International

Students in America Lament Loan Burden

Published

3 years ago

July 1, 2023

Charles Flames

377 Views

Americans are currently lamenting about the student loan burden which some students are kicking against.

If the United States Supreme Court had not overruled President Joe Biden’s programme to cancel billions of dollars in student debt, Satra D. Taylor, who borrowed $40,000 to complete her studies, could have seen that amount reduced by half.

Now the 27-year-old – who used the loan to study at the University of Michigan, supplementing a scholarship and other financial aid – is back on the hook for the whole sum.

“We created this unjust, inequitable, expensive, higher education system and so we need to redress it,” she told AFP, standing before the high court.

Biden’s forgiveness programme was meant to lift more than $400 billion in student debt weighing down the lives of millions of lower and middle-income Americans.

Certain borrowers would have been eligible to receive $20,000 in cancellations, while the vast majority were eligible for $10,000.

But the court overruled the programme Friday, stating that given the large sum, the president had overstepped his powers.

“Any American who wants to pursue higher education should be able to do so,” Taylor said.

“We have students now who have not acquired the generational wealth to pay for their cost of college, it needs to be debt-free,” added Taylor, who works for the youth advocacy group Young Invincibles.

Taylor said she was not surprised given the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, which on Thursday banned the use of affirmative action in university admission policies.

Taylor, who is African American, said the loan forgiveness decision was a setback for Black and Latino students who “would have disproportionately benefitted from this relief.”

“This is absolutely not only a social justice issue, but also a racial equity issue.”
– ‘Future generations’ –
Mina Schultz, 37, who borrowed approximately $65,000 for her studies, emphasized the impact student debt has on the entire economy.

When the pandemic hit and student loan repayments were frozen, it was “a blessing,” she told AFP from outside the Supreme Court.

People were “able to contribute more to the economy” by spending money elsewhere, whether on food as prices surged due to inflation or on things like rent, the George Washington University graduate said.

Schultz would have benefited from $10,000 in debt cancellation, which “would have been really helpful.”

That sort of money “is a huge deal to a lot of people,” said Schultz, who will be forking over some $340 per month when payments resume in several months.

Enjoying a seemingly debt-free life during the repayment pause, she was able to move out of her studio apartment and into a one-bedroom unit.

Nearby, Shanna Hayes, 34, could not contain her emotion as she spoke before several cameras: Her debt, originally $130,000, now exceeds $150,000 due to compounding interest that has accrued over the past 11 years.

“I ask you to remember that the student debt crisis impacts our grandparents, parents… children and future generations,” she told the reporters.

AFP

Related Topics:American STudents Featured Lament Loan Burden

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International

BBC to Cut 2,000 Jobs in Biggest Downsize in 15 Years

The corporation announced a £600 million cost-cutting plan in February, saying that it would involve a reduction in headcount and the end of some programming.

Published

1 day ago

April 16, 2026

OCHEFA

17 Views

The BBC is to cut as many as 2,000 jobs in the biggest downsizing of the public service broadcaster in 15 years.

Staff were informed of the cuts, which will affect about 10 percent of the BBC’s 21,500 employees, at an all-staff meeting on Wednesday afternoon, the Guardian UK reported yesterday.

The round of job losses, the biggest at the BBC since 2011, is being set in motion before the former top Google executive Matt Brittin takes over as director general next month.

The corporation announced a £600 million cost-cutting plan in February, saying that it would involve a reduction in headcount and the end of some programming.

Tim Davie, the outgoing director general, said at the time that the BBC would need to cut 10 per cent of its approximately £6 billion annual cost base over the next three years.

Davie left the BBC on April 2, having announced his resignation in November after controversy over coverage of issues including Donald Trump, Gaza and trans rights.

International

Trump deletes Jesus post of himself after outcry

The AI picture was posted late Sunday and removed Monday.Asked about the post, Trump denied that he was trying to look like Jesus Christ.

Published

4 days ago

April 13, 2026

OCHEFA

41 Views

US President Donald Trump on Monday deleted a social media image apparently depicting him as Jesus after an outcry from religious leaders that he was being blasphemous.

AFP reported that the image posted on Trump’s Truth Social platform showed him in flowing red and white robes, touching the forehead of what appeared to be a sick man and with light shining from his hand and head.

An American flag waved in the background while various figures gazed up at the president in reverence.

The AI picture was posted late Sunday and removed Monday.Asked about the post, Trump denied that he was trying to look like Jesus Christ.

“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do Red Cross,” he told journalists.

“It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better. I make people a lot better.

The post generated an outcry from several prominent conservative Christians who are among Trump’s biggest backers.

“I don’t know if the President thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy,” Megan Basham, a conservative journalist and commentator wrote on X.

International

Pope Leo reacts to Trump’s blasts “I have no intention to debate with Trump”

Trump said Leo is “Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me

Published

4 days ago

April 13, 2026

OCHEFA

61 Views

President Donald Trump on Sunday blasted Pope Leo XIV over the Roman Catholic pontiff’s criticism of the U.S. war with Iran.

In reaction Monday Pope Leo XIV on Monday said, ” I no intention to debate” with Donald Trump on the US-Iran war.

“I am not a politician,” the pope told reporters aboard the papal plane as they headed to Algeria for the pontiff’s first visit to Africa.

“I have no intention to debate with (Trump). The message is the same: to promote peace”, Pope emphasised.

President said in a Truth Social post he does not “want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do.”

Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, and other church leaders have also at times been sharply critical of Trump’s domestic immigration policies.

Trump linked the pope’s ascension to his return to office as president.“Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise,” Trump said.

“He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”

Trump said Leo is “Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me, nor does the fact that he meets with Obama Sympathizers like David Axelrod, a LOSER from the Left, who is one of those who wanted churchgoers and clerics to be arrested,” referring to a recent meeting between the pope and President Barack Obama’s former political aide.