There's no such thing as a free lunch, according to the United States Public Interest Research Group.
A
member of the Iowa chapter of PIRG was on campus Wednesday with
clipboards and giveaways similar to those that credit-card companies
use to lure college students into high-interest credit plans.
A
large banner with a parody of the Visa logo - Freesa, it read - hung on
a table where Kathleen Cogan, a campus organizer with Iowa PIRG, was
asking students to sign a petition that would limit what she called the
"sleazy marketing" by credit card companies to students.
Such
practices include direct marketing of credit cards to students and
offering a free T-shirt or fast food in exchange for a card application.
The
table was sponsored by UI Student Government, which is working to get
such practices banned by the Iowa Legislature. The lawmakers' Joint
Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on the matter Oct. 29 and 30.
The
UI has been criticized for its credit-card marketing practices to
students since it was revealed that the university has allowed the Bank
of America exclusive access to student information and university
assets to promote its cards.
The UI sponsors an "affinity
credit card" issued by Bank of America but with the Hawkeye logo. In
exchange, the university receives more than $1 million per year.
Matt
Pfaltzgraf, the governmental-relations liaison for the UISG, has been
leading the charge against UI-sponsored credit-card marketing. He said
that most students have credit cards, but that the decision to sign up
should not be based on a free sandwich.
"I don't want to end
the Alumni Association's relationship with Bank of America; I just
don't want it to involve students," Pfaltzgraf said.
He said credit-card use is dangerous, and it should come with an education like owning a handgun or driving a car.
"You're not just handed the keys and told, 'Now go learn on your own,' " he said.
He
said that one of his main goals is to increase credit-card education on
campus for students. He feels that the cards are a major factor in why
students at Iowa graduate with an average of more than $25,000 in debt
despite the fact that Iowa is one of the cheapest states in the U.S.
for college education.
"They think it's something the can worry about after they graduate," Pfaltzgraf said. "It can do a lot of damage before that."
