Mankato students walk 100 miles to state capitol for affordable education
Six students from Minnesota State University in Mankato walked 100 miles from the school to the Minnesota State Capitol this week to raise awareness for affordable education.
According to Students United – a group that represents state university students in Minnesota – this is the fifth time Mankato students have made the walk.
This one spanned the course of four days, from Sunday to Wednesday. It also involved one staff member and a handful of students from other state schools. According to the participation form posted online, students who attend schools in Moorhead, Bemidji, St. Cloud, and Winona joined in at least part of the walk.
Once the students made it, they got to sit down with some lawmakers to discuss education costs.
Education costs in Minnesota
The cost of higher education is on the rise throughout the country. And according to a 2015 report by the Institute for College Access and Success, students who go to a four-year university in Minnesota graduate with an average debt of $31,500.
That's the sixth highest in the country.
By the end of 2016, 42.4 million Americans owed $1.3 trillion in federal student loans – that doesn’t take into account private student loans, credit cards and home equity loans some use to finance their higher education.
