UMass Amherst students: how they're dealing with debt

AMHERST—Ariel Chin has had two jobs since her freshman year at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Now, as a junior, her jobs have slightly changed, but her priorities have not. 

“I really needed the money to pay for my college education,” Chin, who works as a resident assistant and lab assistant, said. “My parents help me out but in the end, there’s still so much to pay for and it comes down on my shoulders and, of course, the loans.”

Chin is not the only one struggling with paying for college. According to the Project on Student Debt, the class of 2010 graduated with an average of $25,250 dollars in student loan debt. At UMass, the average student graduated with $25,944 in loan debt in 2011.  

Students' view on the economy

On the UMass campus, students speak about their opinions on the economy and their future options in the job market. Michelle Liu reports.

Listen here.

Is Memorial Drive the new downtown for Chicopee?

CHICOPEE—It’s ten o’clock on a Saturday night, prime time for teenagers and young adults to enjoy a night out in the city. Instead, downtown Chicopee is eerily quiet. Several stores are lit up with open signs, but the sidewalks are empty and there is not a person in sight. 

On the other side of the city, people populate Memorial Drive, eating at Panera Bread and waiting in line for a seat at the packed Royal Buffet. People stream in and out of stores like Home Depot and Staples. 

Donald R. LaValley, the owner of Cabot Liquors in downtown, said that the shift to Memorial Drive became evident a couple years ago, ever since a reconstruction program intended to improve Chicopee Center ended up impairing his business.

“No parking signs were put up for a while and many people turned away from the store,” LaValley said. “They didn’t want to go through the hassle of finding a parking space that wasn’t even near us.”