Though few students came to see him Saturday, SenatorSherrod Brown said he is still fighting for financial aid.
Brown’s campaign announced the Athens visit midday Friday, but due to small attendance, Brown forwent the planned press conference and instead met with about a dozen students in Baker University Center.
Attendance was low because of 10Fest and sorority bid days occurring at the same time as Brown’s event, said Shannon Welch, president of OU College Democrats.
The senator spoke about college affordability and his efforts to maintain federal support for funding student aid.
“Higher education is certainly in the public interest,” Brown said. “We must make funding it a priority.”
Brown, D-Ohio, sponsored an act that passed in June to maintain the interest rates for students with subsidized Stafford Loans. Without the intervention, interest rates for about 382,000 Ohio students would have doubled from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, according to Brown’s website.
The average student would have seen about $1,000 in additional debt per loan if the rate had increased, according to a Senate committee. The rate will increase next July if Congress does not vote to maintain the rate again.
“Brown has been a great proponent for financial aid,” said Valerie Miller, director of the Office of Financial Aid. “The lower Stafford rate will really help students and graduates.”
Miller said there are numerous factors that play into college affordability, adding that her office has worked in conjunction with federal efforts to improve financial aid in the wake of recent decreases in state funding.
Pell Grants have the largest effect for OU students who need aid, she said.
Brown said he has voted in favor of the grants four times during his six-year term.
“The (Paul) Ryan budget would mean budget cuts, which would means cuts to education,” Brown said. “That’s another reason why this election is so important.”
The issue of college affordability is one that resonates with students and motivates them to get politically involved, Welch said.
“It’s become a bigger and bigger issue for students,” she said. “(Brown) has constantly fought for lower interest rates for students, and that’s really important.”
Brown’s visit continues the list of recent political visits from candidates, including Vice President Joe Biden; his son, Beau Biden; and Craig Romney, the son of Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
rc348710@ohiou.edu
