College students throughout the nation, including many at Seton Hall, can no longer utilize President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan after a federal judge in Texas blocked the program on Nov. 11, calling it “unlawful.”
The Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program was introduced by Miguel Cardona, the secretary of education, and President Biden on Aug. 24, which would forgive up to $20,000 in debt. The Supreme Court plans to determine in February of 2023 if the Biden administration had “overstepped its authority” with the debt relief. For now, the Court put an injunction in place, blocking the program.
Zoe Prin, a senior international relations major, said that she was planning on utilizing the loan forgiveness plan.
“I voted for Biden because it would save me student loan money, and it's a real shame that I don’t get my end of the deal from this particular president,” she said.
Prin added that she worries about how it will affect her financially in the future.
“My student loans will be consuming a fifth of my out-of-college income with the jobs I have so far been offered,” she said.
Prin added that the money used to pay for her loans in the future could have been invested or put into a savings account if the debt were canceled.
Gabriella Armanious, a junior political science major, said that under the debt forgiveness program, she would not feel held back by her loans. She said the halt left her feeling more stressed about the future.
“With the halt, my loans are a financial burden,” Armanious said. “Knowing I will be entering the workforce with them is even more pressure because I will be constantly working to pay them off.”
She added that working for longer to relieve this financial burden would prevent her from achieving certain milestones in life, such as buying a house, financing a car, or renting an apartment.
Aisha Coello, a sophomore in the 3+3 law program, expressed similar concerns after the Supreme Court officially blocked the plan.
“The block of the program came as a shock to me,” Coello said. “I still have a few years to go before graduation, and now knowing that the program has been blocked by the Supreme Court really upsets me, not only for myself but for all the other students who were utilizing the program as well.”
Vivienne Dotoli can be reached at vivienne.dotoli@student.shu.edu.
