“Free calling cards!” proclaimed the sign in front of the American Express booth at Sacramento State. Students starting the Fall Semester were offered a variety of free items ranging from T-shirts to candy, simply for filling out a credit card application.

Although the number of credit card vendors on the Sac State campus seems to have declined over the past several years, there are still plenty of companies trying to attract the interest of young, debt-free students.

A recent survey by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group discovered that 61 percent of college students have received credit cards from on-campus vendors. In addition, the Consumer Federation found that 70 percent of students who use credit cards and attend four-year colleges have over $2,000 of debt on those cards.

Findings such as these are encouraging school officials and lawmakers to try to curb the growing debt among college students.

A senate bill authored by Senator Joseph Dunn (D-Garden Grove) would have required all California State Universities and Universities of California to “adopt policies to regulate the marketing practices used on campuses by credit card vendors.”

Although Gov. Davis acknowledged that credit card debt among college students is a problem, he vetoed Senate Bill 796 on Oct. 18.

“Personal responsibility can not be mandated by government. The answer lies first and foremost with parental guidance,” Davis said in a memo to the State Senate on his reasons for vetoing the bill.

Schools within the CSU system are currently addressing the issue, said California State Student Association Chair Shaun Lumachi, who recently attended a symposium on the subject. “Last year the ASI at Chico State banned credit card vendors from their student union, which was the main marketing venue on their campus,” Lumachi said.

Because Davis vetoed the Senate Bill, each university will have to establish its own policies. “If any regulation does happen, it will be locally on a campus-to-campus basis,” Lumachi explained.

Davis also cited the fact that all colleges and universities are required by the federal government to provide debt counseling and education to students with federal student loans.

At Sac State, students in the loan program may call an automated number at the Financial Aid Department to set up an advising appointment.

However, students who do not have student loans may not be aware of this service. A call to Counseling and Psychological Services was directed to an outside credit card counseling agency that charges a fee for services.

The desperate student will eventually be directed to Consumer Credit Counseling, a non-profit organization that helps people consolidate their credit card debt.

“We act as the middleman between the creditor and the card holder in distress,” said Ruth Bachand, an account manager at CCC who has seen many people who cannot get out of credit card debt by themselves.

Bachand explained that CCC gathers information such as income, living expenses and all credit card balances from the potential client. They compile the debt into one figure and determine a set monthly deposit that the client will make. CCC then splits that deposit among the creditors, who sometimes cooperate by waiving late fees and lowering interest rates.

However, the program does not come without its costs. Not only does the program often affect the client?s credit card rating, but CCC also receives 6.5 percent of the monthly deposit, or up to $20 a month, Bachand said. It often takes years for people to pay off the debt.

Debt among college students is not uncommon, and is not just a Sac State problem. Scott Johnson, a UC Davis graduate who now works as manager of customer support at Intraware, a Bay Area Internet sales company, got himself into debt as a college student. He signed up for three different credit cards from vendors on campus and soon found himself in credit card debt. Although Johnson did pay off the debt, it took him over five years to do so.

“I got my first card at the end of high school, when I was getting ready for college. Then I got one from someone wandering around, signing people up on campus. They had a free CD I wanted and it had a rebate on the card,” Johnson said.