With the excitement and anticipation of Longwood’s announcement for being chosen to host the Vice-Presidential debate, more students may be paying more attention to politics and the polls.
According to a Huffington Post cumulative poll from 26 pollsters, Donald Trump leads the Republican Party in the polls with a ranking of 26.8 percent with Dr. Ben Carson following behind with a rank of 16.3 percent in the polls.
According to the same poll, Bernie Sanders ranks second in the Democratic primary in the polls with a ranking of 27.5 percent, while Hillary Clinton leads the Democratic Party in the polls with a ranking of 42.7 percent.
Any of these four presidential candidates could possibly become the next President of the United States. Although there is a possibility that none of them will win the primaries, the polls show strong favor toward these candidates.
So if any of these four presidential candidates win, what does their presidency mean for college students?
The presidential candidate who has been making the most headlines with college programs or plans is Clinton. Her announcement of a plan for college students to attend public colleges or universities without the threat of debt held over their heads has been picking up headlines with many major news outlets.
According to The New York Times and Clinton’s plan, around $175 billion in grants would be provided to four-year public colleges and universities which would guarantee that students would not need to take out any loans in order to pay for tuition. The plan also includes tuition-free community colleges. Issues for students who are already in debt and need refinancing options are also addressed. Refinancing options would depend on each person’s current financial situation and income rate.
New York Times writer Patrick Healy writes, “In return for the money, states would have to end budget cuts to increase spending over time on higher education, while also working to slow the growth of tuition, though the plan does not require states to cap it.”
Although this seems like it would take away the possibility of debt, Clinton’s plan would still need family members to take out loans in order to help cover some of the tuition. It would also require students to contribute with wages from working 10 hours a week.
It would cost a total of $350 billion over 10 years to carry out Clinton’s plan. With such a large sum of money, questions of the source are always present. According to the New York Times, Clinton proposes the money for this plan to come from wealthy families’ tax return cap for the value of itemized deductions.
Unlike his fellow Democratic opponent, Bernie Sanders has a different plan, which involves more government responsibility.
The New York Times reports that Sanders’ proposes that public college and university tuition be stopped after spending $47 billion a year to accomplish it. His proposal also requires states contributing $23 billion as well.
This proposal would completely remove tuition costs for in-state students at public colleges and universities, and like Clinton’s plan, also proposes providing refinancing options for people struggling with repaying student debt.
According to a statement released on Sanders’ campaign website, “Students would be able to use federal, state and institutional need-based aid to cover room and board, books and living expenses - all major contributors to student debt. It would triple the size of the federal work-study program, and offer significant relief to current student debt holders.”
However, Sanders has yet to release more details on his proposal.
Although these top Democratic candidates have released plans for college tuition solutions, the top two Republican candidates have yet to speak out on the same issue.
However, Dr. Ben Carson refers to free community college in his book, “One Vote: Make Your Voice Heard.” Carson believes that Pell grants are sufficient in providing enough financial support to community college students that are in need of financial assistance, and that one person should not be “fined” in order to pay for someone else’s education.
Carson also values work and the experiences it provides and believes that work can be an advantageous way of helping to pay for college expenses.
“There has been much talk recently about providing free community college education. First of all, it is only free if no one has to pay for it. It is not free if we rob Peter to pay Paul. Secondly, Pell grants already exist to pay for community college expenses for needy students. For those who are not needy, there is an old-fashioned remedy that is very effective called work. In fact work might even be beneficial for those who are needy. It certainly provided some very valuable experiences for me,” Carson writes in his book, “One Vote: Make Your Voice Heard” (Tyndale).
Unlike these fellow candidates, Donald Trump has not released any proposal or plan, nor has he published any opinion on college tuition costs.
The Rotunda was unable to find any information on college tuition on Donald Trump’s campaign website, or any information through media outlets.
A New York Times Magazine article does write that “Donald Trump says he will cut the Department of Education ‘way, way, way down.’” Details have yet to be released as to what this cut will be.
Although Trump has yet to release any formal plan or proposal, he has expressed concerns about the government making money off of student loans on the campaign trail.
As the campaigns for these candidates and others develop more, additional information will be released regarding proposals and plans for education and college tuition. These plans will also become more evident when official Democratic and Republican candidates are chosen through the primaries.
Every vote counts.
