John Kerry wants Uncle Sam to help pay for students’ college tuition.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the Democratic presidential candidate, has offered a solution to students facing climbing college tuition costs: participate in his proposed national service program for two years, and receive four years worth of tuition in exchange. But members of the SU community worry that the plan might not be as promising as it seems.

As part of Kerry’s ‘Compact with the Next Generation,’ students can work for two years within the service program, similar to AmeriCorps, and earn the equivalent of four years tuition at a public university, said Eric Schultz, spokesperson for the John Kerry for President campaign.

‘He challenges them to give back to their community,’ Schultz said. ‘And they should be rewarded by helping them out with college tuition.’

Within a decade, Kerry’s plan would engage 500,000 Americans in service each year, Schultz said.

Of these students, 200,000 would work full time teaching in poor schools, improving homeland security, building affordable housing, aiding senior citizens to live independently and helping to clean and maintain public parks and waterways, according to a John Kerry for President press release.

About 300,000 students enrolled in college will work part time, teaching children to read, helping toddlers prepare to read and guiding older students to higher education opportunities, according the press release.

‘I think students will take advantage of it, but possibly only those who can not afford tuition on their own,’ said Jessica Klos, president of the SU College Democrats. ‘Right now most public schools offer considerable scholarships for students finishing in the top of their class and some students still do not choose to take them.’

Nearly 220,000 Americans were not able to afford to go college this year, as tuition increased 28 percent, Schultz said.

‘College tuition costs have skyrocketed under George W. Bush,’ Schultz said. ‘John Kerry believes that’s unacceptable.’

Kerry plans to cover the tuition costs by reformatting the college loan system. Banks would be required to bid for student loan contracts through auctions, so that bank subsidy rates would not be nearly as high, according to the press release. The new system would eliminate $12 billion in bank profits from changing interest rates, and eliminate $2 billion by phasing out large subsidies.

But banks should not be forced to turn over a portion of their profits, said Jeff Schramm, who lives in Syracuse.

‘I don’t think they should be punished for making money,’ Schramm added.

The economic feasibility of the plan should be considered, as many other factors could be negatively affected, Klos said.

‘I just don’t know if it would really work,’ Klos added.

But some wonder that the program would create more problems for the rest of Americans if the funds for the program were pulled from sources other than the banks.

‘If it comes out of tax dollars or if it comes out of my paycheck, I’d be pretty pissed off,’ said Melissa Schramm, who lives in Syracuse. ‘I’m already paying enough for people who can’t afford to live.’

Published on May 16, 2004 at 12:00 pm