Submitted by Austin Cable, class of 2020, philosophy
Students at ETSU are facing many of the same problems that students across the country are dealing with. Between struggling to find money to pay for school and confronting the massive debt that comes with simply wanting to be able to find a job in this highly competitive job market, students at ETSU are struggling financially.
A study from Georgetown University showed that 99% of new jobs created in the U.S. after the 2008 Financial Crisis went to individuals with a college education. This means that the pathway to the “middle class” has been restricted to those who have the access and financial means to get a higher education. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Education, 47% of all undergraduates at ETSU rely on Federal Loans to pay for their tuition, fees, and other college related expenses. These undergraduates take out an average of $6,750 of federal loans per year, which means an average student will leave ETSU with nearly $27,000 of student loan debt. This is only marginally lower than the national average student loan debt of $28,650.
Along with finding the money to pay for the ever-increasing tuition of ETSU, students also must find the money to pay for living expenses like rent, electricity, food and all the other basic necessities of life. In order to maintain eligibility for scholarships and loans, students must attend school full-time while simultaneously working full-time, minimum wage jobs to keep the lights on at home. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 38% of students at ETSU come from households that make $30,000 or less, 18% from households making $30,000-$48,000, and 19% from households making $48,000-$75,000. This means that almost 75% of students at ETSU come from households that are in the bottom 50% of Household Incomes in the U.S. These circumstances can be detrimental to a student’s education.
Given these abysmal realities for students within our community, I believe that all students at ETSU should “Feel the Bern” in the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election. Bernie Sanders is currently gaining powerful momentum in the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary, earning grassroots support from young, working class, and non-white voters. A recent Quinnipiac poll shows Bernie Sanders has national support from 52% from voters under 35 and is leading heavily with voters of color.
One may ask why a 78-year-old white man like Bernie is so popular with such a young and diverse base of voters. While there are an array of policies that attract young voters to Bernie – such as a Green New Deal to adequately address the existential threat of the Climate Crisis and Medicare-for-All to provide quality healthcare regardless of one’s ability to pay – I believe one plan has the most direct effect on students here at ETSU and across America: College for All. Sanders’ plan would make all public colleges, universities, Minority Serving Institutions, and trade-schools tuition and debt-free. The plan would cancel all student loan debt for the 45 million Americans who owe approximately $1.6 trillion. It would place a cap on student loan interest rates at 1.88%. Finally, College for All would help close equity gaps in higher education attainment through the expansion of Pell Grants to cover non-tuition and fee costs and tripling funding for the Work-Study Program. These policies come at no expense to working- and middle-class taxpayers, but rather come from a small speculative tax on Wall Street trading.
These policies have a direct effect on students all over this country, especially those in our community. Students at ETSU will no longer have to work full-time jobs outside of school to keep the lights on and food on the table. Rather, they can focus on their studies and graduate without the burden of student debt to haunt them for the rest of their adult lives. These policies would make education attainable to members in our community who can’t afford to go to school and create a better quality of life for our next generation. Next time you go to pay your tuition for the semester or take that loan out to be able to afford your room and board, just remember that all of those problems could be solved if we put someone in the White House that actually cares about us.
The Tennessee Democratic Primary date is March 3, and you must be registered to vote by Feb. 2. You can go to vote.org to check your registration and berniesanders.com to learn more about all of his policies. Join the political revolution today and secure a better future for tomorrow.
