Student Government Assembly held a press conference last Friday announcing the passage of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. President Barack Obama signed the Act on May 22 in hopes of helping not only students but average citizens understand their rights for credit card usage.

Colorado Sen. Mark Udall, who co-sponsored the Credit Card Act in the Senate, was the featured speaker at the press conference. “It’s unfair for credit card companies to hound college students into credit cards without them fully understanding what they are getting themselves into. Students need to understand the mountain of debt before they sign.”

According to SGA President Andrew Bateman, the senator’s office contacted the student government and asked them to help increase awareness about the new law. The need was not lost on Bateman, who says he received his first credit card offer when he was 15 years old. But he acknowledges that he was fortunate to have a mother who was an accountant and explained interest rates, and how to properly use a card.

That’s not the case for everyone, particularly for students on a college campus. Student groups often become involved with banks when raising money, says Bateman. The group purchases a table from Auraria Facilities Management so that they can set up at a high student-traffic location on campus, such as the flagpole. “The group then raises money by selling the table for a higher price to companies, including banks who want to pass out literature to students on campus,” he explains.

“We’ve been active in keeping track. The companies are not supposed to take student personal information like social security numbers or sign them up for credit accounts,” Bateman says.

When they do see it they call Facilities Management. If companies do it more than once, they are asked to leave, Bateman adds.