Brooke Kelly
Managing Editor
When I first got to college, I remember wondering where were all the credit card companies on campus that family members and older friends warned me to look out for.
I heard stories of coupons for free meals and t-shirt give-a-ways that were offered on the plaza to entice students to apply for credit cards. Main warning: Don’t abuse credit cards. You may think you aren’t going to spend a lot on it once you get it but you never know, and there is no such thing as free money. Despite the warnings that “they” would be out to get me, I never have seen a credit card company representative on campus, and I seldom receive credit card offers in the mail.
An August 2010 Washington Post article reveals the reason credit card companies aren’t visible on college campuses anymore is because of protests from consumer advocates and a 2009 credit card law passed by the federal government that bans card issuers from “providing credit cards to people younger than 21 unless another adult co-signs for it or the student can show an independent source of income.”
The law also put an end to credit card companies using pizza, free t-shirts, and other incentives for students to sign up for credit cards on campus or at school events. Also, the law requires college groups to publicize any partnerships with card issuers.
Fast forward to now, and we have the treasured JSU SuperCard, that is, if you have chosen to put money on your SuperCard with your own money or money from scholarships, grants, and loans that exceed the amount of money you owe to the school. While I love having a SuperCard, it seems to me that it has the possibility to cause future financial strain just like credit cards.
If your refund is from money received from grants and scholarships, you don’t have to pay the money back, and therefore money put on the SuperCard from your refund is in fact, your money, but if the money is from loans–as many already know, it has to be paid back.
With the SuperCard vendor list continuing to grow, you can do almost anything on the SuperCard. Some of us use the SuperCard for many of our wants and needs. I say wants first because a lot of what we can buy on the SuperCard can be categorized as wants – I know of rims, nails, weave, clothes, accessories, fast food, tattoos, and alcoholic drinks somehow all purchased via SuperCard.
Don’t get me wrong, I am very appreciative of my SuperCard. It can definitely come in handy. Many students use the SuperCard for gas money, car needs, and health needs. I am not even against using it for fun, occasionally, but when the money spent comes from loans, I think we should really think twice before we swipe.
I also think that the university success classes and the financial aid department could offer more financial literacy information to students.
Six HBCUs in Texas have successfully reduced student loan default rates after creating the Texas HBCU Default Management Consortium according to a quickanded.com report earlier this year.
Research shows that for various reasons, students at HBCUs are more likely to default on student loans than students elsewhere. Knowing that defaulting on student loans can cause much financial hardship in the future (such as paycheck garnishment, lawsuits, tax refund offsets, and bad credit), it is now vitally important that we truly realize no money is free money.
Many of the credit card companies and other financial entities are finding ways to get their products in the hands of students even with the new laws protecting them. Many times when the laws are written there are loopholes so companies take advantage of that and it appears the SuperCard may fall in that category. The only way significant change of practices comes about is through the court system and that would mean students would have to band together and sue the companies over their practices.