Klobuchar talks federal financial aid on campus

University of Minnesota – U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., met with about 15 students at Coffman Union on Wednesday for a roundtable discussion students about federal financial aid.

The interest rates on federal Stafford loans is set to double — from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent — for more than 7 million students July 1.

Both President Barack Obama and likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney support a proposal that would cap the Stafford loan interest rate at 3.4 percent for another year. Klobuchar is a Senate co-sponsor of the bill to do so.

She said it helps that students are galvanized on the issue — especially on the Internet.

“That’s why I think you’re starting to see it becoming an issue in the presidential race and in Congress — not just swept under the rug,” she said.

-Minnesota Daily
By Greta Kaul

Santa Ana joins in May Day protests

California State University, Fullerton – Orange County residents marched in the streets of downtown Santa Ana during a May Day protest organized by the Orange County May Day Coalition. The same day, Students for Quality Education started preparations for the upcoming hunger strike on campus.

About 300 demonstrators, including activists from Occupy Santa Ana and Irvine, walked through the streets with colorful signs and chants that addressed a broad range of recent controversial issues. The issues in question included police brutality, obtaining driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants and tuition increases in higher education.

Yenni Diaz, an organizer with the OC May Day Coalition, said the members in the group work with different social justice issues, and May Day is the opportunity for all the groups to get together to rally for their causes.

Other May Day actions drew thousands in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, including labor union and Occupy activists. More than 100 cities nationwide planned actions for May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day.

-The Daily Titan
By Amber Stephens

Obama hits road over student debt

University of Nevada – Poised on a healthy balance of solid talking points and a sturdy step stool, President Barack Obama joined Jimmy Fallon and The Roots last Tuesday to address the financial concerns facing students across the country.

The show was just one stop on the president’s weeklong trek across the country last week, in which he publicly asked Congress to prevent the interest rate for student loans from doubling July 1 while garnering support for his November re-election bid in the process.

“I’ve always believed that we should be doing everything we can to put higher education within reach for every single American student,” Obama said during a conference call with several college reporters Tuesday.

According to numbers provided by the White House Office of Communications, the looming interest rate increase will affect more than 7.4 million students and will translate to an additional $1,000 in debt for the average student.

-The Nevada Sagebrush
By Stephen Ward