According to an AP News report published on March 18, the Trump administration proposed new limits on student loans taken out by parents and graduate students to curb the raising of college costs.

In the plan, it never mentions specific limits, but they could vary based on academic programs.

Will this actually help students? According to the Trump administration, it definitely could. However, I’m certain most people will agree that this plan proposal is completely ludicrous.

When asked about his opinion on the plan being proposed, Gregory Chang, a sophomore pharmacy major and political science minor, stated, “If you are pro-democracy there should be no reason to be against education.”

I’m not saying Donald Trump is anti-education, but capping the amount of federal student loans one can receive is counterintuitive if you want to support education.”

What makes this plan so bad? Well, this will actually damage students. This is really common sense when you think about it.

The cost of private institutions always increases every year, and for an example just look at Wilkes’ tuition for the past five years.

When tuition goes up, most students have to request more money for their federal student loans, which in turn puts more students in debt. If students cannot get the loans required, students must work to pay for the really high balance.

If a student can’t pay a really high balance out of pocket, a student has to make two choices: either drop out of their current university  and transfer to another university that has a significantly lesser cost of attendance, or just not go to college overall as this would be a deterrent.

I asked Delmar Guziewicz, a former Wilkes University history and international studies student whether or not capping student loans would have been a deterrent for going to pursue higher education. He stated the following,

“I firmly believe that capping student is a deterrent for pursuing higher education. If you expect to run out of money, university is not something to pursue. While student loans may be detrimental to the student, having the guarantee to pay for university is a safe net.”

If students view this as a deterrent and decide not to go to university, this will easily create a further divide between classes in the United States.

Individuals won’t be able to obtain a degree as easily and will go into fields that won’t be making as much money as those with a four-year degree.

If only the rich can afford college, then they will hold the highest positions in society, displacing those who are not in those fields and positions. This is quite alarming when you really think about it.

This is clearly an oppressive policy being put on by individuals who have no clear understanding on what students actually go through when they enroll in higher level education. They also seem that they do not have a feasible or realistic view on the future of young American citizens.

Overall, I would hope that individuals strongly oppose this act. You can break this down into an ethical/moral issue because of the negative effects this would have on the country.

If Americans act and contact their representatives, they can help prevent this from occurring.