What is Barack Obama doing to help you manage student loans, or find a job after college? What would you say if you could call him up and ask him? Today student journalists from colleges around the country spent some time on the phone with the president to ask these questions, clearly speaking on behalf of their generation and voicing some of its deepest concerns. While the students received some congrats from Obama on their school’s latest wins in football, they also asked questions that got to the heart of their generation’s issues, including jobs, college affordability, student loan debt, and healthcare. Rock the Vote’s most recent poll of young people found these to be among the top issues for young people, with 96 percent saying they’re concerned about the level of unemployment in this country.
Colin Daileda of Radford University in Virginia set the tone by raising the issue of jobs and student loans. Daileda said some of his professors referred to Millennials as the “lost generation” due to high debt from student loans and bleak job prospects after college. “Do you think it will take a longer time than usual for our generation to get on our feet?” he asked Obama.
The president responded that while times are tough for young people right now, he is sure this generation will be just fine. In terms of what his administration is doing for young people, Obama pointed out that being able to stay on your parents’ health insurance until age 26 should help out financially, plus they have increased both the amount and availability of the Pell grants.
Throughout the call, Obama addressed the student journalists’ concerns over education and the economy, outlining a three-part plan that made direct connections between the two issues. He said his administration is working to 1. Make college more affordable, 2. Making sure college creates a workforce ready for the jobs of the future, and 3. Making sure everyone who begins college actually graduates. The president closed by saying that the Millennial generation can work together to solve the problems it has inherited, something that young people also affirmed in our recent poll. Eighty-three percent of those surveyed said they believe young people have the power to change things in this country. Obama reminded these young people of the confidence and enthusiasm they have shown in the past.
“The energy that you were able to bring to our politics in 2008,” Obama said, “That’s needed not less now, it’s needed more now.”
(You can read the whole transcript of the call by clicking here).
