Occupy Student Debt

What you need to knowby Tahira Rhame.Worrying about how to pay for college can be very stressful for students. Senior Michaela Dann knows this feeling oh so well. “It makes me cringe when I think about how much money I owe in loans,” says Dann, an ad/PR major. “I have to be responsible with my spending habits since I have limited funds.”Inspired by Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Student Debt has been created to help students like Dann.To raise awareness about out-of-control student debt and press for reform, organizers are asking college students to pledge to withhold loan payments after a critical mass of refusers has signed on. It’s not a mass default, but In effect, a debt strike “threat.”Organizers believe that debt discourages people from pursuing higher education, and the campaign strives to generate major reform in college funding. Statistics show that student debt will soon reach $1 trillion.Projectstudentdebt.org states that, “In the United States college seniors who graduated in 2010 carried an average of $25,250 in student loan debt. Meanwhile, unemployment for recent college graduates climbed from 8.7% in 2009 to 9.1% in 2010 — the highest annual rate on record for college graduates aged 20 to 24.”“In New York in 2010, in public 4-year institutions and in private non-profit 4- years institutions 61% of students had a average debt of $26,271.Occupy Student Debt organizers insist that the United States can afford free higher education. The U.S used to provide free higher education but over the last three decades public education has been lowered on the list of national priorities. When Townsend Harris, a rich businessman, founded City  in 1847, students could not attend at no charge.That’s how it should be says CCNY Ombudsman Terrence Podolsky. “Deficits were caused by illegal wars, he says. “That’s not our fault and we should not have to pay for it.”Students like Camille Sykes agree with Poldolsky. “I have already got a letter about my tuition bill and I’m not even out of college yet,” say Sykes, who graduates this spring.  “It’s crazy we go through all of this school and graduating just to have to back tuition.” “College students should not have to pay. We are the future it’s like I’m paying to secure myself a job in the future and there is no guarantee I will get one.”Even students who have financial aid, for example, a student loan forgiveness scheme, are feeling the pressure when it comes to paying tuition—especially now that it’s has been increased.  “I still have trouble making ends meet even though I get help from financial aid,” says Shayla Hooper a CCNY senior. “I have not had to take out any loans but it would be nice if school was free; I would have fewer expenses to worry about. “Sometimes I get depressed thinking about the whole situation.”Podolsky believes that change starts with us. “The only way CUNY will be $0,” he says, “is if students get active and protest.”So far, only a few hundred have pledged support. To learn more about student debt and to sign the pledge, visit the Occupy Student Debt website.