Tori Wilson
Lantern Staff
In recent years, the idea of free college tuition has been circulating. Subsequently, some 2020 presidential candidates have been quite outspoken on the issue. Bernie Sanders is very passionate about the idea, using the slogan “Free College for All.”
According to Edvisors.com, there are two dozen countries that offer students free tuition. Some notable countries on the list are Egypt, France, Norway, Sweden and Spain, along with many more. If other countries are able to make this a reality, the United States can too.
Offering free tuition to students is possible but changes have to be made. Of course, this would still have to be paid for, but rather by the individual, it would be paid for as a whole, in tax dollars. Sanders plans on taxing Wall Street a fraction of a percent in order to generate the funds needed to cancel student loan debt and provide free tuition.
The cost of college has been inflating and will continue to do so. This prohibits low-income students from being able to get a degree. If low-income students do seek out higher education, many times they leave with a crippling amount of debt.
In addition to offering free tuition, Sanders strives to extend federal pell grants in order to cover non-tuition costs of college such as housing, books, supplies and other basic costs of living. According to Sanders, this would be an investment into the future of the youth and the country.
As a current college student, I made the decision to attend Butler prior to a state university because I knew I would not be able to afford four years at a state institution. By having the opportunity to attend Butler, it is keeping me student loan free for my first two years of college. After that, there is a lot of uncertainty on what the cost of college would be for me personally.
In general, very few students are able to complete a bachelor’s degree or even an associates without going into some kind of debt. According to Forbes, the total student loan debt in the United States has reached 1.6 trillion dollars. It would take a good portion of these students a lifetime to pay down their debt, especially those in lower paying fields such as education and social work.
In order to make college a reasonable opportunity for all students and not just those with money, the United States has to make proactive changes regarding the cost of tuition.
Although Sanders is not the only candidate with policies concerning college tuition, his seems to be the most known as well as the most developed, in my own opinion.