Logic says that if there’s a problem, you fix rather than perpetuate it.

And yet, on March 6, Syracuse University announced a tuition increase of 3.6 percent, asking for more money from a generation already $1 trillion in student loan debt. The increase is one of the smallest in 48 years. However, annual increases are leading students further and further into debt.

Private universities rely on tuition to offer their students the best education possible. However, millennials will graduate from these top-notch institutions without financial aid and with stifling debt, laying the groundwork for the rest of their lives with a cracked foundation.

In a March 27 article, Yahoo Finance reported that the staggering student loan debt is widening the U.S. wealth gap. Of the 20 million Americans enrolled in college each year, 12 million need to borrow money to attend and some will graduate with more than six figures in debt, as reported in the article. It’s keeping graduates from investing in stocks, securing mortgages, or saving for retirement — in short, acquiring the fundamental assets for a stable future.

It’s common knowledge that the route to high paying jobs is through a college education. But that knowledge leaves students in a Catch-22. Go to college, get your master’s degree, and graduate six figures deep in debt. Success comes with a steep price. To pay that price, students have to look at their options: qualify for a merit scholarship, be an amazing athlete or come from a wealthy family.

The average college student can’t fall back on any of the above, so they seek out the next “best” thing: student loans. The idealist sees loans as an investment in themselves, with the hope that they’ll graduate right into a high paying job with benefits. But even if dreams do come true, student loans aren’t the only bills to pay. So we’ll wait to start saving and rack up more credit card debt to make ends meet. It’s creating an unstable base for the future by creating a generation that owes more money than it has.

Although the government has started noticing the problem, there seems to be a struggle to implement an actual policy change. Last August, President Barack Obama proposed a plan to reduce student loan debt. The plan allowed all borrowers to cap their payments at 10 percent of their monthly income and gave more money to the schools with better academic performances. But that doesn’t get rid of debt. Declaring bankruptcy is the only way to absolve debt — unless it’s student loans. Get into thousands of dollars of credit card debt and you’ll be OK. Get an education you can’t afford—not so much.

For private universities like SU, funding is reliant on tuition and donations from alumni. With the direction we’re headed though, Gen Y graduates won’t have the money to give back to their school. Graduates are going to be indentured to our loans long into our retirement. There are countless articles written about how student loan debt is higher than ever before, but there’s no sense of urgency among universities or the government.

There needs to be a change to lower the cost of education or to reduce student loan debt. Otherwise, the future leaders, educators, doctors and journalists of the world are going to be handicapped by a lifetime of debt.

Kate Beckman is a freshman magazine journalism major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at kebeckma@syr.edu and followed on Twitter at @Kate_Beckman.

Published on March 31, 2014 at 1:00 am