by Matthew Dolbey, Campus Editor
As part of Campus Credit Education Week, an educational endeavor to teach students about the dangers of credit debt, a University of Wisconsin student with the highest reported debt will win $300.
The “I Got No Bling” contest will give students who have an “amazing” amount of credit-card debt a chance to work their way out of “trouble,” according to Campus Credit Education Week co-organizer Conor Caloia.
Caloia, an undergraduate journalism student at UW, said the reason his group offers such an award for credit-card debt is because credit issues are not normally sought out and addressed by the regular student. The group is made up of undergraduate students.
“Credit is not a very sexy topic,” Caloia said. “Kids our age don’t realize what a big deal credit can be.”
Caloia explained Campus Credit Education Week started out as a class project for Journalism 699, but has grown into a much larger campaign.
“It’s a fact that the majority of students who graduate from college have debt,” Caloia said, adding he took the project personally. He feels it is more than just an assignment because students should know the dangers of acquiring debt early in their lives.
“Credit trouble harms [students] five to 10 years down the road,” Caloia said, adding that when graduates try to get car loans, rent apartments or buy houses on their own, signing up for four credit cards in their freshman year can come back to haunt them.
The group, made up of UW undergraduates Charmaine Peterson, Emily Murphy, Shauna Riley and Caloia, also offers three $50 awards for students who take a short quiz on their website, www.journalism.wisc.edu/crediteducation.
The students also work with a group called FOCUS, a peer personal-finance student organization with students from the School of Human Ecology, and visit UW student organizations and fraternities in order to teach as many students as possible about credit debt.
This group of students tries to educate not only UW students about credit debt, but the next generation of college students as well. The group has visited area high schools in order to reach the entire age demographic of 17 to 23 years, part of the class requirement.
This Thursday, the students plan on visiting two Madison public high schools.
The students are also using this project to participate in the Bateman Case Study Competition, nationally sponsored by the Public Relations Student Society of America. The competition pairs a group of students with a national client to work toward a goal of effective public relations.
Faculty associate Pat Hastings, the class instructor, said this year’s client for her students is the Ford Motor Company’s credit division.
“They’re doing big-league stuff,” Hastings said. She added the students must examine the results of surveys and focus groups to see how effective their campaign is. “The best thing about it is they have a total portfolio [at the conclusion of the class] … It’s all theirs.”
Hastings also said there is an element of difficulty in making up an effective campaign for the seven-year age range covered by the competition.
“Some people say there’s a big gap [of interests and needs] between 17 and 23,” Hastings said.
Students applying for the “I Got No Bling” contest can do so by e-mailing [email protected]. Entries are kept confidential, and the deadline for the contest is Friday, Feb. 27 at noon.
