Forgive Student Debt!
In 2010 something unthinkable happened – student debt surpassed credit card debt as the largest form of debt in this country, passing $800 billion dollars. In 2012 more history will be made as the amount of unpaid student debt climbs to $1 trillion dollars, with an additional $1 million dollars added to that number every 6 minutes.
The ripple effect that this has on our economy is crushing: students and recent graduates are forced into low-wage jobs in order to immediately start making payments back to banks and lenders; instead of stimulating the economy by spending millions of dollars, students and graduates are pinching pennies to just try to keep up with the interest on their loans; and the privatization of colleges and universities are expedited as the same loan agencies use the profit off of students to lobby for lower tax rates, forcing budget cuts to higher education in an economy where recent graduates struggle to find jobs.
If we do not solve the student debt crisis the students of today will suffer, but the students of tomorrow may never have the opportunity to a college education. A generation of students will pay the hefty price of their student loans; but we must not forget that we will also pay the debt of an entire country ignoring the burden placed on those working to better their lives and communities by obtaining a college degree.
The story of student debt is one that many future, current and recent graduates know – but it’s our job to share it with others that may not know the effect student loans have on young people today. Default: The Student Loan Documentary is a documentary that was launched at the United States Student Association’s LegCon only 3 years ago, and tells the story of how student loan debt has grown at such a rapid rate while also showing the stories of young people suffering the consequences of it. Check out the trailer below, and contact either the SLAP Coordinator or Default to learn how to show this documentary on your campus.
If the video doesn’t show on your browser, you can watch it at this link.
Now we’re demanding that students get bailed out, just like the banks and corporations did. If they are too big to fail, so is an entire generation of college graduates and those that didn’t even have the possibility to get a college education because of sky rocketing prices compounded with the interest rates loans brings. We demand to have a say in our lives. We need to collectively call on Sallie Mae, the largest profiteer off of student loans, to demand they forgive student debt – they can ignore one voice or even two, but not when we all speak up together.
Just like we all need to put the spotlight on those profiting off of our debt, we need to share our stories with each other. More and more recent graduates are graduating off of a cliff in this economy, where we have mortgage sized student debt with no outlook for a job. The reason why the economy isn’t recovering is because we aren’t recovering – student debt is the difference maker between buying a house or a car five years after graduating or not. We need our stories to be the headlines if we want to change this situation. Take a picture of yourself with your student debt figure and submit it to Occupy Student Debt or email it to the SLAP Coordinator.
Many of the largest student loan lenders are the same banks our universities and student governments keep their funds in. It’s important that we as students have a say in who our university does business with, and it should be with those that are invested in the well-being of students and the entire campus – not just their profits. The United States Student Association has been a leader in this movement in 2012, as the Board of Directors voted to move their funds into a local credit union and encouraged all campuses to do so. To find out which banks have been targeting students check out this article and FinAid. Help us track who our universities do business with by filling out this short survey.
Responsible Endowments Coalition, Move Our Money, and New Bottom Line are great resources for information on how and where to move your Student Government and Universities money. Click here for a sample Student Government Resolution.
To best have our voices be heard collectively, we need to come together. Join hundreds of students as they gather in Washington, DC on March 23-26th to educate, agitate, and organize against this problem at the 43rd Annual Grassroots Legislative Conference. This conference will give students the organizing skills you need to win campaigns on your campus and in your state, give you the information you need to build strong student organizations, and give you the opportunity to sit down with your Representatives and Senators on our National Student Lobby Day.
