All Longwood students have heard about the vice presidential debate and how it will affect the university and the student body. With all the buzz surrounding the election, as a college student, an important question to ask is how each candidate team will affect college education if they are elected.
For education on the college level, Democratic candidate Senator Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump are primarily debating the issues of the price for college and student debt. Both have mentioned or responded in interviews to the issues, taking different approaches to the same problem.
Regarding free education, the candidates are on opposite ends of the spectrum.
In a 2015 CBS democratic primary debate, Clinton said, “I believe that we should make community college free. We should have debt-free college if you go to a public college or university.” However, when she published her plan, she expanded the plan to make in-state public colleges and universities completely free for certain households.
“My plan would enable anyone to go to a public college or university free,” said Clinton on her campaign website, detailing a plan for free public education for those within households that make under $125,000 a year.
Trump disagrees. On Fox News’ “On the Record” town hall, he said, “Well, there’s no such thing as a free education because you know that ultimately somebody else is going to be paying for that education.”
Trump explained the money must come from somewhere, and rejected the concept of free college. To Trump, student debt and the high cost of college are the primary issues. In order to make college more affordable, he believes the government needs to pressure colleges to lower tuition and other aspects of the cost of education, without legally requiring the actions.
The candidates also differ in their approaches to student debt. Clinton advocated for a mix of student debt forgiveness and refinancing. According to her campaign website, “Delinquent borrowers and those in default will get help to protect their credit and get back on their feet … borrowers will be able to refinance their loans.” She additionally offers loan reduction and forgiveness, particularly focused on those working public service jobs.
While Clinton’s goal is to eliminate and manage the current student debt crisis through government programs, Trump has rejected the idea of complete debt refinancing and forgiving student loans.
However, Trump acknowledged the expense of college in his book, “Crippled America,” and said, “A four-year degree today can be expensive enough to create six-figure debt. We can't forgive these loans, but we should take steps to help students.”
Trump hasn’t outlined a plan yet, but, at a Wisconsin town hall meeting, stated, “We're going to do something for the students. We're going to have something with extensions and lower interest rates and a lot of good things."
The republican presidential candidate also blames the federal government for student debt in his book, stating, “The big problem is the federal government. There is no reason the federal government should profit from student loans.”
Trump hasn’t outlined the steps to ease the burden of student debt, but maintained it must be repaid.
Despite their differences, the one thing the educational outlooks of the candidates have in common is the economy of our college educational system has issues, and they need to be resolved. As students and citizens, we need to be aware and educated votes.
