Let’s start this editorial by making one thing clear: Student loan debt is a serious issue to everyone on this campus and everyone in our nation. Predatory lending places an undue burden on people seeking higher education and makes it nearly impossible for all but the wealthiest students to earn an education without graduating under a mountain of debt.
Lenders exploit students while maximizing profits, and we need people on our side to fight for fair loans and responsible lending. Those people on our side can and should be the members of our student government, for instance the chair of the Associated Students of Madison. They should be a vocal student presence on issues like debt.
On all of these points, we agree with ASM Chair Allie Gardner, Maxwell Love, Tia Nowack, Seth Hoffmeister and Michael Pincikowski. Beyond that, though, we have any number of disagreements with those five who were arrested after a protest at the Washington, D.C., headquarters of loan giant Sallie Mae on Monday. Gardner, Love and Nowack were in Washington thanks in part to funding from student fees.
That last point is the most important: These members of our student government were in our nation’s capital thanks to our money. As students, we paid for them to fly to Washington and get arrested.
The protest was part of the United States Student Association’s annual Lobby Day, a chance to talk directly with members of Congress about issues important to students like loan debt. Also, part of the lobby day schedule, though, was the protest in front of Sallie Mae that ended with dozens of students arrested.
Now, regardless of whether we think members of our government should be attending sit-ins as formal representatives of UW-Madison students, the real question is whether it was right to use student money to finance a trip, and a protest, that ends with top members of our student government in handcuffs. The answer is easy: No.
If you’re going to ask for our money, you had better use it wisely. Don’t use it for an idiotic demonstration that only succeeded in getting a few pictures on Twitter and letting you walk with a smug smile as police lead you away.
Here’s an idea: Why not use the money we give you for actual lobbying efforts? Because they were arrested, our student government officials missed meetings with congresspeople they could have lobbied (novel concept) on student issues. Instead, our representatives sat down in the office of a corporation that was never going to listen to them anyway.
The issues students face are serious, and we need serious representatives to work on their behalf. Unfortunately, that’s not what we have right now.
