With small incomes and big bills, college
students make a prime market for credit cards. But critics say the card
companies take unfair advantage, luring students with free T-shirts and
food -- then snaring them with high interest rates.
This week a
national consumer group backed by several educational organizations
started a campaign to persuade more colleges to crack down on
credit-card marketing to students. The coalition wants schools to take
steps ranging from prohibiting card-company giveaways to blocking their
access to student lists.
Organizers also promised to do their own
consumer education and countermarketing, setting up tables near where
cards are being hawked and giving away trinkets and food, such as
lollipops with the message "don't be a sucker."
"College students
are vulnerable, they're already hammered by the high cost of
education," said Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director of the U.S.
PIRG Education Fund, which is leading the effort. "Cards seem like a
solution, but they can become a trap."
Ken Clayton, managing
director of the card policy council of the American Bankers
Association, which represents card issuers, said his organization
shares the goal of better educating students about credit, but said
that overall, students use credit responsibly, and pay their balances
in full at the same rate as the general public. He also said
three-quarters of students get cards through general advertising, not
campus promotions.
About 15 states restrict or ban credit-card
marketing to students on campus, said Matt Hamill, director of advocacy
for the National Association of College and University Business
Officers, one of several groups that joined in a campaign announcement
teleconference. Congress is considering a measure intended to keep
students from taking on too much credit. Some colleges also ban
marketing on campus, but Hamill could not say how many.
Organizers said many students need credit cards, but they want colleges to take a more protective stance.
