Jacob Chaffin spent his college career protesting tuition increases and student debt.
And it’s just about time to pay up.
A first year graduate student in the clinical studies in educational foundations program, he graduated from Ohio University last year with a degree in middle childhood education and is currently about $15,000 in debt. In graduate school at OU his loans are deferred, but they are still collecting interest.
His girlfriend, who he wants to settle down with after he pays off his debt, has also acquired debt while at Rutgers University.
“I would love to settle down with her,” Chaffin said, who wants to be out of debt before starting a family.
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Chaffin is currently a teaching fellow through the Patton College of Education. That means he works part time teaching fifth graders at Trimble Elementary, while also pursuing a graduate degree.
“Part of what I hope to do as a teacher is to help, to also continue to empower young people through education,” Chaffin said.
His department paid for most of his tuition this year and then he also gets a stipend for the teaching he does at the school.
During his time as an undergrad he was a founding member of the OU Student Union and continues to be an active member, including speaking out against debt.
“Most of my focus and activism centers around college debt and educational affordability,” Chaffin said.
The Student Union, founded in 2012, hosted teach-ins and protests about tuition, which he said he felt were effective.
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“Part of the issue around student debt is that most people don’t realize it is a collective issue ... when Guaranteed Tuition came out in the early stages, we were the only group to criticize it,” Chaffin said.
Guaranteed Tuition will go into effect for the class of 2019 and it is a four-year, flat-rate tuition that won’t rise with inflation. Next year’s in-state freshmen will pay $11,548 in tuition and fees which comes out to be $46,192 over four years.
He is a “one-and-half generation college student” whose mom was a high school dropout and his dad was a non-traditional student.
When he attended OU for undergrad, Chaffin feels that his family didn’t really know what they were signing off on when they agreed to the governmental loans.
“The way it is set up is the way it is very confusing,” Chaffin said. “These hoops that we have to jump through to be able to attend university can be also equally detrimental to working class students.”
The only way for people to attend a university became taking student loans out, Chaffin said.
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“I think (student debt) is one of the most pressing issues for our generation particularly. ... Our generation is affected the most heaviest by this,” Chaffin said.
He has spoken out about student debt in the past during his undergraduate years at OU as part of Student Union.
“He’s definitely been an advocate around issues on campus, he’s been involved in the Student Union for a long time, specifically around student debt,” said Will Klatt, a second-year graduate student in the Voinovich School for Leadership and Public Affairs. “We are at a point in our history, where very few folks are speaking up about what’s wrong with it, and Jacob is one of the few voices out there that impacts lots of folks and needs to be addressed.
“Jacob is always on,” said Ellie Hamrick, a 2013 OU graduate. “He’s always thinking about something.”
Hamrick hopes that more students will follow Jacob’s lead and get involved with student debt.
“He is one of those people who is willing to do what it takes to get it done, ” Hamrick said, who said she has known Jacob for five years and a former member of Student Union.
Chaffin feels that students are going to be paying back their debt for the next few decades.
“I think it’s a burden on Jacob, but more importantly it’s a burden on all of us,” Klatt said.
Looking ahead to the future, Chaffin notes that debt could play a factor in relationships.
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“When you are finding a partner you have to consider am I going to be paying for their future as well? I have so much debt and being married, are we going to be going into a life of debt together?” Chaffin asks.
He also thinks that those who are in political power currently are not concerned about student loan debt.
“I think one of the reasons for that is because there’s a disconnect and they’re not understanding debt and how much it really is,” Chaffin said.
Chaffin pointed to a generational difference, that when higher education was cheaper, students were able to pay off their tuition through working a minimum wage job during the summer.
“The reality is, I can’t mow enough yards to earn $10,000 in a summer ... so there’s this extreme disconnect between older generations and us and they don’t think they understand that and they are not going to feel the full weight of it like we are,” Chaffin said.
The increased cost of tuition, leading to increased student loan debt, has forced some students into majoring in either what they love or what will be able to pay the bills.
“This issue of debt forces people to take degrees that they think will have a higher return on investment rate, but I didn’t do that,” Chaffin said. “I’m OK with that in the way that because my degree has value even though it may not have a great return on investment.”
@megankhenry
