With President Joe Biden newly inaugurated, and the student debt reaching almost $1.6 trillion, some students are paying close attention to the possible federal student loan forgiveness affecting students.
Charles Hunt is a political science professor at Boise State, and received a political science degree from Brown University, and a Ph.D. in government from the University of Maryland. Afterwards, he came to Boise State to teach.
“President Biden can only do so much with an executive order, but left wing politicians are already trying to get Biden on board with $50,000 student loan forgiveness,” Hunt said.
A cancellation of even a little bit of student loans could have helped close the racial wealth gap and help stimulate the economy.
President Biden had been talking a lot about a $50,000 federal student loan pardon per student, but as of Feb. 18, Biden has rejected the plan. Instead, Biden proposed a pardon of a smaller amount such as $10,000, according to an article by Inside Higher Ed
According to Boise State Financial Aid Adviser Sunny Walker, 33% of students at Boise State are struggling with student loans, ranging from a couple thousand dollars to over $50,000.
“A lot of students have a hard time [with student loans], but there are also a lot of students that can figure out their monthly payments,” Walker said.
When faced with a mountain of student loans, it can be difficult to manage, and can cause students to even drop out, according to Walker. Additionally, she said that a lot of students who are having a hard time with student loans tend to drop out to avoid having to pay or deal with the loans.
Nicole Smith, a junior art design major, is dealing with the high cost of an education herself.
“It is baffling to me that higher education comes at such a cost that a new high school graduate can incur tens of thousands of dollars in debt, especially since we have been encouraged to go to a university after high school,” Smith said.
Smith also talked about how she thought the idea of student loan forgiveness would be nice, but realistically she believes that the cost of education should be lowered. Currently, she is dealing with private student loans, but other types of loans can include federal, state, private and university loans.
Currently dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, there are no details on when Biden will actively start to work on the student debt crisis.
“By forgiving loans, it might make an even playing field for all [to continue to go to college],” Walker said.
Photo courtesy J.P. Valery
