Wednesday, The Lantern addressed the federal government’s efforts to combat student debt from financial aid. Today, we cover the state government’s attack on another common source of student debt: credit cards.
It is a pretty common sight around campus. Students receive fliers offering a free pizza, sandwich, gyro or burrito and only a student ID is required. When the students arrive to claim their meal, however, they are asked to sign up for a credit card. College students are an especially vulnerable group to credit cards because many of them experience financial freedom for the first time without having the knowledge or income to be truly financially independent.
Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Citibank and a Pennsylvania company, Campus Dimensions Inc., for offering fliers advertising free food without mentioning that students would have to apply for credit cards. Dann said the groups’ behavior was in violation of the Consumer Sales Practice Act. He also mentioned Potbelly Sandwich Works and La Bamba Mexican Restaurants Group for offering the enticements.
Although The Lantern agrees with Dann’s action and believes credit card companies should know better than to take advantage of college students, maybe a little of the responsibility should fall on the students themselves. After all, the only reason this marketing scheme works is because college students will do anything for free food, even if it means going to the involvement fair or signing up for a Citibank card.
Students need to be careful when they sign up for a credit card. It should be something done individually with the students’ banks and hopefully under the supervision of someone who understands the consequences. The limit should be manageable and students should research all penalties and other important information themselves. Someone’s first credit card should not be one they applied for just to get a free sandwich.
Aside from the debt students can incur, there is also the problem of providing their personal information to complete strangers. Some students might memorize and provide fake information in order to receive the free food without the risk of identity theft, but we are willing to bet that many students provided their real social security numbers, addresses and even student ID numbers.
Part of the blame for this might fall on Ohio State. Some professors and instructors ask students to provide their social security numbers on class rosters and exams, and students might become accustomed to providing their information without consequence. The more they give out these numbers, the less important the information might seem.
Still, students need to take responsibility for their own security, and it is probably a good idea not to give out your social security number to someone sitting at a desk in front of Domino’s or Penn Station. Just a thought.
