SIU students react to potential extension of pause on federal student loans

CARBONDALE, Ill. (KFVS) - This week, President Joe Biden is expected to make a decision about extending a two-year pause on federal student loans.

Many borrowers are hoping the Education Department will extend that break, and announce up to $10,000 in loan forgiveness.

Currently, about 44 million borrowers owe a collective $1.7 trillion in federal student loan debt. The deadline to extend the pause is August 31.

On Monday, August 22, some Southern Illinois University Carbondale students reacted to this upcoming decision.

“One of the reasons why I came here was because it was a lot cheaper,” Arthur Gorski, SIU freshman, said.

“So, coming out of college, like when I get a job and everything, it’ll be easier to pay everything off,” he continued.

It’s on the minds of all the students we talked to; and they are hoping for the extension of the pause on student federal loan debt.

“I think he’s because it will definitely help students not be as stressed thinking about what they have to pay back later on in life,” Kennedy Williams, SIU freshman, said.

SIU junior Dylan Chambers believes the pause should be continued.

He said some of his fellow Salukis are not putting education as a priority due to some financial reasons.

“Things that I hear around the university and things, and especially with people that aren’t coming back to school currently, is that they’ve got stuff sitting on their bill or they’ve got too many loans out right now and when they finally save enough they can continue to come back or something like that,” he said.

Chambers said he is already planning for the future with student loans.

“Adding up and making sure I’m saving enough for that to get it paid back in a relatively good time,” he explained.

The Biden administration approved nearly $32 billion in loan relief, so far, and is working on new regulations on loan forgiveness.

On Wednesday, Aug. 24, SIU-Carbondale released the following statement:

“Earlier today, President Biden unveiled an action on student debt forgiveness. As part of our commitment to our campus community, Southern Illinois University Carbondale is advising Salukis to visit The Biden-Harris Administration’s Student Debt Relief Plan Explained webpage. It includes a link to subscribe for notifications when the process officially opens.

“Public universities like SIU Carbondale continue to provide the best opportunity for a high-quality, affordable education. SIU is both transparent regarding our costs and a partner to our students in helping to find ways to manage that cost.”

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