As the Ontario government, along with U of T’s administration, continually tells students they will not be denied an education for financial reasons, students are feeling increasingly anxious about one of the most common stresses of contemporary education: debt.
“I’m in debt up to my chin. I have it over my head all the time. I’m constantly thinking about it,” said Ann Williams, a part-time student in Caribbean studies. She currently owes $40, 000 in student loans and hopes to finish her degree in two to three years.
“How in heaven’s name am I going to pay $40, 000?” asked Williams. She’s resigned to student loans being a necessary evil in order to get a university education.
Alex Kerner, president of SAC, also gets stressed out from the thought of the large student loan he carries. “Every once in a while, I get anxiety attacks. Usually I can try to avoid [thinking about the loan].”
He owes $20, 000 in loans and is currently on interest relief. Kerner will have to borrow more money next year when he becomes a full-time student again and hopes he will qualify again. OISE PhD student Stephannie Roy has an $18, 000 student loan hanging over her head. With two kids and a husband, Roy worries about her future life choices. “It has caused us a bit of stress. It’s something that you’re always thinking of. We’re not saving for a house and it’s caused us to change our plans. I feel we’ll always be behind until we get rid of the debt.”
Roy worries about how she can pay for daycare and make loan repayments once she is finished school. The amount of anxious students in need of financial counselling has increased this January, according to Allan Shatzky, manager of Student Services at OISE.
“Anybody who’s in my office is stressed to a certain degree. The majority of people are uncomfortable asking for financial assistance,” said Shatzky. He regularly sends student to Counselling and Learning Skills for help.
Tammy Chan, financial counsellor at the U of T School of Graduate Studies, also sees students stressed out by the debt they carry. She currently has two to three students who need medication to deal with stress, which is partially caused by the debts they carry.
Carrying debt has several impacts on students, according to Dr. Allan Peterkin, assistant professor of psychiatry at U of T. “They don’t have time to lead balanced lives. Having large debt affects the kind of work people choose. It changes the kind of work people end up doing.” Peterkin also says debt results in chronic worry, the effects of which include difficulty sleeping, tension and irritability. “Debt may be one of the contributants to depression or anxiety disorder. It can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”
Kerner worries about earning enough money to pay back the loan. “I’ll have to try to find a job that allows me to live half comfortably and still pay back the loan. My (job) choices are becoming limited because of my debt.”
Peterkin is concerned about the increasing levels of debt carried by students. “I think it’s a worrying trend. It makes you wonder if student aid programs will follow to match the increases in tuition.”
He advocates that students use political means to voice their opposition to tuition increases and the resulting large debt loads students are forced to take out. “Students should … use their vote as a means of power.”
