College students usually feel as if loans are inescapable, but they scarily are in a way. What is possibly one of the worst scenarios parents can endure—having a child in college die—just got worse. According to theNew York Times, when her son died, Marcia DeOliveria-Longinetti was shocked when she was told her dead son’s loans would not be forgiven, as her situation “[did] not meet the threshold for loan forgiveness,” according to the New Jersey state agency.

But this leaves you wondering: What constitutes as reasonable loan forgiveness? Whatever might certainly cannot be as bad as death, because what can be? When parents sign the contract for their child's student loans, the commitment to paying them to the loaner seems to come without any concern or acknowledgment for certain situations that would make paying off the loans impossible by the person who intends to pay them.

This isn’t the first time this tragic scenario has happened, as a family in 2006 also had to deal with facing loan charges after their son Christopher died, and set out in hopes of changing the law so anyone that would face similar situations wouldn’t have to face such traumas. Battle after battle, the Bryskis fought to reprieve any loans from lenders that were continuously calling them. A final battle, Key Bank, took a petition on change.org that had to get 81,000 signatures to finally pardon all of Christopher's loans.

Nevertheless, we live in a day and age where students are easily able to write a letter expressing their college experience and get their student debt forgiven, which is achievable without needing much legitimate proof. But this is also a time where people still have student loans to pay when they die.

The outcome of this recent New Jersey State loans created an antithesis between unfairness, and obligations, where some deem the situation as completely unreasonable, while others say the contract was signed with the intent to pay the loans, no matter the cost; however, the whole case of this is far more complex than it should be.

No one should live wondering where their student loans go if they die before paying them off, and no parents should ever have to prepare to take out retirement savings to pay for their child's loans. Student loans have always been a hassle enough for people, and now it has just gone too far, hopefully not progressing any further loaners to do so. Colleges are in need of more money as they are building much faster than the rate at which they're receiving funding, but this requirement shouldn't be at the extreme emotional cost of us.

Student loans actually started off as an unintentional grant program. Banks originally started lending students money, which soon transitioned into the federal government doing so, due to preferences of places to go to for loans, and the whole system skyrocketed into popularity.

While student loans go far as beneficiaries for colleges, this need for so much money for them shouldn’t go so extreme such as these cases. This whole story goes to show how out-of-hand a popular system can go, even seemingly-harmless ones. Like too many situations today, money is the root of these terrible circumstances some parents have to face today. Sometimes when systems rise so greatly, certain obligations need to be met so that people don't suffer in the long term.

However, the superiority of a system should not ever supersede the well-being of those using it. It's too easy these days for some to get out-of-hand, and too caught up in generating money. Now is the time when change needs to be made in a system that is so widely used today, and will continue to be by many from now. Hopefully this corrupt New Jersey system will not join alongside a similar one in other states. Furthermore, there will hopefully be a change in the system after the poor mother had to endure such an unfair hardship. This New Jersey Student Loan Program will surely get the message across that it is far from a good program, and furthermore, will reinforce the risks that come with contracts, some of which we never consider.