Many people have heard the saying that every penny counts.
College students, especially, are finding that these are words to
live by.
With the cost of tuition rising dramatically and the cuts to
financial aid making history, students are finding that every penny
available to them goes straight to paying for their higher
education. The federal government seems to be making it
increasingly impossible for the average student on financial aid to
graduate without the unbelievable burdens of major debt.
On Oct. 26, the House Education and Workforce Committee
increased cuts to federal student loan programs to $14.5 billion
over the next five years.
The cuts proposed are part of the “budget
reconciliation” bill, which will soon be voted on, that
purports to balance the federal budget. Over five million students
depended on federal student aid programs last year, yet Congress is
still trying to balance the nation’s budget on our backs.
It is wrong to make hardworking college students across the
country pay for the national debt when we are struggling to pay for
our own education.
If the bill is passed, it will implement the largest cuts to
student aid in the history of our country. College should be about
advancement and opportunity, yet it is incredibly hard for the
average student to afford. With this new round of proposed cuts,
this paradox gets even worse.
As if having a typical $17,500 debt after graduation isn’t
bad enough, the budget reconciliation bill will tack on an average
of $5,800 to each student’s loan debt. Today, with the
already high costs of public university tuition, which was raised
by 10.5 percent in the last year, many middle-class and low-income
students are finding it incredibly hard to attain a college
education. Not only do these students face the academic and social
pressures of college, but many are also forced to take on part-time
jobs to pay off their debt.
Students cannot be the “rainy day” fund for the
federal government. We are in a deep financial hole and Congress
should be doing everything in its power to make college more
affordable, not more expensive.
Much of our generation is already denied access to higher
education because of immense financial burdens, and we must raise
our voice in protest. Call (202) 234-3121 and ask your member of
Congress to vote against the budget reconciliation.
Molina is a first-year ecology, behavior, and evolutionary
biology student, and a member of CALPIRG.