Biden announces student loan forgiveness plan; Chapman alumni react

Chapman alumni share their thoughts and opinions on Biden’s recent loan forgiveness plan. Graphic by SUKHMAN SAHOTA, art director

President Joe Biden unveiled a new student loan relief plan August 24, following up on a promise he made during his initial presidential campaign in 2020.

The plan calls for forgiving $10,000 of debt if the individual has an income of $125,000 a year or less, and those who are married must have a combined income less than $250,000. 

In addition to this plan, students who received a Pell grant are eligible for $20,000 of their loans to be covered.

There will be an application posted in October where those with student loans can apply to see if they qualify for the relief through the U.S Department of Education. However, there are many people who already have their information in the system and will be automatically considered. 

After the application is submitted, it is estimated that results will be received in the following four to six weeks.

The relief plan comes after the student loan debt of Americans has skyrocketed to around $1.75 trillion throughout the last several decades, leaving 45 million people in the country still paying off loans from their time in college.

Every year, Chapman University’s Office of Financial Aid offers many students loans as an alternative way to assist in paying for tuition instead of upfront. However, this leaves many alumni to continue paying off these bills for years due to the interest that accumulates on top of the loans, thus creating a difficult situation to repay.

Heather Boyd — a Chapman alumna who graduated in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology — left the university with $60,000 in debt from taking out loans in order to pay for her education. Since she already paid off her loans, she has an outside perspective on the plan.

“My loans are paid off, but I do not want American taxpayers to pay for others’ student loans,” Boyd said. “I chose to continue my college degrees, which is my responsibility.”

On the other hand, many alumni who have graduated more recently have the potential to benefit from this relief plan.

Kathryn Nowell, who graduated in the spring of 2022 with a degree in communication studies, took out a total of $20,000 in loans to help bridge the gap for paying for her education.

“I am absolutely applying for the program because it will take some weight off of my shoulders.” Nowell said. “I think it is a great program that is going to be able to help millions of people, and now college graduates can feel less burdened.”

Alyssa Welfinger graduated from Chapman in 2019 with a bachelor’s in public relations and advertising with a minor in business and a total of $29,000 in loans. Welfinger currently has $8,700 remaining to pay off, and she plans to apply to the program to eliminate the remaining amount due. 

“I think the program is a bandaid on a broken bone, meaning it is not doing much to fully fix the problem,” Welfinger told The Panther. “I can only hope that education and student debt continues to be a conversation under the scope of fixing the problem at the core.”

There has also been a student loan pause on payment extended through Dec. 31, 2022. For current students, some loans may qualify for forgiveness. The funds must have been disbursed by July 30, 2022 in order to qualify.