Pallone Discusses Student Loan Issues with Rutgers Students

Rutgers University sophomore Joseph Cashin, 19, of Marlton, knows that education is costly. His education will leave him about $20,000 in debt when he graduates, not including a planned year of graduate school after he completes his undergraduate degree.

According to Cashin, who is also the incoming student representative to the university's Board of Governors, the problem is not the debt. It's the fact that his classmates are congratulating him for owing such a low amount in student loans, when some of them have to repay upwards of $30,000 to $40,000 themselves.

Cashin had the opportunity to take these thoughts to an elected official during a conversation with Congressman Frank Pallone at the Rutgers University Student Center on Thursday afternoon.

Surrounded by Rutgers University students studying for finals, Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) met with a dozen students to talk about student loans and the rising cost of college tuition.

Pallone said that the main issue he and his constituents in Washington are facing at the moment is the rising cost of student loan interest rates, which may go as high as 6.8 percent on July 1.

This would affect 144,000 students in New Jersey, according to a release from Pallone's office.

A Republican-promoted solution to keeping loan rates down would use funding from women's healthcare programs, while Democrats suggest alleviating the interest rate increases by ending tax subsidies to big oil and gas companies, a bill that Pallone is a co-sponsor of.

"The bottom line is that this is something that everyone wants to address," Pallone said.

The task is to figure out a bipartisan way to do so, he said.

Pallone also addressed Pell Grants, which more than 16,000 Rutgers students use to finance their education, according to numbers provided by his office.

The Republican-proposed House budget suggests $200 million in Pell Grant cuts over the next 10 years, which could leave as many as one million students in the lurch without the funds.

Cashin specifically asked Pallone what students can do to help keep the loan costs down, to which Pallone said "Just keep doing what you are doing," in regard to educating other students and communicating with elected officials.

Pallone said that it is the opinion of many students that they cannot bring change when it comes to the factors governing the cost of their education.

That's not true, he said.

Cashin said that his ultimate plan is to become an English teacher. He will pay his student loans off by saving up and paying them off as he can.

His choice to attend Rutgers was partially due to affordability, as he also received acceptance letters from the University of Delaware and Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, he said.

He has grown to really love Rutgers, and said he considered it the best university in America. But as for being congratulated for having "only" $20,000 in student loan debt at an "affordable" school?

"That's a problem," he said.