Student loan debt is the biggest unspoken crisis facing our generation. It has now surpassed credit card debt, and the total amount of student debt nationwide just recently hit $1 trillion.
I am drowning in student loans and am dreading graduating with thousands of dollars in debt. How will I ever pay it off? And the worst part is that thousands of students on campus are feeling this same stress. My increasing loan debt is always in the back of my mind, weighing me down. I’m sick of watching my friends struggle to pay for school and I’m sick of feeling powerless against this problem.
That’s why I was so inspired when I heard about the student loan debt protest that took place last Monday in Washington D.C. Thirty-six student leaders from all over the nation — including ASUO Vice President Katie Taylor — were arrested in a planned act of civil disobedience against Sallie Mae@@https://www.salliemae.com/@@, the nation’s largest profiteer off predatory student lending.
Katie and the other students were arrested peacefully to bring attention to predatory student lending practices of companies such as Sallie Mae. They saw a problem that nobody was addressing and they made a bold move to start the conversation.
Finally, Katie and others are starting to ask the questions that matter.
Why are students being punished for seeking an education?
Who matters more, the bankers or the students?
The silence is over and the time to face this issue is now.
Students everywhere can take heart in Katie Taylor’s leadership. Students need to follow Katie’s lead, band together and start addressing the issue of student loan debt.
It’s our problem and no one’s going to solve it for us.
Megan Comer@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Megan+Comer@@
University student