“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela
In a video that garnered nearly 2 million views across social platforms, Howard University College of Dentistry student Darian Bogie told his followers how the Big Beautiful Bill, and its new caps on graduate school loans, pushed him out of his dental program.
Due to the reach of his story, Bogie was able to surpass his $66,000 fundraising goal on GoFundMe. But for millions of others, the decision is more dire.
On July 1, just over a year after the Big Ugly Bill gutted key government programs to fund tax cuts for the richest among us, the Department of Education’s new student loan rules took effect. Under the changes, the Graduate PLUS loan program, which provided higher loan limits to help students pursuing graduate and professional degrees, was phased out for most new borrowers. New student loan caps also took effect, and in many cases, they do not cover the cost of attendance for students. The result is that more students may be forced to drop out of college or may be unable to attend at all.
It’s no secret that Black students rely on student loans more than their peers from white families. It’s also no secret that the fastest-growing population of young people attending college is Black. And make no mistake, it is no coincidence that under this administration, education is becoming further out of reach.
Critics of higher education have blamed universities for raising tuition and fees to levels that leave millions burdened with debt they may never be able to repay.
But the solution to skyrocketing student debt shouldn’t be to punish students pursuing a better life. Nor is threatening to strip schools of much-needed federal dollars for having diversity pipeline initiatives, as this administration is actively trying to do, the answer. Such actions follow cuts to NIH research funding that universities, from Harvard to Stanford, have sued to stop.
No student should have their dreams deferred because the government would rather finance the dreams of the rich than support them on their educational journey.
And the federal government should not be allowed to tell someone the value of their dream by denying access to higher loan limits because of their major. In the latest slap in the face to America, the Department of Education released a list of college majors that it proposes cutting student loans for, deeming them degrees that “don’t pay off.”
One of those fields is social work, a growing profession that addresses the fallout of growing wealth inequality in our country and the spiking mental health crisis.
In short, the Department of Education not only believes solving our greatest social and societal issues doesn’t pay off, but by limiting access to higher loan amounts for students pursuing these fields, it’s also creating an environment that contributes to those issues.
If education is our tool to change the world, then we need it more than ever in this rapidly changing economy, ecosystem and geopolitical climate. And it is clear that the Department of Education under this administration is either blithely unaware of that fact or intentionally playing a role in limiting the earning potential and economic freedom of millions of Americans.
The National Urban League makes a commitment through its programs, like Project Ready, to ensure that all students have an education that prepares them for college, work and life. Now we’re pushing for the Department of Education to do the same by removing these discriminatory caps on student loans, restoring funding to institutions of higher learning, including historically Black colleges and universities, and letting students decide what field of study is “worth it.”
Morial is president/CEO of the National Urban League.
