Young Americans from Generation Z who will vote for the first time in the presidential election are facing issues that affect them in a very specific way. “Le Devoir” went to meet them in several states to explore the issues that motivate them to go to the polls in November.
On the campus of Morgan State University, northeast of Baltimore, back-to-school rhymes with celebration: students embrace warmly in the corridors of the study center, where a Rihanna song resonates from a DJ table.
Amidst whistles and the hubbub of conversation, hundreds of young people from this historically black university, the largest in the state of Maryland, circulate in the corridors while members of student fraternities, dressed to the nines, pose in front of a large central staircase to immortalize the moment.
Outside the hall, however, the return to class is not as festive for everyone.
With his baseball cap on backwards, his ears pierced and his neck chain around his neck, Jonathan Foster is entering his final year of a bachelor’s degree in business administration. For him, the start of the school year is a reminder of the student loans he still has to take out to graduate.
“My parents don’t earn enough money to pay my tuition. My only option to access higher education was to go through student loans,” summarizes the 21-year-old, on an outdoor bench in the heart of the vast urban campus.
As a Maryland resident, his tuition fees are the equivalent of nearly CA$11,000 per year. In Quebec, the basic annual tuition fees are around $3,000 for Quebec university students, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Higher Education.
By the end of his undergraduate studies, Jonathan estimates he will have to repay the equivalent of CA$27,000: $20,000 in federal loans and $7,000 in private loans.
“It’s extremely frustrating to have to carry such a financial burden just to get a better education. It’s really difficult,” he said as students rushed to classes in the downpour.
Jonathan feels lucky, however, that his loans are well below the national average, thanks in part to the $16,000 he received in scholarships, and his tuition is lower than if he had attended other institutions.
By 2024, the average student at a public university in the United States will borrow the equivalent of more than CA$43,000 to earn a bachelor’s degree, according to the Education Data Initiative, a team of researchers that compiles available data on higher education in the country.
Despite his pride in being the first in his family to attend college, Jonathan can’t help but think about the financial decisions he’ll have to make in his twenties. Plans like buying a house or a car will have to be put on hold for now.
“It’s just not in the cards right now,” he said, explaining that loan payments, on top of an already high cost of living and medical bills, make it “just impossible” to save for his future.
Stress and guilt
It’s barely morning and quiet still reigns on the campus of Howard University, about ten minutes from the White House in Washington. Coffee in hand, a few students head to class, discussing Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent visit to the university where she earned her bachelor’s degree in political science in 1986.
Gabrielle Moore, 19, is preparing for a busy day, between covering an event for the student magazine and her first classes of the semester.
The public relations student dreams of managing communications for a major beauty brand, she confides to Dutyin the heart of the main courtyard of the campus, in the middle of green spaces bordered by historic monuments.
But that career choice seems increasingly unreasonable to her, considering the equivalent of CA$81,000 in loans, shared between her and her parents, that she will have to repay after graduation. In the United States, some parents can get federal loans to help cover the costs of their children’s undergraduate tuition.
“I feel really guilty. My mom is still trying to pay off her own loans, and on top of that, we have medical debt. I feel like a failure for not being able to get better scholarships,” she says.
Gabrielle’s situation is far from isolated, especially in Washington: Residents of the District of Columbia hold the highest average federal student loan debt in the United States, at $53,700 (C$72,600) per borrower, according to the Education Data Initiative.
Although the field doesn’t interest her, Gabrielle is now considering pursuing a law degree, a more lucrative field that she believes will allow her to pay off her loans more quickly.
“My parents didn’t ask me to do this, but I feel too guilty seeing them bear this burden,” she says with a hint of emotion in her voice. But upon reflection, she admits she doesn’t know how to do it without making the situation worse with new loans.
An electoral issue
This year, Jonathan and Gabrielle will be among the 8 million Gen Z voters who will be able to cast their first ballot in November’s presidential election. For both students, the prospect of federal loan forgiveness, promised during President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, will play a major role in the election.
The Biden administration has already forgiven nearly $170 billion in debt for about 4.8 million people since 2021, and is still trying to cancel billions more in debt.
Last year, however, the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court struck down an attempt by the president to cancel $430 billion in student debt.
If elected in November, Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has said she will “continue to fight” for debt cancellation. In contrast, former President Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, say student loan borrowers should not have their debt canceled.
For Jonathan Foster, who will vote for the Democratic Party, the issue of debt repayment is a crucial aspect of the presidential campaign.
“Even if it’s just a small amount that can be written off, it’s still better than nothing. Even $1,000 could make a big difference in allowing us to not have to worry about a few months of payments,” says the 21-year-old.
Teacher by day, delivery man by night
With the equivalent of over $67,500 CAD in student debt at age 24, fresh out of university Dorien Rogers is constantly struggling to make ends meet. After completing his bachelor’s degree in political science and international studies in 2022, the young Clarksburg, Maryland resident dreamed of a career focused on developing government policy.
But under pressure from student debt, Dorien took a job teaching at a high school. Realizing that his salary was not enough to meet his needs, he turned to home food deliveries to supplement his income.
“When I started teaching, I discovered that I wasn’t the only staff member with more than one job. It was a gut punch, but also reassuring to know that I wasn’t alone,” he tells Duty outside the entrance to the high school where he worked last year, a half-hour from downtown Washington.
Over his shirt and tie ensemble, Dorien proudly sports his jacket from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights organization. For the past few years, the 24-year-old has worked there as president of its Maryland youth wing, where he actively advocates for student debt relief at the national level.
“I should be able to invest my money in a house, in the stock market. Isn’t that supposed to be the American dream? I don’t want to live a life where I have to constantly be on my toes just to get by. No one should have to live that way,” he says.
While continuing his home deliveries over the coming months, Dorien intends to use his meetings to raise awareness among young people about the importance of going to the polls in November.
“Student debt is a $1.7 trillion crisis that affects more than 40 million Americans. This issue is not only central to the current electoral context, but also essential to the health of our democracy,” he concludes.
This report was financed with the support of the Transat International Journalism Fund-The Duty.