OPINION —
loan debts challenge worth of attending any college
October 5, 2012
I was looking at my college awards
statement last week when my eyes came
upon that dreaded section — student loans.
As my eyes scanned the paper and began
matching the numbers up
with their corresponding
columns that list the cost
per semester, I began
to feel a stress that I
knew couldn't simply
be brushed off and
ignored. The anxiety was
legitimate because the
costs were real.
The weight of student
loans has increasingly
become a heavier burden
for students in recent
years. Many are questioning whether or not
the costs of paying off these student loans
outweigh the benefits of getting a college
degree in the first place. According to
The Huffington Post, the average American
college student graduates with a debt from
$23,000 to $27,000.
BY TAYLOR
HALLETT
Staff Writer
How did student loan debt get to be so
bad?
"One reason is that the price of both
private as well as state universities have
been rising much faster than the rate of
inflation, increasing the costs to students
and their families," says Wesley Cohen,
professor of economics and management
at Duke ,Umversity through an email
interview.' "One reason for this is the
tightening of state budgets over the past
decade or so."
Is this a cost that we can afford? Aren't
we busy enough with the pertinence of
our studies, the impact they have on our
personal lives and their relevance to society,
to be working two or even three menial jobs
to be paying off these loans?
In order to find out more about student
loan stress on campus, I conducted a poll
of 50 Guilford students. I asked, after
graduating, do you feel that you may be
overwhelmed by the costs of paying off
student loans? Sixty-two percent responded
yes.
It is no surprise that 81 percent of students
in America are asking for more student loan
forgiveness programs, according to a recent
article by Forbes (comically entitled "Dude,
Where's My Student Loan Bailout?"). With
the national student loan debt now spilling
over a trillion dollars, one can't help but
wonder where the government would get
the money to create these loan forgiveness
programs, especially if the money needed
for them could be depending upon students
to pay back their loans in the first place.
Has this issue arisen out of
student complacency or government
irresponsibility? Probably both.
Perhaps complacency isn't the right
word, but nescience. Looking back, I now
see that naivety is what guided my college
selection process. I came to Guilford not
thinking about loans but because of the
integrated community, the creatively
nurturing environment and the insightful
and intelligent student body and faculty.
If I am only in college for the chance
to hold a diploma in my hand at the end
of the tunnel, my efforts in academia are
clearly in vain. They are in vain because
the experiences I have had here are clearly
contradictory in nature to the experiences I
would have in the corporate world — the
world that we are being tunneled into,
that looks first at the credentials and then
maybe glances at the actual face behind
them. This model creates an atmosphere
where more students are only pursuing
degrees that are the most profitable; some
of our most revered disciplines could bite
the dust both in terms of popularity and
practicality.
"I'm not taking out that many loans,"
says Sarah, a CCE senior. "I know I can pay
them off, even if it takes a while."
I wish I could say the same for myself.
For those of us who are taking out a lot
of loans, and are unaware of the balloon
of debt that is growing over our heads, it
would behoove us to be diligent.
Maybe we should even reconsider the
worth of attending college in the first place.
I know I am.
Dependents deserve respect too
BY EMILY CURRIE
Staff Writer
I am the 47 percent. I am your dependent.
You can claim me on your taxes, honey,
because you provide healthcare and
income to my family. You owe it to me.
Dam it, I deserve it.
That is what Republican presidential
nominee, Mitt Romney, thinks that
people like me believe. I am a Medicaid,
Supplemental Security Income and
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program recipient.
"There are 47 percent who are
dependent upon government, who believe
that government has a responsibility to
care for them," said Romney to a group
of rich donors. In a secret video that has
received enormous public outcry since
its publication by Mother Jones, an
independent news magazine and website,
Romney calls people who receive public
assistance 'a lost cause'."
Let's get one thing straight: we are not
a 'lost cause' as Romney so eloquently put
it. We do not believe the government owes
us. We contribute to our communities in
many positive ways. We should be treated
with dignity and respect like everyone
else.
Public assistance recipients span a wide
array of social situations, ethnicities and
demographics. We are working moms,
students, elderly, single parents and
disabled individuals.
We have dreams, we love our children,
we volunteer for chanties, we obey the
law, we vote and — yes — many of us
pay taxes. We are valuable members of the
community
Romney refers to people like me as
"those people, as in, "My job is not to
worry about those people."
Comments like that remind me of a
time when black people were referred
to as "those people" and not considered
valuable human beings.
"I'll never convince them that they
should take personal responsibility and
care for their lives," Romney said.
Never mind the fact that both my
children are legally disabled and that I
am a college student (which ain't cheap,
honey) or that my husband works two
jobs and earns just enough for us to barely
reach the bottom rung of the economic
ladder.
I run a charity called Hannah's Ministry.
I collect donations such as food, clothing,
household goods and school supplies,
and give it to the less fortunate. Every
Thanksgiving and Christmas I distribute
donated holiday meals to those in need.
At Christmas time, I also give donated
toys and gifts to needy children. This is my
way of contributing to my community and
giving back.
I am in college so I can earn a degree
and be able to become fully self-sufficient
and take better care of my boys. To me,
that shouts responsibility. But I guess Mr.
Romney wears a different set of eyeglasses.
Romney is campaigning to strengthen
the middle class. According to his
campaign website, his five-point plan
includes energy independence, giving
Americans access to better schools and
training programs, fair trade, reducing the
deficit and supporting small businesses.
These are all things we certainly need
to make this country stronger and stay
the great country it is. But what about
extending a hand to our neighbors?
My mom told me that, when she was
growing up, neighbors looked out for
one another. There was a strong sense of
community. If a family member passed
away, neighbors brought food over to their
house. If someone was sick, neighbors
cleaned their house for them. That era was
built on strengthening one another.
We should look back and follow their
example. In order to be a good leader,
Mr. Romney, first you have to be a good
follower.
We, the 47 percent, believe in ourselves
and our country. Please, believe in us too.
_yv V*'.
GKEEhJLEAf
The Greenleaf is an experiment in an alternative business
model as part of our vision of a better world. We are a non-
hierarchal, member-run coffee cooperative. We strive to
uphold our values of community, anti-oppression, social
and economic justice, and sustainability. We attempt to
do this through educating ourselves and the community,
conscience purchasing, and supporting other groups
that share our values.
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