It's better than a credit card and better than a friend's wallet - they're ASMSU's $100 interest-free loans available to MSU students.

But students are abusing the privilege of their loans by not paying them back on time to ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government.

Many Spartans don't know ASMSU's $100 loan is available to any person with a student ID. The thought of a loan can be frightening to college kids. In most cases, good credit and co-signers are needed to receive one.

Not with ASMSU - loans are given out every year to students needing some extra cash for books, groceries or anything else a student could need. The best part is it only takes about five minutes to get one.

The loan has to be paid back within six weeks or a $2.50 late fee will be charged. Because 30 percent of students did not pay back their loans last year, ASMSU's student assembly voted to raise late fees.

In addition, a $5 administration fee has been added to cover a hold on student accounts for unpaid loans. If after two semesters the loan has not been paid back, $30 is charged.

Students should not complain about any of these fees or the holds on their accounts.

The undergraduate student government is being more than kind with its reasonable fees and it has every right to raise penalties.

If a student took a loan out from a bank, he or she would not be charged such a low amount.

Bank late fees are far greater and, despite ASMSU's practices, interest does exist in the real world.

If students can't be held accountable for the money, they shouldn't take out the loan. Taking advantage of the situation only is going to hurt students in the long run.

When they get money from a bank in the future and don't know how to pay back their loan on time, they will soon discover the real consequences of debt.

ASMSU's system is a smart way for students to borrow money. It would be even smarter to repay the student government's loans on time.