has continued to rise.

As a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh, not only did my family and I have to deal with an increase in tuition, but when it came time to pay for the fall semester, there was $525 worth of services on my bill that I couldn’t use since I was taking classes from home. I live over 300 miles away from campus. I don’t think Pitt’s wifi reaches my house.

Still, college students do what we can to save as much as possible. Group chats are formed between students taking the same classes, in hopes of someone finding a textbook that doesn’t cost $90. Though no one acknowledges it, we know that finding a cheaper one won’t make so much as a dent in the bills to come.

For those currently in college, the pandemic has made work-study programs and summer jobs scarce.

For recent college graduates, the situation is even more frightening. In April of 2020, only a month before college students typically graduate, the national unemployment rate for 15-24 year olds was at a record high of 27.4 percent, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. It has since dropped to 12.5 percent as of this past December, but the rate is still far from normal.

Those struggling with student loan payments were granted a momentary reprieve when the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed in March of 2020, and extensions were granted on January 20, 2021. In regards to student loans, one of the most vital provisions of the act is it ensured that both the interest and payments on federally held student loans would be held until September 30, 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

While these measures have been incredibly beneficial, they are also temporary. They only solve issues brought upon by the pandemic. The issue of student loans first became troubling in the 1980’s, due to the increased popularity of attending college. Between the rate of college tuition rising faster than wages, the federal government’s resistance to increase the value and availability of loans, and the lack of government funding due to the Great Recession, student loans became a full-blown crisis by 2007, according to the Brookings Institute.

Maybe you favor Senator Schumer and Senator Warren’s $50,000 student loan forgiveness plan. Maybe you prefer President Biden’s $10,000 approach. Maybe you believe that student loan forgiveness isn’t the right direction to take to solve the issue.

Even if student loans do not affect you personally, we all have something to gain from ending the crisis. The economy will receive a boost when those who previously had student loans to pay off are able to spend more money. Whatever the case may be, the student loan crisis has sat in the dark long enough, and it’s time to pursue the solution in earnest.

Caleigh Trauger Upper Dublin Class of 2020