A national campaign visually showcasing figures on student debt in Canada has aimed to promote conversation about the causes and implications debt entails.
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA)’s Wall of Debt initiative represents student debt with “bricks” online. Students can post bricks to its website, wallofdebt.ca, through Twitter or on actual walls set up at universities.
Each student writes the amount of money they currently owe on their brick. The result is a visual representation of how high student debt is in Canada.
“There’s a really great shock value to it,” Jess Bauman, a 2011 graduate of McMaster University, said.
Bauman said she added her brick because she hopes the campaign would raise awareness about student debt and its effects on students and the economy.
“I would hope that by raising awareness, it starts the conversation about student financial need and student financial literacy,” Bauman said.
She said “up-front, needs-based grants” do not get enough consideration as a form of financial assistance. Bauman said while it might not feel like it, student debt starts from day one of post-secondary education.
“I think the awareness of the debt doesn’t come until maybe third or fourth year, when you start thinking about what’s next,” she said. “More loans are not the answer . . . it’s just repeating the cycle.”
CASA board chair Amanda Nielsen said the amount of debt on some bricks range as high as $92,000.
“That’s a scary amount of debt,” Nielsen said. “When we talk about young people, we want them to be able to go on and graduate and do things, like be entrepreneurs and buy a home and contribute to the economy. It’s really hard to do that when you’re graduating with that much debt.”
Nielsen said large amounts of debt could have serious long-term effects, a trend CASA has observed among post-secondary graduates in Canada.
“When you are really saddled with debt you are less likely to be able to buy a home, to buy a car, get married,” she said. “These are all side effects that come from students having too much debt.”
Nielsen said the campaign’s artistic nature helps get its message across.
“Until you really see the numbers visually, it can be hard to grasp,” Nielsen said. “We wanted to do something really tangible to engage students, engage the media and engage the government, and that’s how the Wall of Debt was born.”
Between 2012 and 2013, Ontario issued over $1 billion in grants and loans, including the 30 per cent off tuition grant, according to Brad Duguid, Ontario minister of training, colleges and universities.
“A postsecondary education is a major investment for students and their families. That’s why we continue to support a number of important programs to help students access Ontario’s world-class colleges and universities based on their ability to learn, not to pay,” Duguid said via email. “Attending college or university should be within reach for all families in this province and our investments will continue to help support students and keep their costs manageable.”
Nielsen said she hopes the provincial and federal governments will begin to focus on grants as a means of financial assistance that doesn’t leave students stranded after graduation.
“There are lots of things that OSAP doesn’t cover, and that the Canada Student Loans Program doesn’t cover,” she said. “Federally, I would say one of our biggest goals for this is to really make it clear to the government that things like up-front grants need to be a priority.”
