Politics

FoxTalk asked attorney general candidates at DemFest what they would do to help Colorado students with student debt. Griswold pointed to lawsuits, while other candidates talked about loan servicers, for-profit schools and the price of higher education.

FoxTalk asked Democratic candidates at DemFest how they would reach students who work, commute or do not believe politics changes anything for them. Their answers showed a gap between the party’s need for young voters and its still-developing outreach to community college students.

FoxTalk did not interview Brittany Pettersen directly, but her DemFest remarks on motherhood, Congress and working families spoke to a reality many students know: institutions are often hardest to enter for people balancing work, family and money.

FoxTalk asked Eileen Laubacher what she would do to reduce college costs for working and commuting students. The retired rear admiral and congressional candidate said community colleges need more investment, more online access and lower costs.

One candidate called student debt “unconscionable.” Another said public college should be tuition-free. Another promised lawsuits. At DemFest, college costs turned into a fight over debt, Pell Grants, service programs and whether students are being priced out.

At DU, candidates for governor argued over Trump, Tina Peters, immigration, faith, taxes and each other. But for community college students, the real issue was simpler: after graduation, can they afford to stay?

The president of Colorado Christian University opened Tuesday night with a joke about fathers. His university trains graduates to be "exceptionally employable," he said. Parents applaud that. They can see the relief, he told the crowd, "the fact that they're going to get off the