Photo: Valérian Mazataud Le Devoir Back-to-school day on the campus of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. Members of the university's fraternities and sororities pose in suits and dresses on the steps of a staircase.
Posted at 0:00
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, the start of the school year means celebration: students warmly embrace in the hallways of the study center, where a Rihanna song is playing from a DJ table.
Between whistles and the hubbub of conversation, hundreds of young people from this historically black university, the largest in the state of Maryland, walk the hallways 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.
Photo: Valérian Mazataud Le Devoir The football stadium on the campus of Morgan State University, in Baltimore, Maryland.
With his cap on backwards, pierced ears and a chain around his neck, Jonathan Foster is starting 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 get his degree.
“My parents don’t make enough money to pay my tuition. My only option for higher education was to take out 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 costs are the equivalent of nearly CA$11,000 per year. In Quebec, the base annual tuition fee is about $3,000 for Quebec university students, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Higher Education.
At the end of his undergraduate studies, Jonathan estimates that 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 access a better education. “It’s really hard,” he says as students rush to class in the downpour.
Photo: Valérian Mazataud Le Devoir Jonathan Foster, 21, a senior business student, on the campus of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Jonathan nevertheless feels lucky, as his loans are well below the national average, thanks in part to the $16,000 he received in scholarships and his tuition fees are lower than if he had enrolled at other institutions.
In 2024, the average student at a public university in the United States will borrow the equivalent of more than CA$43,000 to obtain 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 says, 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.
It’s barely morning and quiet still reigns on the campus of Howard University, about ten minutes from the White House in Washington. Coffees 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 Devoir, in the heart of the campus’ main courtyard, surrounded by green spaces lined with historical monuments.
But this career choice seems more and more 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 cost of their children's undergraduate education.
Photo: Valérian Mazataud Le Devoir Gabrielle Moore, 19, a senior in arts and sciences at Howard University, Washington DC.
“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 having been able to get better scholarships,” she sighs.
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 (CA$72,600) per borrower, according to the Education Data Initiative.
Although she’s not interested in the field, 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 take on this burden,” she says, a hint of emotion in her voice. But upon reflection, she admits she doesn’t know how to do it without making things worse with more loans.
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.
Photo: Valérian Mazataud Le Devoir Left: On the campus of Howard University in Washington DC, a poster reminds us that presidential candidate and current Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris earned her bachelor's degree from Howard University. Right: Campus of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Last year, however, the conservative-led U.S. Supreme Court struck down the president’s attempt 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. Conversely, 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 part 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.
With the equivalent of more than CA$67,500 in student debt at the age of 24, Dorien Rogers, fresh out of university, 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.
Photo: Valérian Mazataud Le Devoir Dorien Rogers, 24, former teacher at Julius West Middle School in Rockville, Maryland, where the photo was taken.
“When I started teaching, I discovered that I wasn’t the only staff member who had more than one job. “It was like a punch in the gut, but also reassuring to know I wasn’t alone,” he tells Devoir in front of 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 the Maryland youth wing, where he actively advocates for student debt relief nationwide.
“I should be able to invest my money in a house, in the stock market. That’s not 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 like this,” 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 funded with support from the Transat International Journalism Fund-Le Devoir.
Before his PSG match against Brest, young Bradley Barcola attracts praise from the media who…
Before his PSG match against Brest, young Bradley Barcola attracts praise from the media who…
© Warner Bros After two particularly successful feature films, Stephen King's It Saga will be…
© Renault It’s always interesting to know where products that we can use on a…
The fire that broke out in the massif of Aspres Thursday, is now fixed. On…
À the origin of the The Mazan rape case, Dominique Pélicot had first attracted attention…