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Kal Penn, Actor and Political Activist, Talks Student Loans at CMU

by KREX News Room
by Danielle Kreutter

Story Created: Oct 5, 2012 at 8:24 PM MDT

Story Updated: Oct 7, 2012 at 10:23 PM MDT

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.- Dozens of students gathered at Colorado Mesa University to hear Kal Penn, actor and political activist, speak on behalf of the Obama campaign.

"Particularly for young people, whether they're on the right or the left, college affordability and jobs obviously are two of the huge issues. The president doubled the Pell Grant and created the college tax credit, worth about $10,000 over the course of four years," said Penn.

Policies that help minimize student loans catch the ears of college students like Caleb Ferganchisk.

"I'm definitely in debt ... I think it's becoming more common for college students to wind up in debt," said Ferganchisk.

A recent analysis by the Pew Research Center finds that to be true.

Nineteen percent of Americans had college debt in 2010, the biggest three-year increase in two decades.

The study says that because of the economy, fewer college students than before are able to settle into full-time careers right after graduation.

"Because our economy is basically dependent right now on what's going on at Wall Street, we don't see a lot of jobs growing in any other sector," said Ferganchisk.

Penn said wanting the government to make higher education a priority is something he hears about often.

"At a lot of events like these, we've got young folks who are on the left and on the right, and what I think is really dynamic is no matter what their political affiliation is, most of them would agree that it is the role of the federal government to subsidize education and make college more affordable," said Penn.

Several students in the audience agreed.

"I try really hard to pay back as they pile up," said CMU student Jessica Malone.

"My parents don't really help out a whole lot with college so it's all on me, and I definitely agree with the whole thing he was saying about Obama trying to help students out," said Kegan Pfeiffer, a student at CMU.

"Making it so everyone can have access to a quality education that can give them a quality job is definitely something that's important, and I don't think it should really be a partisan issue," said Ferganchisk.

Penn also reminded students about the importance of registering to vote before the Oct. 9 deadline, so that no matter where you stand, you can express your opinions in the polls.

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Floyd said on Friday, Oct 5 at 9:22 PM

Obama signed a bill last year that would double college loan interest rates on July 1,2012, because he is interested in getting re-elected he had the date to double the interest rate moved to July 1, 2013. The rate will go from 3.4% to 6.8%. Isn't that great news for the student voting for obama? Give him your vote and he will raise your debt, with no job in sight that sounds like a great deal for the student. NOT!

gmu said on Saturday, Oct 6 at 4:48 PM

Maybe I should aim to become an actress. Hopefully I will end up like Kal Penn in some well known movie so I can make good money.Then I could finish going to school and won't have to worry about the debt. The odds of that happening are slim. But hey anything is possible because I am not living in another country being an oppressed woman. By the way I like Kal Penn ,but maybe someone else should be speaking to students.

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