College Democrats hosted a press conference Thursday morning on the Horseshoe to address Sen. Marco Rubio’s visit to campus later that day, while also tackling the Republican presidential candidate’s position on student loan debt.
Megan Taylor, a second-year political science and psychology student, and Matthew Cauthen, a third-year political science student, told their personal stories of being saddled with student loan debt and shared their critiques of Rubio’s platform.
While Rubio has spoken in Columbia previously about improving student loan repayment, Taylor argued Rubio was attempting to rewrite his record of opposing the refinancing of student loans and slashing Pell Grant funding.
Cauthen said that the burden of raised tuition rates falls on students — not because of the university they attend or their lack of scholarship aid — but because of action taken by state legislatures to cut back on higher education funding.
The University of South Carolina receives a little over 10 percent of its funding from the state.