The Facts: In addition to the passage of health care reforms, Congress also passed legislation regarding student loans, pushing the sole responsibility of financial aid onto the federal government.
Our Opinion: Despite the benefits of the reforms, students need to seek a more active hand in the process in order to best represent their interests.
Despite all the furor and hype around the new health care reform, a piece of legislation students must care about also passed that day: student loan reform. With the ever increasing costs of college and the importance of a higher education in today’s job market, students cannot ignore this legislation.
Students, particularly those who rely on loans to ensure they can continue their education, should pay attention to the new laws regarding student loans. Health care is still an important issue, but University officials should also work to propagate information about reforms on financial aid and student loans.
In simple terms, the new law takes the middleman out of student loans: instead of the federal government guaranteeing all student loans through the Stafford Loan program, the government assumes all responsibility for loans, primarily by funneling money from the Stafford program into the Pell Grants.
Despite this, the new legislation will not adequately provide for students who rely on financial aid to attend college. Unfortunately, the rapidly increasing costs of college have risen at a rate that exceeds the expansion of the Pell Grant program. Even with the increase in funding, the Pell Grants will only cover a portion of the costs associated with attending college.
Further reforms may better reflect student interest in the process. But unless students are willing to fight for increased payments to keep up with the rising costs of college and make their points regarding the government’s monopoly over the student loan system, legislators long removed from college life will make decisions students should have the final say over.
Ultimately, students need to realize their power as an interest group. The elderly have secured benefits through Social Security and Medicare by the virtue of their ability to organize. Big businesses and other interest groups like the National Rifle Association, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the American Civil Liberties Union have gained many a concession for their championed causes. If students organize, we can see the ground-breaking reform in financial aid that would make college more affordable.
The country couldn’t wait for some sort of reform on health care. Students cannot afford to wait for a more fundamental reform of the financial aid and student loan system. College isn’t getting cheaper — is there any reason to wait?
