Brexton Isaacs

As the fall kicks off, students have arrived on campus ready to start a new year. While there is a lot excitement in the air, many students don’t realize that the interest rates for their government-issued student loans just increased, forcing students to pay even more for their education. It’s critical that students know and understand that our current Congressman, Rodney Davis, actually voted to double our student loan interest rates, costing us more to attend Illinois Wesleyan University. While Democrats in Congress pushed back against doubling our interest rates to 6.8 percent, Republicans still managed to increase our interest rates from 3.4 percent to 3.86 percent, and mandated that those rates go up incrementally each year.

It is unfathomable that our Congressman voted to make college even less affordable, making it harder for us to pay for school. Even at the 3.4 percent level, the federal government made a profit from our loans, and now, in a budget crunch, Rodney Davis and the Republicans in Congress are working to balance the budget on the backs of students across the United States.

This isn’t the first time that Davis has acted against students. Davis also supported the Ryan budget, which would have cut Pell Grants and allowed student loan lenders to start charging students interest on their loans while they’re still in school. Davis also opposed Senators Dick Durbin and Elizabeth Warren’s bill to give students the ability to refinance their loans. College affordability is critical for our country and Rodney Davis is standing in the way.

At each and every turn, Rodney Davis has voted against us, but guess what, IWU? We have a chance to fight back. This November, Rodney Davis is running for re-election. It’s critical we don’t let him win another term. Democrat Ann Callis is running against Davis. She will fight for us and college affordability—which is why I’ll be voting for her on November 4. Davis only won by 1,002 votes, less than half of the population of IWU, in 2012. With those numbers, we can make the difference. Be sure to register to vote here on campus soon so you can cast your ballot for Ann Callis and throw out Rodney Davis and his anti-student policies.