Hood College students raise concerns about costs, student loans and AI at congressional forum

Rising housing costs, expensive groceries, student loans and uncertainty about artificial intelligence were among the concerns Hood College students raised during a forum Monday in Frederick.

The event at Hodson Auditorium was organized by U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney, who represents Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, including Frederick County. Official House records confirm McClain Delaney currently represents the district.

The forum was part of a planned series of similar events at schools across her congressional district.

Students submitted questions touching on the cost of everyday necessities, housing, student loans, research funding, health care, data centers and the effect technology could have on future employment.

Asked about rising prices for items such as gasoline and groceries, McClain Delaney said part of her preferred policy response would be eliminating tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, which she said increase the price of imported goods.

She also said policymakers should work to reduce health care and prescription-drug costs and increase U.S. energy independence. Those were policy positions expressed by McClain Delaney at the forum rather than independent findings about the causes of current prices.

Housing was another major concern.

McClain Delaney said she supports incentives for additional affordable-housing construction along with changes to zoning and permitting rules, while also arguing that the country needs more higher-paying jobs.

For students, those economic pressures are already affecting day-to-day decisions.

April Boulton, dean of Hood’s graduate school, said the college is seeing more graduate students interested in campus housing because it can be more affordable than finding independent housing.

She also said some graduate students are declining to attend special campus events because they cannot afford the gasoline needed to travel there.

Hood sophomore Kiera Alvarado said affordability has become a significant source of stress.

She said she sometimes questions whether the cost of college will ultimately be worth it and worries about facing larger adult expenses after graduation.

Fellow sophomore Dante Tomassoni raised concerns about finding undergraduate loans while also beginning to think about graduate school.

His concerns extend beyond educational costs.

Tomassoni said he worries about how artificial intelligence could affect job opportunities for people his age after they graduate.

Those questions reflect a broader theme running through the forum: students are trying to make educational and career decisions while facing uncertainty over what housing, borrowing and the job market will look like in the coming years.

McClain Delaney, a Democrat, has represented Maryland’s 6th District since taking office in January 2025 and serves on the House Agriculture and Science, Space and Technology committees.

For several students who spoke at Hood, however, the most immediate issue was less about Washington politics than whether they will be able to afford the next stages of their own lives.