I don’t think I am making that mistake. What I read in that article was something like: “I made some bad decisions about financing, but the wider system is a p

I don’t think I am making that mistake. What I read in that article was something like: “I made some bad decisions about financing, but the wider system is a problem for the following reasons.” You’re right that from a technical point of view nothing was done wrong. A college student signed up to a loan, agreed to the terms, and was subsequently shocked by the extent to which it was difficult to pay it off. I disagree that she’s asking to be “let off the hook” but is instead using her case to highlight the wider problems in this system. There are wider-ranging options than banning loans or restricting them to older people. Making college more affordable, or regulating interest rates, or providing a government-backed system for college funding are all alternatives. At some point, if a huge number of people are struggling with a system, it’s reasonable to ask how it can be reformed - because this isn’t an isolated case. The focus on individual decisions risks missing out on a discussion about how that wider problem can be solved - that students feel the need to get into this debt in the first place.