I doubt that the ‘Jersey Shore’ team had much to do with this most recent law passed by Governor Christie, but the law does have to do with college kids and credit card companies. (The ‘JS’ crew could be college aged, but I’ve never seen any of them attend class so I’m sure they won’t be affected by this law.) In adherence with this new law, companies that market their credit cards to college students are no longer allowed to do so at public colleges in New Jersey, such as Rutgers and Rowan. The bill came about because the Governor stated that parents were complaining of their kids’ credit being ruined at a young age–because what college kid WOULDN’T sign up for a credit card if the companies were scattered about their campus, promoting the cards and who knows what kind of perks along with them? Parents complained that ultimately they were the ones expected to pick up the bill on these kids’ cards, which might be what the credit card companies were expecting. Either way, NJ college campuses are now off-limits. A Philly.com article by Jonathan Lai reports:
“Companies that issue credit cards can no longer market them to students at New Jersey public colleges under a law Gov. Christie signed Thursday.
“These kids are carrying enough debt through student loans, through whatever costs they have for education,” said Assemblywoman Celeste Riley (D., Cumberland-Gloucester-Salem), a supporter of the new law. Riley described students as feeling pressured by “predatory soliciting” practices when credit-card companies market through campus displays or alumni association partnerships.”
Click here to read Lai’s report about the decision behind the law, and how it will affect campuses.
Apparently this law has been a long time coming– according to the Philly.com article, Assemblyman David Russo has introduced this bill every year since 1998, and only now has it actually been resolved. Talk about determination! Well, Russo’s efforts have paid off and hopefully, NJ college students will thank him in four years as they graduate college far less in debt than they would have been if they’d gotten sucked into signing up for that AmEx in freshman year.
