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How One Organization is Changing the Future of Student Debt

As midterm elections approach, citizens are narrowing their view on the precedents established by Joe Biden’s administration in the first years of his presidency. While some call recent policies like Biden’s student loan plan a life saving change, others claim that it is unfair and ultimately harmful to  the students who reap its benefits.

With all of the recent changes made by the Biden administration Cam E’Calle Sposhure and his family are outraged by the privileges that many American citizens are now granted.

“First this whole burn pit ordeal, the government acting like us strong American soldiers can’t handle constant exposure to fumes from a few burning pits of oil and chemicals. Now they’re telling my son he doesn’t have to work like a man to pay off his student loans?” Sposhure said. 

Map of Average Student Debt Per Person By State | Photo Courtesy of The Education Data Initiative

Biden’s relief plan is slated to absolve low income households from $10,000 to $20,000, canceling large amounts of debt for nearly 43 million people. Despite most students seeing this as an opportunity to focus on saving money for the future, Mike Roeplastic Sposhure and his family feel it’s merely a way of building habits of unaccountability in young adults. 

“Personally, I’m going to work to pay off my loans regardless of what the government offers. You’re never going to be able to make it out in the real world if you haven’t gone a few months purely living off Funions and scraps from your Subway shift,” said Sposhure.

A group of like minded students at Sposhure’s school have banded together in an initiative to fight against the new debt relief plan, hoping to spread awareness and promote responsibility across the county. Hause Annalease, leader of  IHeartMyDebts,  a nonprofit organization that started at UCL (UC Loans) with plans to spread outreach first across different Californian universities, and  then hopefully branch out of state.

Hause Annalease, President of IHeartMyDebts | Photo Courtesy of thispersondoesnotexist.com

“It’s a really hard decision to make for a lot of people, and I completely understand that. I’m hoping that our program can help a lot of people make the correct decision. Often taking that path can be hard— I get people telling me all the time how they sleep in their cars because they can’t pay rent anymore— but while it’s a hard decision, it’s also the one that’s gonna benefit you more in the end,” Annalease said.

IHeartMyDebts have regular plans to hold lessons that will help students maintain their independence from the government, manage their finances in the most efficient way, and teach how to sell their plasma for money. 

Support has come from all across the campus, not only from students, but from faculty too. Whesley Baldwin, an administrator at UC Loans has been one of the most prominent supporters of the organization , frequently promoting it across the school and making donations to the team behind it.

“You know, when I saw the news, I was shocked! All the work I’ve done trapping teenagers into decades long debt, erased! When I heard about IHeartMyDebts, I immediately reached out. It’s really great to hear all the stories of our students carrying on the culture of our school and falling into crippling debt for years,” said Baldwin.

Students and Alumni Advocating for the Cancellation of Student Debt | Photo Courtesy of Forbes

Other staff have joined in support for this club, excited to see new students ready to carry on the school, and world wide legacy. Several teachers have even agreed to help with club meetings, planning to share their own experiences of graduating directly into a recession with thousands of dollars in debt.

“It’s really great. We’ve been getting donations to cover the costs of running the club left and right by teachers who are excited to see the new generation of adults grow up just like them. It’s really helped foster a deep mentor/student relationship between everyone, and sometimes the staff will even buy everyone a fun sized bag of chips,” said Annalease.

Annalease hopes to use the donations to start getting other branches of the IHeartMyDebts organization  going across the country to help students in need. Seeing the impact it’s had on students alone in her area continues to motivate Annalease on her journey to keep student debt a thriving ordeal, as it is the American way. 

Written by Samael Johnson

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