On Aug. 24, President Joe Biden announced his student debt forgiveness plan, which relieves $10,000 of aid from eligible federal student loan borrowers and up to $20,000 for those who have received a Pell Grant. On Sept. 7, The VanCougar asked WSU Vancouver students their opinions on the relief plan.
Kolton Reimann, freshman computer science major:
“For me it’s great because I have about $10,000 in student loans. It’s helping me balance the cost of living that’s gone up so much. I can see why people don’t like it, especially if they didn’t go to college or take out loans. I think it’s for sure a band-aid solution because the real problem is that the cost of college has gone up so much. I feel like the main problem is the cost of admission.”
Sean Juego, junior DTC major:
“I think that there’s definitely two sides of the court. I have friends who have debt and they’re like ‘oh this is amazing,’ but then I have friends who have fully paid it off and they’re like ‘why do I have to pay it off, this didn’t come out fast enough,’ so there’s two sides to the argument. I’ve been blessed to have a job that pays it off, so I don’t have to deal with student debt, but I know that I’m a very small percentage and most people don’t fall into that boat. I’m in agreement that school pricing and tuition is too high, and I think we need a long-term solution.”
Normondo Quinones-Duarte, sophomore marketing major:
“I think it’s going to be beneficial for people who have amounted student debt. Still, it would be bad luck if you paid off all your student loans and it turns out they were going to pay off all the debt for you. Depending on how the plan affects specific groups of people, maybe they’ll find another way to help students.”
Avery Huver, junior education major:
“It’s good for people who took out loans, but as someone who’s been working full time and paying out of pocket for everything, I feel slightly upset about it because if I had known that it was going to be relieved and paid off, I would have taken out some loans and not paid fully out of pocket for it. I think that the money should be going towards teachers instead of being spent on loans that people have said they’ll pay back.”
Sophia Parrish, junior education major:
“I paid out of pocket for my tuition so it’s kind of hard to imagine taking out a loan and having it paid off immediately. There’s a lot I don’t know about the plan like what’s paying for it. I don’t know if it’s the government, taxpayers, or anything like that. It’s just kind of a weird concept to me.”
Alek Pasko, junior education major:
“I have mixed feelings about it. I might benefit from it, but it doesn’t mean I think it’s the best idea. We took these loans willingly, and when we took them on, we said we were going to pay them back. I don’t think it’s responsible for us to just get them written off and then have other people pay for it.”
Norman is a senior majoring in Integrated Strategic Communications and Digital Technology & Culture.