Despite the scrutiny, President Biden’s controversial student debt relief plan faced at the Supreme Court’s hearings on February 28, students at USC have expressed their support for the debt relief program.
For Izabella Flores, a junior in the Bachelor of Architecture program, taking out student loans was the financial route they took in order to attend USC, a decision Flores describes as “stressful.”
“It kind of puts a lot of stress on me to get as much as I can out of my education, which, while it’s not a bad thing, it is just like an added stressor that I’m jealous of the people that don’t have to worry about it,” Flores said. “I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone, but yeah, I do find myself [being] bitter about it sometimes.”
Allison Fiedler, a junior studying intelligence and cyber operations, said that if she had not received a scholarship, she would have had to take out student loans to attend USC.
“I just feel like we shouldn’t be [harming] people who are already disadvantaged in the college access and equity system,” Fiedler said. “And I don’t see an issue with it, so I think we should get rid of college debt.”
With USC’s yearly tuition of $64,726 exceeding the national average of $41,568, a recent USC graduate will, on average, end with $27,136 after four years in debt if they begin taking out loans their freshman year.
“No one should be living with that for years, upon years, upon years,” Fiedler said.
Given the Supreme Court’s current conservative majority, the outcome for Biden’s loan relief program is facing skepticism from the majority of justices, who have questioned the legality of Biden’s proposal due to a lack of congressional approval.
Biden’s debt relief program aims to reduce up to $20,000 in debt cancellation for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for non-Pell Grant recipients. The bill stresses that no high-income individual or high-income household, specifically those in the top 5% of income, will benefit from this program.
Flores has shared that despite not knowing specific policy details about the President’s plan, debt relief would benefit their family.
“It would help me and my family out a lot because my younger sister still has to go to school,” Flores shared. “So that’s like another reason why I’m trying so hard to make this work, [and] it’s in the back of my mind a lot.”
The President’s main argument relies on the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act) of 2003, a resolution that was enacted as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a means to ease the financial burdens of households amidst a global economic crisis.
The Supreme Court heard two cases that challenged Biden’s plans, with some conservative judges saying the President had exceeded the bounds of his authority, especially since Congress had previously rejected his plan.
However, one conservative judge, Amy Coney Barrett, demonstrated she may possibly swing in favor of the loan forgiveness program after her questioning during the oral arguments. The Supreme Court is expected to reach a decision by the end of June.
According to a CNN exit poll, the country remains politically split on this issue, with 50% of Democrats in favor of Biden’s student debt relief plan and 47% of Republicans disapproving.
A news poll by NBC also revealed that among voters with student loan debt, 69% expressed approval for Biden’s plan compared to 22% of voters in the same group who believed it to be a bad idea.
Thomas Baek, a freshman studying psychology, also took out student loans. After hearing about Biden’s student debt relief plan, Baek stated his support for the legislation, framing it as something that all students [can] benefit from.
“I think we have to be more financially cognizant and aware of how we spend our money,” Baek added. “I feel like it’s such a big part of student lives, so it’s almost normalized. So if Biden’s putting together this proposal, I’m totally down for that, honestly.”