By Luke Lattanzi | Staff Writer
Baylor students who are currently in debt shared their opinions on how President Joe Biden’s three-part plan for student loan relief would help them in the future.
On Feb. 7, the Biden Administration had its State of the Union address in which Biden’s plan to relieve citizens from student debt was addressed.
Six months prior, Biden announced and promised on Aug. 24 to cancel up to $10,000 of student debt for low-to-middle income borrowers. The plan, however, was ruled unconstitutional by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman last year, after having already been paused by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“We’re making progress by reducing student debt and increasing Pell Grants for working and middle-class families,” Biden said during his State of the Union speech.
The Biden administration has since appealed those decisions, and the Supreme Court announced in December that it would hear oral arguments for the case Feb. 28. With the Court’s 6-3 conservative majority, however, it is generally expected the president’s plan will get struck down.
Approximately 47% of Baylor students take out a loan to help pay for at least freshman year, according to College Factual.
Royse City sophomore Noah Moreno said the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan was a step in the right direction.
“I would say, personally as someone who is currently $40,000 in student loan debt, it would definitely help to have some kind of forgiveness,” Moreno said. “I think that is a good step in the direction to help students like me get assistance for our education.”
Biden spoke extensively about bolstering the opportunities of children through K-12 education, stressing the importance of students being able to advance to college while being able to afford it.
“Studies show that children who go to preschool are nearly 50% more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a two or four-year degree, no matter their background,” Biden said. “Let’s finish the job and connect students to career opportunities starting in high school. Provide access to two years of community college, the best career training in America, in addition to being a pathway to a four-year degree.”
Moreno also said education needs to be a priority for the country going forward, stressing the importance of people being able to go to college.
“Education needs to be a strong point … and one way is by making sure people can afford college,” Moreno said.
New Braunfels sophomore Jessa Whalen also said she agrees with Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness plan, saying that financial resources, such as scholarships, are always an important factor.
“If it saves me from having to pay interest on all these loans in the future then I’m all for it,” Whalen said. “A lot of my friends … I always talk to them about scholarships. Sometimes there’s a whole ordeal with my friends about resources and trying to find time to balance all of their academics with their social life. If they end up misbalancing something, and their GPA goes down, they lose those scholarships, and they have to get more student loans. Loans are a huge struggle, especially for some of my friends and on their families.”
Leander freshman Annabel Curtis said she likes the idea of forgiving student debt, but is uncertain about the way to go about it.
“I’m somebody who’s going to be in a lot of student loan debt, so it’s nice to see that issue of student loan debt and trying to help people, I like that idea,” Curtis said. “I don’t know if the way it’s being conducted is the best way [to go about it].”
Biden’s student loan forgiveness program could cost taxpayers $400 billion over 30 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The original plan — if upheld by the Supreme Court — would provide up to $20,000 in debt cancellations to federal Pell Grant recipients. It would also provide up to $10,000 in debt cancellation to non-Pell Grant recipients. Borrowers are eligible for debt cancellation if their individual income is less than $125,000, or $250,000 for married couples, according to the White House fact sheet.
Whalen said despite the hefty price tag, she still believes student loan debt forgiveness is the right direction to go in.
“Student loan forgiveness, especially toward getting an education, is very important, especially for every single individual, no matter where they’re from, what their lifestyle is like, what their background is,” Whalen said. “If we as a country could possibly even get toward an idea such as student loan forgiveness, it would probably change quite a lot but hopefully for the better.”
