By Victoria Stavish

President Joe Biden recently said that he is prepared to write off $10,000 of debt for every person with student loans. This number, while a step towards lowering student debt, worries some college students, especially those who expected to see a bigger push for debt-free education by the new administration. 

“I honestly am concerned that I’m going to be in all this debt and I’ll really have to rely on the government to help me later on.” said Emma Steinour, a freshman social science major at UMD. Steinour is an out-of-state student, hailing from Pennsylvania, with little financial support from her parents. 

“I have had to take out a loan. My parents co-signed it but aren’t paying any money towards it.” Steinour said. “I’m concerned my future job won’t have a high enough salary to be able to pay back my loans in a timely manner. I’m trying not to be concerned about it right now, however.”

Throughout the 2020 presidential campaign, many democratic candidates discussed relieving most, if not all, student debt and making public colleges free for all students. On election day, Senators Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, Bernie Sanders, D-VT and Senate minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY urged Biden to sign an executive order eliminating up to $50,000 of  borrowers’ student loan debt. Since then, the proposal has been revisited many times by many Democrats, but Biden believes he does not have the power to sign off $50,000 of debt by executive order. 

“Ultimately, it’s disappointing,” said Eesha Kaul, a freshman computer science major at UMD. “Voting for Biden should have meant voting for a change in the system. Back in January, the Democratic party pushed hard for Warnock and Ossoff so we could ‘take back the Senate’ and pass bills that would actually help people in such hard times.”

“We have control of Congress and the Presidency and there still hasn’t been major bills passed, including anything related to student loans,” Kaul said. “It doesn’t feel like the needs of the people are being addressed currently, and it’s definitely upsetting, especially when they’re focusing on a lot of other issues that, personally, seem trivial or like they could be focused on during another time to me.” 

Kaul is an in-state student, but she is still paying almost $30,000 a year to attend UMD and is worried about paying back her loans, especially since COVID-19 has limited her ability to work. 

“The administration has decided not to make crucial financial decisions to help struggling people, close the wage gap, help people get an education and literally just benefit society from getting rid of student debt,” Kaul said. “Lower and middle class people and minority groups take out more loans, so canceling these loans would further equality for all.” 

Arguments favoring the $10,000 relief proposal show that providing any more money in the relief plan may benefit people who don’t necessarily need the help. More than one-third of people who do owe student debt actually owe less than $10,000. This may include people who attended school for a year or two, but dropped out before completing their degree, making it harder for them to pay back their loan despite its relatively small size. 

Those in favor of the $50,000 debt relief plan argue that all borrowers who are still in debt deserve to be relieved of their financial burden, not just the most at-risk groups. 

Mychal Kersting, a freshman journalism major from New York, said that Biden’s moderate $10,000 plan to tackle student debt is more reasonable than the $50,000 relief plan.

Kersting said that neither proposed plan will cover student loans for every family. “Regardless, families will still be feeling the heat financially.”

While Biden may not be implementing the radical change many young students and voters wish to see, he is taking steps towards easing student debts, even if they seem like small ones. 

A pause on loan payments and interest on federal student loans, which was originally enacted by former President Donald Trump, was extended until at least Sept. 30th, 2021 by the Biden administration. 

Biden also proposed wiping out all undergraduate federal student debt for borrowers who earn an income of less than $125,000 per year and who attended a public college, historically black college or minority-serving institution. 

However, no action has been taken on this proposal, or on many of Biden’s other student debt relief proposals. This has caused some students worry, especially since debt relief at such a sensitive and unpredictable time could be critical. 
“My mom lost her job at the beginning of the pandemic and my dad is the sole earner,” Kaul said. “I have two other siblings who also have student debt. I’m worried about the economy and the job market in the future, even as a computer science major who has a bit more stability than other job fields. I’m worried about my friends and what our futures will look like. Canceling student debt will relieve a lot of these worries, not for just me, but a lot of people.”

Featured image: The Lee Building is home to the Student Financial Service Center at the University of Maryland. Photo by Victoria Stavish.