TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments for and against the Biden Administration’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan today, so we had locals weigh in on the discussion.
We turned to social media to spark the conversation, several reached out sharing their stories.
Someone said, “I pay mine, you pay yours.”
Another comment said, ”Forgive 50 percent max. Only if it passes. You borrow, you pay back.”
Others believed this called for a longer conversation.
One Facebook commenter shared. “I see nothing wrong with forgiving student debt, I see everything wrong with this having to be presented to the supreme court, who probably have more important cases to ponder.”
Another viewer sent an email arguing inflation and low incomes make student debt a bigger problem. But their main struggle is with paying interest.
“I want my $30K in interest returned on the $30K loan I took out because I still owe $30K somehow after paying $30K. The debts shouldn’t exist in the first place. We pay 3 mortgages a month 1. School loans 2. Home/rent 3. Childcare,” they said.
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I brought the conversation to the University of Arizona students today. Raymundo Chavez Cervantez has no debt because of the assistance he receives from being in the military.
Still, he imagined having to pay out-of-state tuition. He believes the forgiveness maximum wouldn’t be enough.
“Out-of-state tuition was 20,000, so let’s say you would have to get a loan for that. The forgiveness would only cover one semester, and I don’t think that’s enough,” said Chavez.
John Smith paid his tuition up front, but he said it wasn’t easy.
“To be honest it takes a lot of work. It’s to the point where it feels like you’re going insane sometimes. But it’s fine because it’s paid off and I don’t need to worry about that,” said Smith.
Dixie Mitter in Sierra Vista is paying 600 dollars a month for student loans, and she said the forgiveness would lift a huge weight.
“For me personally and I’m sure for many people I had no idea when I was 18 how much debt would accumulate and how much that would affect my life.”
If you have student loan debt, repayments aren’t expected to resume until the end of summer. This could change with the supreme court decision.
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Reyna Preciado is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2022 after graduating Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Reyna by emailing reyna.preciado@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
