College students are making their voices heard to Congress about the future of student loans. On July 1st subsidized Strafford student loan rates will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent unless Congress stops the action.
Approximately 100 student body presidents around the nation joined together in an effort to stop the rate increase. The group began at Georgetown University and rapidly grew. The student body president group works hard to represent the students on each campus.
To prevent the rate increase the group wrote letters to Congress addressing the issue and how it will affect many college students with loans. The group also distributed press releases to their local media outlets to further educate students on the issue at hand.
“We’ve been reaching out to as many presidents and other students as possible before July 1st to show them how much this will affect them” said Student body president of Missouri University of Science and Technology Ashley Koesterer.
Some students in the group who live close to Washington D.C. spoke on Capitol Hill on behalf of the college group.
As the deadline approaches Student Body President Nick Droege of the University of Missouri is reaching out to the district representative for the University.
“It’s really kind of on us as individuals to make sure that we’re pushing locally and focusing on our representatives in our districts here and that’s why today we sent a letter to Vicky Hartzler or congresswoman Hartzler who represents the MU students,” said Droege.
Droege said it is important for students to be motivated and involved in issues like the rate increase since they are the ones mainly affected by it.
College students are hoping this pressure and disagreement with the increase will make Congress come to a solution before the July 1st deadline.
