ssues & ideas EDITOR CHARLOTTE DREWETT THE VOICE, THURSDAY, FEB. 26, 2015 7 Student debt can't buy happiness 28 MINS AGO J Sean Hoade PRESS FAQ OUR 9 Tips For Negotiating An Allowance Recent Pos CHARLOTTE DREWETT photo A photo illustration of a student on SeekingArrangement.com where “sugar babies” can potentially get a weekly allowance of $3,000. Sugar daddies cover student debt CANADA top sugar UNIVERSITIES WITH FASTEST-GROWING MEMBERSHIP ON SEEKING ARRANGEMENT.COM 1 University of Toronto 2 McGill University 3 University of Saskatchewan 4 University of British Columbia 5 MacEwan University Source: SeekingArrangement.com From princess parties to hip-hop shows, students find ways to make money By TANYA COMMISSO ith college tuition fees on the rise students are look- ing for innovative ways to avoid debt. According to statistics released by online sugar daddy site Seeking Ar- rangement.com, nearly one million stu- dents joined the dating site in 2014 as “sugar babies,” with a 42 per cent in- crease in student membership from the previous year. There are currently 67 students signed onto the site using a Langara College email address, according to Brook Urick, public relations manager for SeekingArrangement. “As the site grew, we noticed a lot of the girls who were joining as sugar ba- bies are college students,” Urick said. “They’re ambitious and goal-oriented, and they’re trying to better their lives, and they’re looking for a boyfriend who can help them do that.” The site states that college sugar ba- bies receive an average allowance of $3,000 per month from their sugar daddies, which could be used to help pay student debt — an idea Caitlin To- hill, financial debt consultant and self- proclaimed Vancouver “debt diva,” said women need to consider carefully. “The question to ask one’s self is, ‘do Iregard myself as a commodity or am I much more?” Tohill said. “If I decide to view myself as a commodity, what does that mean in the context of my sex life and how I relate to sex partners and intimate relationships?” When not opting for a sugar daddy, Langara students are still facing the reality of substantial student debt, looking beyond traditional —_ part- time work to make money. Claire Robert- son, general arts student at Langa- \ ra, says she hasa_ ILE \ lot of student debt, CLAIRE ROBERTSON but isn’t too wor- Langara general ried about it. At 22, 78 student she is the founder and general manager of Crowned Prin- cess Entertainment, an event planning company that puts on princess-themed parties for children. “T get pretty crafty with how my money comes in,” said Eyren Uggenti, fourth-year marketing management student at Langara, who will get friends to front him money for his hip- hop shows to generate revenue. “Tt’s all about working on being cre- ative and intuitive to stay ahead.” Navigating loans and minimum wage work 1s a constant struggle for many students Minimum wage doesn't cover tuition anymore Student loans and credit lines are increasingly needed to pay for school By ETHAN REYES Centre for Policy Alternatives has determined that students must work more than twice the hours their parents did to afford university. Research shows that on average, students today have to work 491 hours at a minimum wage job for every year of enrolment, much more than the 175 hours required in 1975. Zachary Crisp- in, chairperson of the Canadian Feder- ation of Students-British Columbia, at- tributes this increase to a constantly shifting political landscape. “At this point, tuition fees have never been higher,” said Crispin, who went on to say that today, 75 per cent of jobs created require post-secondary educa- tion, whereas 40 years ago it wasn’t necessary to attend university to earn a living wage. First-year dietetics student Emma Baskind worked for a year before com- ing to study at Langara College. Bas- kind earned most of her tuition while working full-time at a Subway restau- rant. She said her aunt promised to help pay for some of her tuition and she plans to pay for the rest by continu- ing to work part-time. Twenty-year-old Clint Samuels’ fam- ily are establishing a bed and breakfast in Pemberton and are unable to sup- port him. Samuels paid for his first year at Langara by working for 16 months in northern Alberta, but had to establish a credit line after an unsuc- cessful application for a student loan. Between tuition and living expenses, Samuels owes $14,000 on his credit line. The social sciences student remains hopeful that change is possible. “At the end of the day 15 million people saying ‘we’re screwed.’ Well those 15 million can make a differ- ence,” Samuels said. Crispin said that students looking to change the state of education should get involved with a labour union, or a social-economic justice organization. The student chairperson believes that the problem has less to do with student apathy, than political representation. “Students have] nobody out there who will speak for them.” Aer conducted by the Canadian Post-grad aspirations take back seat Loans to cover tuition make students rethink their financial priorities By REBECCA PHAIR major financial decisions after graduation and in many cases the need to pay off debt will take priority over dreams of travelling or saving for a family. With student debt on the rise in Can- ada, some graduates struggle to begin a financially comfortable adult life. In B.C. alone students borrowed over $50 million more in the 2011-12 academic year compared to five years before, as part of the Canada Student Loans Pro- Le College students will face gram. It’s important for students to be money-savvy if they want to be finan- cially successful said Scott Hannah president and CEO of Credit Counsel- ling Society. “The key to being debt-free and fi- nancially secure is a modest budget and having a plan,” Hannah said. Graduates in a new career, making more money, are quick to adjust to their new financial freedom. With extra cash in the bank many students make the mistake of purchasing expensive items after they graduate. However, setting realistic goals can help offset the risk of increasing debt after gradu- ation, Hannah said. “Tf you think your student loans can be paid off in 10 years, try to do it in five or three years,” he said. Loans aside, many Langara students have travel aspirations and other fina- cial dreams but they also seem to have their priorities straight. “Right now, I just want to move out,” said Langara student Celine Uy. “Long term, I'll probably start saving for a family.” Another Langara_ student, Nan Wright, said he would travel to as many places as he could if he didn’t have to worry about debt. “Tm starting to think about investing or saving for property,” Wright said. Langara offers debt information seminars on campus held by the Credit Counselling Society. The next seminar is scheduled for March 25 from 12:30 to 230 p.m. Students must RSVP to attend. REBECCA PHAIR photo Langara’s Celine Yu opens her empty wallet to show her student financial struggles.