Amid a wave of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses around the country, many have been calling into question President Joe Biden's student debt forgiveness.
The conflict in the Middle East has caused polarizing viewpoints to come head-to-head from those supporting Israel as well as the Palestinians.
After the October 7 attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas that killed 1,200 people, Israel has undertaken a widespread military operation in Gaza, killing more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to the Associated Press.
At Columbia University in New York City, pro-Palestinian students created an encampment on campus and have been recorded in videos holding a sign reading "Al-Qassam's next targets," looking at a group of Jewish students who were counter-protesting and waving an Israeli flag. Al-Qassam refers to the terrorist group Hamas' military units.
Demonstrators have also been heard chanting "Al-Qassam you make us proud, kill another soldier now" and "We say justice, you say how. Burn Tel Aviv to the ground."
More than 100 protesters were arrested last week at Columbia, and similar protests are taking place nationwide, including at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles and the University of Texas (UT) in Austin.
The protests across the country are causing many to pull their support for federal student loan forgiveness, which has been a cornerstone policy of the Biden administration.
"This is the scene at Columbia University right now," an account under the name @EndWokeness on X posted this week, along with a video of a recent scene at Columbia. "A literal cult is occupying the campus. Remember: We all paid their student debt."
Another user suggested students who are arrested should not be permitted to get student loan forgiveness down the line.
"If a student is arrested in an illegal protest or at least arrested for attacking police he is no longer eligible for student loan relief - he's got to pay back his loans in full - no forgiveness," X account @amuse wrote.
Politicians have also expressed their concerns with funding the education of some of the most outspoken protesters on campuses.
"The only thing that matters to @JoeBiden is appeasing his radical base. That's why he's ok with forcing taxpayers to pay off the loans of these pro-terrorist antisemites," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota wrote on X.
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, said the calls for action related to student debt forgiveness are misleading.
"Current student debt forgiveness programs and proposed ones do not wipe out the balance of student loan holders," Beene told Newsweek. "Even the more generous loan forgiveness plans proposed and implemented by the Biden administration require a 10-year period of repayment before forgiveness is even considered. There's also no guarantee those plans will be permanent ones under future administrations."
As a result, Beene feels the topic is being raised on social media as more of a "political ploy" rather than a true financial concern.
"There is no way of knowing the financial background of those protesting," Beene said. "Some may have their tuition already covered by scholarships. Some may have had it paid for by family or themselves, and some may have loans that may or may not be forgiven. You can disagree with the students politically, but also understand tying it to the student debt forgiveness efforts is a flimsy discussion at best."
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Nationally, Biden has canceled student loan debt for more than 4 million Americans.
Recently, those enrolled in the federal Saving on a Valuable Education Plan (SAVE) or people under the Income-Driven Repayment Plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness got debt relief after fixes to the programs.
The new relief arrives after an earlier Biden plan was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. At the time, Biden had erased $400 billion in student loan debt using the HEROES Act.
The nationwide student loan debt still stands at $1.6 trillion, and many struggle to make their payments every month.
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"From day one of my administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity," Biden said in a statement. "I will never stop working to cancel student debt—no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us."
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Suzanne Blake is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on consumer and social trends, spanning ... Read more
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