A student advocacy group launched its Web site last Monday to raise public awareness about the number of students who are in debt because of college loans, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Student Debt Alert, a project of the Student Public Interest Research Groups, features a Student Debt Yearbook on its site that resembles facebook.com. Students can put up pictures of themselves along with information about their colleges, majors and how much debt they expect to be in after graduating.
The site also urges students to write letters to newspaper editors and to contact the Education Department's Commission on the Future of Higher Education using an online form. Student groups expressed concern when the commission was formed without any student representatives, according to the Chronicle.
Christine Lindstrom, a higher education program director for PIRG, said the group wanted to make the problem of student debt more visible and more easily understood.
"Evidence is mounting that the burden of student loan debt is hindering students from going into the community-oriented careers that they want, from purchasing a home and even from deciding to go to college in the first place," she said in an e-mail.
The group is student-directed and Internet based, which led to developing the online yearbook, Lindstrom said.
"We knew we wanted to humanize the impacts of student debt," she said. "That was our starting point."
Nick Miller, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs, said he would put his information on the site as long as there were no obligations. However, there is little point to the Web site, he added.
"It is generally well-known that students are in debt," Miller said.
Wendell Cochran, associate professor of communication, said he does not think students who use the Web site understand that privacy is an issue on the Internet.
"What strikes me is why somebody would put this information about themselves on a Web site," he said. "... There's no way of knowing whether their statements are true."
Travis Smith, a freshman in SPA, said he thinks the Web site promotes awareness of the student debt issue.
"People can plan for what their debt may be based off of other students at specific colleges," he said.
The average amount of loan debt has risen 60 percent in seven years, Lindstrom said. A college degree is almost a necessity in the U.S., and students are relying even more on loans to obtain degrees, she said.
"I think in general students are interested in helping us publicize the very real impacts of that burden, and they are interested in helping us spark discussion and debate about the best way to pay for college in this country," Lindstrom said.
While college students seem to respond to this type of Web site based on the popularity of facebook.com and myspace.com, students are already aware of their impending debts, Cochran said.
Allison Girres, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she thinks debt is part of being a college student, and students can choose their schools based on scholarships and their financial situations.
"[The site] doesn't really appear to be doing anything," she said.
Liz Purvis, a freshman in the School of International Service, said the site would be more helpful if it educated students about how to handle their debt.
Going into debt is a sacrifice college students must make, she said.
"It's part of being an adult," Purvis said.
PIRG will create task forces on campuses nationwide to address student debt in the spring, Lindstrom said. The yearbook expanded from 10 campuses featured last Monday to 50 campuses five days later. The yearbook will feature thousands of students from hundreds of colleges and universities by the end of the academic year, according to Lindstrom.
