With the rising cost of tuition, university and college students are piling up debt.
The Canadian Alliance of Students’ Associations is getting ready to show the federal government what that debt looks like. CASA is kicking off this year’s national campaign, entitled Generation Debt, by building a Wall of Debt. The wall is being built using bricks from the CASA member universities and colleges, including the University of Calgary. Students write the amount of debt they expect to graduate with on foam bricks.
"This generation of post-secondary students is the most indebted of any yet, with each student incurring an average of $28,000 including interest for a four-year program" said CASA National Director James Kusie.
U of C Vice-President External Lauren Batiuk will go to Ottawa Wed., Oct. 22 with the bricks. The Wall of Debt will be presented to the public during a press conference.
"The wall is a way of getting the word out to the public as well as the provincial and federal governments about how much debt students are leaving school with," said Batiuk of the importance of the wall. "It will work as a visual of the barrier that debt creates for students."
When done, the wall will be 2,000 bricks, standing 30 feet by 15 feet.