Archinect - News

Architects Support Students' Call for Pro Bono Work in Exchange for Loan Relief

2012-04-25T18:24:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) today called for Congress to pass legislation that includes architecture school graduates in the same programs that offer other graduates loan debt assistance if they donate their services to their communities and elsewhere.

The AIA/AIAS initiative comes as both President Obama this past weekend and likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney today urged Congress to head off a scheduled increase in student loan interest rates this July.

Also today, the AIAS released a survey of almost 600 architect school graduates showing that graduating architecture students carry a much higher amount of undergraduate student debt - $40,000 on average – than the national student loan debt average of $25,000. AIAS members will visit Capitol Hill in July to lobby lawmakers on these issues.

“There are numerous opportunities for young talented architects to use their skills to help rebuild our nation’s communities,” said AIA President Jeff Potter, FAIA. “Yet, more and more young architects are leaving the profession because they cannot afford to remain; this brain-drain will have major implications for our communities and the construction industry in the years ahead.”

“The AIA and AIAS are not asking for a ...

Obama only 8 years out of student loan debt #dontdoublemyrate

2012-04-24T20:07:00-04:00

For the first eight years of our marriage, [Michelle and I] were paying more in student loans than what we were paying for our mortgage. So we know what this is about. And we were lucky to land good jobs with a steady income. But we only finished paying off our student loans—check this out, all right, I’m the President of the United States—we only finished paying off our student loans about eight years ago.

#dontdoublemyrate

Dept. of Education breaks down Stockton mans door [for wife's defaulted student loans]

2011-06-08T16:37:57-04:00

"They put me in handcuffs in that hot patrol car for six hours, traumatizing my kids," Wright said. Wright said he later went to the mayor and Stockton Police Department, but the City of Stockton had nothing to do with Wright's search warrant. The U.S. Department of Education issued the search and called in the S.W.A.T for his wife's defaulted student loans. "They busted down my door for this," Wright said. "It wasn't even me."