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Students only seek help in achieving goals

Ashwin Singhaviranon Cheshire

Publication: The Day

Published 05/23/2012 12:00 AM

Updated 05/22/2012 11:50 PM

The following is a student's response to the May 16 letter, "Not taxpayer job to pay others' tuition."
The struggles of middle-class students and their families have have been harder since the Great Recession. Many students would love to pay for college out of pocket if their families had a real way of affording it.
Instead, students receive federal loans to help pay for college. Students who take loans are not looking for a handout; we are only asking for an opportunity.
Students today are hungry to help start businesses, create jobs, and make a difference. Many middle-class students only have this opportunity because of student loans.
When people like the letter writer comment that students should not get an extension of the 3.4 percent rate, they are grossly out of touch with reality. We are barely getting by with these rates. Grinding our education to a halt will only stall this recovery.
It is imperative to prevent these loan rates from doubling. It is people such as this letter writer who demonize students by calling them "idiots" and claim that our "majors are irrelevant" who create an attitude preventing the progress of the American middle class and the U.S. economy.