Poll Reveals Why Many Students Deserve No Sympathy on Student Debt

We’ve been hearing for some time about how crushing student debt is. It’s particularly amusing to hear about it from students who spent six figures getting their degree in something like lesbian fruitbat studies, but plenty of young people have talked about how difficult it is for them to live with the debt they accrued in college.

However, a new poll found out a few things about what many students use their student loan money on, and I’m a little less sympathetic than I was.

A majority of college “Greek” students have used student loan money to pay membership dues to their fraternities and sororities, and some have even spent it on drugs and alcohol, according to a new poll.

LendEDU told Secrets:

• 54.8 percent of current, 4-year college students that are in a fraternity/sorority and have student loan debt admitted that they have used student loan money to pay for fraternity/sorority dues or membership fees.
• Females (57.2 percent) were more likely to use financial aid to afford “Greek” life than males (52.4 percent), but males were less regretful about that decision (51.15 percent) when compared to females (58.04 percent).
• 5.6 percent used financial aid to pay for drugs.
• 12 percent used the money to pay for alcohol. Males were more likely than females to use student loan money for these purposes.

 Student loans can be crushing to new graduates. Millions owe an average of $28,000.

While student loans do pay for school first, any additional money is basically given to the student. They can then use that money for whatever…including things like drugs, alcohol, and their fraternity/sorority dues.

I’m curious just how many who engaged in this behavior now want their student loans forgiven. Even if we simply assume that these percentages hold up among any subgroup–not always a fair assumption, to be sure, but work with me here–then a majority of the people demanding debt forgiveness are people who want the American taxpayers to subsidize some aspect of their partying in college.

And that sympathy I had for these people? Gone. POOF!

Even if it turns out that only a minority of people calling for debt forgiveness misused their loan funds like this, it’s not like it matters. While I don’t really care if they buy drugs or alcohol, much less join a Greek organization, I see no reason to subsidize it. Especially after the fact when they suddenly realize that wasn’t free beer and weed they got, but something they have to pay for.