A lot can change in four years – for that matter, a lot can change in two years. This generation of college students has vivid memories of President Barack Obama’s historic election, and the feeling of boundless optimism it inspired. Many University of Wisconsin students remember the excitement fueled by the president’s visit to Library Mall – but they also remember his conspicuous absence in the tumultuous days of collective bargaining protests that followed.

Now, as campaigns prepare for the final stretch, he will speak tomorrow afternoon on Bascom Hill.

Many UW students have been avid Obama supporters in the past, but the past four years have been difficult. Tuition and loan debt have increased, and jobs are hard to come by. Frankly, the president has a home field advantage in Madison, and the crowd will be receptive to whatever he has to say. But students are not looking for the inspiration and optimism of 2008. They want to hear facts. They want answers.

Unlike his 2010 visit, Obama will not win us over with jokes about his beer-drinking days in college. We don’t want to hear a generic university auditorium speech that assumes we are still enchanted with his message of change. UW students are intelligent. They understand the difference between an Obama pump-up speech that bypasses specific policies and one that thoroughly explains his track record with higher education and what he plans to do for students in the next four years.

We are interested in hearing what the president is doing for the average UW student who will graduate with more than $20,000 in student loan debt and struggle to find a job in an ailing economy. 

Student debt has been a contentious issue in this presidential campaign. Sure, Mitt Romney has made it clear his idea of a solution to the economic problems students face is to create job opportunities and lower their taxes – which might make it easier to pay off debts ten years from now – but will not prevent students from accumulating debt in the first place. He’s told students tom”borrow money if you have to from your parents.” The message is clear: Romney does not understand the financial problems students face today, and he does not take them seriously either.

However, Obama does not win by default on this issue. We still expect him to break down student loan debt from a policy perspective. But more importantly we want him to explain in detail the solutions he is proposing. A federal student loan is a deal. America lends money to students in need today so they can educate themselves and make a positive impact on this country in the future. Students are holding up their end of the bargain – they apply themselves in school, search for jobs and work hard to pay off their debt – they are building a better America. They want to know what Obama will do in the next four years to hold up his end of the bargain.