I can see both sides of this - the truly ridiculous part of this story was this: "It is utterly depressing that there are so many people like her facing decade

I can see both sides of this - the truly ridiculous part of this story was this: "It is utterly depressing that there are so many people like her facing decades of payments, limited capacity to buy a home and a debt burden that can repel potential life partners." You know what ... anyone who would walk away from you because of your student debt is NOT a potential life partner.