Earlier this month, Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias held a news conference at Illinois State University announcing legislation he plans to introduce in January to prohibit Credit Card Companies from offering free gifts when marketing credit cards on college campuses. He refers to this as the “Sandwich Loophole”, referring to when Credit Card marketers handed out free sandwich coupons at the University of Illinois – Chicago.

The new legislation will also prevent Universities, Foundations, and Alumni Associations from selling students’ names and personal information to credit card companies. Universities that enter into marketing agreements with credit card companies will be required to disclose those agreements and to offer financial education to all incoming students by the end of their first semester.

While Giannoulias certainly has good intentions, simply ending free gifts from credit card companies on campus probably won’t do much to cut down on credit card applications. Credit Card companies will still target college students online, at concerts, in magazines, etc. The fact that he is requiring financial education to be provided is admirable, however, he does fall short by stipulating that it only needs to be a 45-minute “symposium” about credit.