Students and fresh grads from around the country are entering into sexual relationships with older benefactors in order to pay off their student loans. One website that facilitates the arrangements claims to have more than 4 million students on its platform.
Seekingarrangement.com, a website that facilitates “sugar daddy” and “sugar mommy” relationships, published a report earlier this year that highlighted a rise in such relationships amongst students and graduates looking to pay off college debt.
“The number of college graduates carrying student loan debt is higher than those who are employed full-time,” the report, which was highlighted this week by The College Fix, reads. “Instead of waiting to see if a new administration might bring relief after the 2020 elections, an increasing number of students are counting on wealthy benefactors to help fund their education.”
Brandon Wade, the founder of SeekingArrangement, claims that more than four million students maintain profiles on his platform. Wade accuses politicians, including President Donald Trump, of forcing students to trade sexual favors in exchange for their education.
“Over the past three administrations, the overall cost of attending college has more than doubled. Students are tired of hearing politicians campaign on the importance of education, job growth, and opportunity-just to leave promises on the convention floor,” Wade said. “The numbers speak for themselves. Of the four million students on SeekingArrangement, more than 62 percent attend college in the US.”
Websites like SeekingArrangment have sparked a debate about the legality of trading sexual favors for cash. Proponents of such relationships argue are far deeper and more complex than prostitution. Detractors argue that such relationships are simply an illegal exchange of money for sex.