Harvard poll shows
- Most young people surveyed in a recently released Harvard University poll (85%) support government action on student loan debt.
- More than a third (38%) of the 2,024 young Americans surveyed supported total debt cancellation.
- When asked about mental health, 52% of young adults surveyed said they felt depressed or hopeless.
Researchers found in a recent study that young people want to get their student loan debt forgiven, but they may not want it to be forgiven altogether. Harvard University Poll.
A total of 2,024 people aged 18 to 29 were surveyed; Of those, 85% said they supported some form of government action on student loan debt, but only 38% supported total debt cancellation.
The poll was conducted as part of the Harvard Public Opinion Project to see how young Americans feel about politics, voting, and public service. That’s one in two colleges do each year – one in the fall and one in the spring, said John Della Volpe, director of the poll at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics.
Della Volpe, who used to be public opinion consultation during the presidential campaign of President Joe Biden.
Still, there are limits to how well the results can be read by the general public, he said, noting that it’s a nuanced topic and that the polling industry hasn’t handled the topics well. complicated in the past.
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However, in several focus groups organized by the Institute, says Della Volpe, young people seem genuinely interested in fairness in finding solutions to student loan debt.
For example, a number of focus group participants asked whether someone earning the highest salaries on Wall Street should wash off their debts, or just give relief to those struggling. .
“What is fairness?” Della Volpe asked. “Perhaps (relief for) civil servants of some sort and lower-wage types of people. Then there are conversations about people who never went to college because of concerns about getting into debt. .”
The institute’s most recent poll also found that 48% of young Americans think going to college is worth their time and money (18% of whom strongly agree), 26% disagree, and 24 % choose neutral opinion.
Jorge Burmickan, an associate professor of policy studies and educational leadership at Howard University, says discussions about the cost of college and debt need to be more focused.
“Someone pursuing a graduate professional degree, by the nature of the degree, will have to take on more debt to be able to pursue that degree,” says Burmicky. “Someone who is going to medical school or law school, of course, will have to borrow more money to be able to attend.”
He also said borrowers who are Latino – of Latin or Latino descent – or Black are “overrepresented when it comes to student loans or student debt in general.”
“People are hurt by student loans very differently, and some are more likely to pay them back than others, depending on your field, depending on your background,” says Burmicky. speak.
Other findings of the Harvard Youth Poll
Among the Democrats likely to vote in November:
- 43% are in favor of canceling student loan debt for everyone
- 29% are in favor of canceling student loan debt only for those most in need
- 19% favor not canceling debt, but helping repayment options
- 4% support not changing the current policy
Among Republicans likely to vote in November:
- 13% favor canceling student loan debt for everyone
- 11% are in favor of canceling student loan debt only for those most in need
- 39% favor not canceling debt, but helping repayment options
- 36% favor not changing the current policy
Among the independent candidates likely to vote in November:
- 38% are in favor of canceling student loan debt for everyone
- 18% are in favor of canceling student loan debt only for those most in need
- 30% favor not canceling debt, but supporting repayment options
- 14% favor not changing the current policy
When asked specifically about President Biden, 70% of young Democrats approved of his performance, while 33% of independents and 11% of Republicans approved.
Of those who disapprove of President Biden’s job performance, 36% said it was ineffective, while 14% said he failed to live up to his campaign promises and 10% said Biden that he does not share their values.
More than a third, 36%, of young Americans surveyed said they would “definitely” vote. This compares with 37% in 2018.
“There is usually a strong correlation between dissatisfaction with Washington and the ability to vote,” Della Volpe said. “We need to watch that carefully between now and November because it could change.”
Many young Americans feel ‘attacked’
The poll also included questions about mental health, finding that more than half (52%) reported feeling depressed or hopeless; and 24% reported having thoughts of self-harm.
The results also showed that 59% of black American youth, 43% of Asian American youth and 37% of Hispanic American youth felt “attacked” “a lot” in the US, while nearly half LGBTQ youth feel attacked “a lot”.
Despite the country’s divided politics, Della Volpe is “cautiously optimistic” that young Americans can work toward improvements and change.
“This conversation and understanding the depths of the mental health crisis, and specifically some of the tolls it is imposing on our most vulnerable populations, are two big things for me,” he said.
Saleen Martin, [email protected]Twitter: @Saleen_Martin