Thought texting your dad for money was bad? Try texting the President about student debt.
Reaching out to POTUS himself is easier then ever, thanks to a new campaign launched this week by DoSomething.org. The nonprofit, whose website says it is committed to social change and young people, launched “Text with the President” as a way for the commander-in-chief to connect with young people and focus on issues important to them in a way that’s more relatable – texting.
The first issue President Obama is set to tackle with his Blackberry is student debt. Since Obama’s inbox is sure to overflow, DoSomething.org filters the questions sent to the number 38383 and gives the president one of the most frequently asked questions a day.
Monday’s question came from Dan in Ann Arbor, Mich.
“What have you done and plan to do to lower student debt & tuition?” the text asked.
“We’ve expanded grants & tax credits, provided new options to manage debt and proposed incentives for colleges to keep costs down. More here:http://at.wh.gov/mlnUx,” Obama sent back.
The President then texted on Tuesday, in response to a question from Marcus from Nevada, Texas on what the Obama administration is doing to better inform high school students on student loans, that “if you’re willing to work hard, you should be able to go to college.”
“It’s something Michelle and I wish we had had when we were in your shoes–because sometimes we got surprised by some of the debt that we racked up,” Obama texted.
Not all the President’s texts are quite so formal, however. For those wanting to actually see if their question on student loan interest rates was chosen as the question of the day, be ready for texts with old-style abbreviations such as “ur” and “prez” – and maybe even a Harry Potter reference. That’s because unless a different plan – or some Hogwarts magic – is in place by July 1, student loan interest rates are set to double.
Although DoSomething.org is facilitating the texts, the White House claims that they were the ones to come up with the idea.
“We like to give our members special access, so when this opportunity with the White House came up it was a no-brainer,” DoSomething.org COO Aria Finger told Mashable. “Our whole goal is to get young people to take action.”
And don’t worry, young broke college kids. According to the website, texting the Obama costs exactly the same as texting friends or family.
This story has been updated to include additional information.
