Butler students weigh pros, cons of new credit card law

Students say rule may create hardships for some, protect others from themselves

By Nicole Blake

Butler University is a small, private co-ed liberal arts university established in 1855 by attorney and abolitionist Ovid Butler. U.S. News & World Report ranked the university, which offers more than 60 majors, second in its Midwest category for its 2010 college rankings.

To help protect students from racking up debt on multiple credit cards, Butler University bans all forms of credit card marketing on its Indianapolis campus, says Courtney Tuell, director of media relations for the university. For the past several years, the policy has prohibited companies from tabling, handing out fliers or posting signs around campus.

All incoming freshmen are required to sit through a 45-minute financial literacy session during orientation week, but the university is ramping up these efforts via online resources on cashcourse.org. The site provides students with tips on budgeting, job readiness and applying for financial aid.

Here's what some students at Butler University have to say about the new credit card law and managing credit cards:

"I think it would be good to have restrictions because kids tend to spend. They can't see what they're getting into in the long run"
-- Sarah Krock, 19

Butler University students walk past a statue of the school's mascot while heading to Atherton Union, a dining hall.
Photo by Nicole Blake

"It's really the person's responsibility to choose how they're going to handle their money."
-- Abbey Schrader, 19

"It [the law] wouldn't allow me to get books as easily or take care of major issues."
-- Josiah Smith, 19

See related: Sample credit card contract for parents and their young adult children, A comprehensive guide to the Credit CARD Act of 2009, Obama signs new credit card reforms into law, Interactive timeline: How the credit card bill became law, when its provisions take effect

Published: September 30, 2009

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