5 November 2019
Douglas Androsiglio
According to the Pew Research Center, about one-third of adults in the Up to Us under the age 30 have student loan debt. Americans, as reported by Experian, owe a total of over $1.5 trillion in student loans in 2019. This number is only going up. UCCS’ Up to Us team to raises awareness on this issue.
Up to Us is a nationwide, campus-based campaign to, “raise awareness of our country’s long-term fiscal challenges and how they could affect our economic future and to encourage students to make their voices heard on these critical issues. The competition is the product of a partnership between three nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations dedicated to engaging the next generation of leaders on important issues,” according to their website.
They are currently running a competition between over 400 campuses to obtain as many pledges as possible. The winning team will be awarded $10,000 cash prize and access to “world class conferences” and various leadership workshops.
Katelyn Sethi, the organizer for UCCS’ team, believes that “the solution is millennials and college students talking more about it, because we will be the ones affected the most. We’re putting more in the government and getting the least out. If we really care, are talking about it, and normalize discussion around that, then we’re find the right solution.”
As of the writing of this article, UCCS is leading in pledges just above Yale University.