Paying off student debt is a scary thought, especially during a pandemic. However, President Joe Biden promised to forgive up to $10,000 in federal student loans during his campaign. // Photo courtesy of The Impact
During his 2020 presidential campaign, President Joe Biden promised to forgive student debtors for up to $10,000 in federal student loans. Although Biden has not acted on this campaign promise yet, some Democrats, such as Congress Member Pramila Jayapal, are pushing for more – up to $50,000 in forgiveness.
The current U.S. student loan debt balance sits at $1.7 trillion and many students at Hofstra wonder when they will get relief from their debt.
“I would definitely approve of [$50,000 in loan relief],” said Olivia Keena-Ross, a junior drama major. “That would be extremely helpful as it would probably take care of most of the loans I will have taken out by the end of college.” Keena-Ross uses federal student loans to pay for around a third of her tuition. She said she would be in “financial trouble” without them.
The resolution for a $50,000 student loan relief plan has drawn support from 60 lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. 17 state attorneys and over 325 organizations have also publicly supported the cancellation of student debt, according to Forbes.
6% of white student loan borrowers are behind on payments, compared to 20% of Black borrowers and 23% of Latinx borrowers. Black borrowers on average owe nearly twice as much in debt than white borrowers.
We can’t close the racial wealth gap without cancelling all student debt.
— Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal) February 28, 2021
However, Biden said he will not support loan relief greater than $10,000 per borrower. Warren and Schumer have called on Biden to use executive action to push forward loan relief, but currently nothing has been done.
Keena-Ross said she felt angry about the current lack of loan relief for students, especially in Biden’s recent stimulus package.
“If there was a chance for student loan relief, it makes me question why it wasn’t used since there’s millions of people that would benefit from it,” Keena-Ross said.
The average student debt has been steadily increasing since 1995. // Graph courtesy of Rebecca Williams
New York State alone carries $85.3 billion in student debt. However, those numbers may not be equally distributed among college students. Black college graduates “owe an average of $25,000 more in student loan debt than white college graduates,” according to educationdata.org.
Soon-to-be Hofstra graduate Stephan Hatchett is also not surprised by this statistic. He offered a perspective that is all about unequal access to information.
“Black families have less access to information about what loans to get and the different types of loans than white families,” Hatchett said, “so it’s no surprise that the loans that are taken out are possibly the most financially taxing.”
Black graduates with a bachelor’s have higher rates of student loan debt than their white graduate counterparts. // Graph courtesy of Rebecca Williams
Hatchett has relied on student loans throughout his time as a college student for upward of $10,000. However, he acknowledges that his scholarship covers a majority of attendance costs. While Hatchett is still a supporter of forgiving $50,000 in student loan debt per borrower, he said he understands why Biden has not done so.
“Because he ran on a bipartisan platform, I believe he wanted to at least give Republicans a chance to see the good that could come with it, instead of instantly making it happen,” Hatchett said.
46% of U.S. adults support the cancellation of $50,000 in student loan debt per borrower, according to a recent Morning Consult survey. The majority of those adults fall into the 18-34 age group, who struggle most with paying off their student loans. Recent Hofstra graduate, Tri Nyguen, did not qualify for federal student loans due to his immigration status but still advocates for student loan relief.
“Education should be free,” Nyguen said. “Forgive student loans or at least erase some of them.”
The president has the legal authority to cancel $50,000 of student loan debt, which will help close the racial wealth gap and benefit the 40% of borrowers who don’t have a college degree. @ChuckSchumer and I will keep calling on the administration to make it happen.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 17, 2021
Only 13% of college students believe the Biden administration will forgive student debt as promised, according to a recent study by OneClass. Biden has extended relief on student loan payments through Sept. 30, 2021, suspending monthly payments and preventing loans from accruing interest.
While students wait for a permanent solution to student debt, Hatchett looks at the situation in a positive light while dealing with impending graduation and job prospects.
“Thankfully the economy is actually looking up,” Hatchett said. “More jobs are coming back, so I’m not too worried about getting a job during COVID … In the case I do not get a job, I’ll simply do my best to make money and work toward making steady payments on [my student loans].”
[email protected] • Apr 29, 2021 at 6:41 am
What is the average student loan debt for Hofstra graduates? It seems some people have no loans while others have many. Hofstra is private so tuition costs are high, but I was always curious on how many students finance their education.