Through Mass Movements We Have The Power

I originally came into this research relatively ignorant to the things that student debtors go through as they struggle pay their way out of their loan debt. As you grow up it is already put into your head that you’ll have to take out loans in order to afford college and pay it back afterwards even if you might have to struggle. Since before we even start college we have already accepted this monumental and unfair action as the norm for attending college. It is hard to imagine any other way beside the only way we have known.

Because of this when I stumbled upon Hillary Clinton’s New College Compact plan that minimizes the amount of loans you have to take out, and even lets you refinance your current debt situation, I found it to be the perfect solution to our current problem.

Until I continued reading the stories of debtors that let me see how the things others say, such as you could afford to pay for tuition or your debts if you work alongside school, really doesn’t work for everyone. And even then if you can sometimes it doesn’t even help make a dent in your debt. Along with requiring the help of family even if it may be a small amount, it really doesn’t work when you’re on the middle line of poverty and have other things to pay for besides your child’s tuition.

In this case you realize Hillary’s Plan really cannot work for everyone, especially for those with a low economic status. It is a plan that effectively ensures the paralyzing of low income families economic status, even if that isn’t her intent.

After more in depth research I realized that everyone would benefit by having higher education be completely free. One, it would benefit our society if it were filled with academically enriched citizens. Two, it would increase the economy because we would have successful working citizens.

Even after coming to that realization, I did not think it a possibility. It is hard to imagine something like that ever happening because we are so used to correlating college with the word debt. But, it is exactly this sort of mentality that inhibits the progress of our debt problem. If we do not looks past that sort of mentality then we will never achieve fixing our debt.

My thinking has made a complete turn and my biggest realization has been that through mass we are powerful and we can change the way things have been for a long time we just have to realize first the power that we hold.

 

 

 

Image was borrowed from: http://static01.nyt.com/images/2013/06/18/world/americas/18brazil-pic-for-mobile/20130618_BRAZIL_EMBED-slide-DOAD-articleLarge.jpg

 

Strike Against The Higher Education System To End Tuition

 

In order to convince young student debtors that they should bind together and strike the higher education system to end tuition, I created a PSA poster that conveys the anger and frustration that student debtors feel, in order to convince them to fight for what is their right.

While there are student loan debtors who are older than the target audience, this poster specifically reaches out to young student loan debtors because they are in the prime of their debt. Some have finished college and others are about to finish and are starting to feel the pressure of having to pay off their loans. In general I believe this younger generation has more of a drive to fight for what they believe to be correct as opposed to those who have been paying for a good amount of years and have already accepted their situation.

The emotion that I was trying to tap into was that of the anger debtors experience at having to pay for something that they shouldn’t have to. The way that I decided to do that was by choosing an image that clearly depicted the action that I wanted to take place, but that also visibly portrayed the the debtors seeming angry and frustrated. You can see in the way their faces scrunch up as they scream their displeasure and anger.  The signs that they are holding up also portray the anger seeing as no one uses that sort of language unless they are in a state of frustration.

I also tried to tap into the emotion of anger by clearly stating in the message that higher education is their right rather than a privilege. This implies that higher education is something that belongs to them. When a person feels as though something belongs to them it is in their nature to take back what someone has incorrectly taken from them, even if it means having to fight for it. Which brings me to the action that the poster shows should take place; striking. Not only have I specifically mentioned it in my message but I have also placed an image that clearly shows the action being done.

The topic of discussion is not something many take lightly so I tried to use colors to portray a sense of seriousness to the poster topic. I chose the color black as the background, a color that is usually associated with things that are not good. Dark colors can be related to terrible events, such as black dress codes for events of mourning. Setting the background black creates an atmosphere and feeling that is hopefully negative, like the debt situation. It also matches the color scheme of the black and red poster one of the protesters is holding in the image. Red, also typically a color that is attached to the emotion of anger.

The type of font that was chosen was used in a way that would represent an important and serious topic. The font is straight and sharp edged, typically used to write important papers containing important topics. It is critical to stress the graveness of the situation in order for it to be taken seriously and in order for their to be actions taking place against it. The more legitimate the poster seems, the more people will take our debt situation seriously.

Image was borrowed from : http://www.oxbridgeessays.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/protesters.jpg

Why I Believe A Mass Movement is Necessary to Change Our Student Loan Crisis

.Student loan debts are becoming increasingly hard to pay off. Interest rates are too high and the degrees we went to school for are simply not helping us find jobs. I believe a massive movement of debtors simultaneously defaulting their loans would successfully provide a change that the higher education system desperately needs.

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Everyone knows that individually defaulting on your loans brings about serious repercussions that would undoubtedly bring on a lot more hardship than when you were paying your debt; there is no doubt about that. But defaulting in mass would instead eliminate those sorts of problems. A movement like this would take away the  individuality because it would create a larger sense of a problem. Those in charge would be thinking about the situation as a whole and not about targeting the individuals.

If officials were to instead speculate on the individual midst of a larger problem, then we really need to consider what kind of government we are currently under.

Now if we take the time to look at other movements like Black Lives Matter, they all have been done in mass without repercussions to the individuals involved.  Instead movements such as these have brought forth many achievements. So far they have achieved raising the awareness to important questions about our justice system. Because of this movement we now have police officers wearing cameras on their person.

In another case, in the CSU system, recently in years previous professors went on a campus wide strike where they cancelled classes in order to pressure those in charge to give them a much needed raise in salary. This then resulted in those in charge granting the professors a small raise. Despite the raise still not being enough, there was rapid movement on behalf of the other side.

Looking at another important mass movement that brought us to where we are today, the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. Before it blacks were not allowed to eat, shop, vote or attend the same colleges as everyone else. This movement is now the result of integrated schools, jobs and political statuses. Not too long ago was our first black president elected, an act that too was a result of this movement. While it was a triumphant movement there were also hardships endured throughout the whole process.

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A mass movement isn’t easy. They consist of hardship, patience, and persistence, but they are a necessity so that society may continue to unfold and progress in better ways than they are.

Looking at these examples and endless more we know that if we act in mass, there will be movement and there will be change.

Why A Massive Movement of Defaulting Student Loans Wouldn’t Work

As of late there has been much speculation on how to fix our student loan debt crisis. Some have come to the conclusion that having a massive and collective student loan debt default movement is the answer to fixing our problem.

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But those who oppose believe that a movement like this would not be a successful endeavor because no one would actually make the decision to default seeing as the consequences that arise afterwards are too harsh.

As mentioned previously student loan debts are the hardest loans to get rid of and if you decide to default there so many factors that could worsen your situation. One of the biggest and most intense repercussions is that the moment you default your pending balance is due all at once instantly. A burden you were so hopefully trying to get rid of all of a sudden comes knocking at your door at full force seemingly all the more worse and frightening.

A commenter on the NY Times, a “divorced mother of three in the late 1980’s”, defaulted on her loans and this is what she said regarding her experience in defaulting, “With default, penalties and interest continue to accrue; collection agencies hounded me relentlessly. I have never fully recovered. My debt is now over $25000 with penalties and interest.”

The moment your account goes into default you completely lose the privilege to be a part of any sort of payment plans, and to receive financial aid in the future.  I’m not sure what’s worse if the fact that interest rates continue to pile up during default or that you run the risk of having a percentage of your paycheck withheld so that it then be distributed to your outstanding debt balance.

As a commenter on the website Quora said, “ Defaulting on student loans is emotionally draining — nobody wants to be characterized as a deadbeat.” The onset of new problems that arise when you default also affect your emotional state in the sense that your stress isn’t alleviated but instead intensified with the new repercussions that come with defaulting.

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Those who oppose believe that the situation that defaulting your loans places you in is a much worse state to be in than if you didn’t default and that is why a massive movement of student debtors would never actually happen; people are all too aware of what happens if you do.

Why all Student Debtors Should Default Their Loans

Supporters believe that a massive movement of defaulting student loans is necessary to change the higher education system because we have already seen progress as a result of smaller scale movements.

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The predicaments in which some debtors find themselves in have nothing to do with their “lack” of moral duty, but they simply cannot afford to pay off their loans no matter what they do. Student loan debts are the hardest type of loans to get rid off because you are not allowed to file for bankruptcy. They are also very difficult to pay off if you are in a modest economic state. It is exactly for this reason that many debtors a year make the decision to individually default on their student loans. Without any other options what is a person to do?

Recently it was found that students who were enrolled in colleges under the control of Corinthian Colleges Incorporation were mislead in their academic guidances. This then lead to students taking out loans for careers that would not turn out to be prosperous even though they had been told otherwise.

This resulted in a large movement by The Debt Collective “a new membership organization that leverages collective power by offering debtors a shared platform for organization, advocacy, and direct action. Alone, our debts are a burden; together, they make us powerful.”

As originally planned the group wanted to find one million student with high debt to come together and simultaneously default on their student loans. They believed a move like this would pressure those in charge to make a movement to better our higher education system.

In the end they were not able to find one million willing to participate even though one million debtors ended up defaulting that year individually.

In light of the Corinthians students case, they instead gathered a moderately sized group of students who then refused to pay off their loans. They started off with, “Corinthian because they met all the requirements for a group of debtors who could see it was in their interest to act collectively.”

With the pressure this then presented to those in charge, the Corinthian students were relieved of their debt, an act “that wouldn’t have happened without the pressure from this debt strike.”

As well as being forgiven of their debt, this movement also made it so that The Department of Education develop a new program that lets students “cap their monthly payments at 10 percent of discretionary income” and “Any debt remaining will be forgiven after 20 years”.

If a small group of students were able to make a change in the education system, an even bigger group would be able to make a massive political movement. This could then result in an overhaul of the whole economic structure of our higher education system. Much like statistics, when you want to find the probability of an event occurring in a large amount, you take a small sample out of the whole population.

This small movement, in its effectiveness, is proof of what could happen if students as a whole gathered together and defaulted all at once. The system would have no choice but to fall into the pressure and make a change.

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Why Are We Blaming College Students for Loan Debts?

The posts before this have had to do with what some presidential candidates are proposing for our student loan crisis. For this post specifically it would be interesting to separate what candidates are saying and instead look at what people are saying about our problem. Specifically one comment that I’ve seen consistently, “I have no sympathy for someone who attends an expensive private school and then complains of the cost.”

In the New York Times there is an article titled,  “We’re Being Punished by Crippling Student Debt”, posted under the “What College Students Should Care About In This Presidential Election” blog. It is written by a third year student at the Syracuse University College of Law. It consists of her explaining how her debt situation is going to affect her life,  which is “ guaranteed to be financially unstable, thanks to the burden of staggering student debt.” A reality that is not only hers but of a vast majority.

University of Southern California: Image from Google

When the topic of student loans arise I’ve noticed a tendency to blame students for choosing an expensive school when they could have gone to a less expensive one. But I think we should take into consideration that sometimes expensive colleges end up having a better education system, or a better program for what you need specifically. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the name but what the school can provide to nurture the student. How could we then blame a student for wanting to go to a place where they feel they will be offered a great chance to be properly prepared to go into their field? Why would someone have to deprive themselves of a good education by choosing to go to a school that is cheaper that may not be as good of school?

This then brings us to the realization that institutions especially the most expensive ones need to start “reigning in spending”, as mentioned by a commenter on the Times. A lot of what is making colleges expensive is their all star group of college professors and the college putting their own pricings on things you don’t need but help “keep the school running”. Those were the words of my counselor.  Institutions need to start making college more affordable instead of rising prices every year.

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The  place where we learn should be facilitating our academic endeavors not making it hard to achieve them.

The way people should be choosing their college of choice is not by whether they’d be able to afford it but by what school would be able to provide them with the best education in order for them to have a successful career. If expensive colleges happen to provide a good education then why should that stop a student?  And if we reach deeper into the root of the problem then why not stop making colleges so expensive?

Not Enough Coverge on Bernie Sanders

In the last post we compared Bernie Sanders ideas on education with that of Hillary Clinton’s “New College Compact”. For this post I had planned on discussing what those affected by this topic are saying about these two candidates. But, while trying to find comments on these candidates I found that the media is not covering Bernie Sanders nearly as much as Hillary.

We all go to Google when trying to find information on topics and for the most part we rely on credible sources to make up our judgment. When typing in Hillary Clinton’s name it is safe to say that there is an abundant amount of articles that pop up from reliable sources. Though when Bernie Sanders is searched it is nothing compared to that of Hillary’s.

It also appears that I am not the only one that has come to that realization.

Margaret Sullivan, editor of the NY Times, has recently addressed the issue concerning the lack of publication in the Times specifically. “I’ve heard a great deal from readers, unhappy about both quantity and tone of The Times’s stories. And Sanders articles have generated thousands of reader comments along the same lines.” The lack of coverage Sanders is receiving has commenters saying things like, “It seems the editors have decided the race already and have written him off.”

The frustration amongst those in favor of Sanders doesn’t end there, but the topic of tone when he is written of is also an issue. Supporters have been quick to notice that when there is coverage the publisher tends to sound dismissive never concentrating on important issues, instead choosing to cover and comment on things as superfluous as Sanders hair.

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It is interesting enough to see that at the end of her article, Sullivan claims that there has been enough coverage according to numbers, but also admits that it has been very biased and not informative, “ The Times has not ignored Mr. Sanders’s campaign, but it hasn’t always taken it very seriously…regrettably dismissive, even mocking at times…focused on the candidate’s age, appearance and style, rather than what he has to say.”

It is very eye opening to see someone who is on the side that is currently being scrutinized own up to the complaints being made. It makes the claims against the Times all the more valid and not so biased.

After publishing her article Sullivan took a step further and gathered up some comments from Times reviewers and sent them to the senior editor for politics, Carolyn Ryan. Sullivan herself believes these comments have truth behind them but the response she received from the editor differed from hers. “We​ ​respect the passion of Sanders ​supporters. But I ​think ​they may be overlooking much of the coverage that we have provided​.” Ryan then goes on to list many of the articles that they have written of Sanders and even goes as far as mentioning that the Times hired reporters to travel alongside Sanders in order to keep up with his campaign.

These statements have brought even more outrage from commenters. It seemed that for every example Ryan gave commenters found other instances in which they recalled lack of publicity in the Sanders campaign. “You have reporters assigned to Bernie’s campaign but no one covered the HUGE, record breaking rally in Boston last night?” “It seems that Ms. Ryan is in denial and can only fall back on absurd conspiracy theories to explain why so many of us have been upset at this ludicrously unbalanced, dismissive coverage and the complete absence of the kind of journalistic neutrality that would take all candidates seriously rather than prejudging outcomes”

Despite Ryans response commenters are not pleased. In fact she has only brought out more complaints from supporters and even unbiased viewers.

Despite the Times coming out with this article, many still have problems with the content written by Sullivan such as, “Still waiting for genuine coverage of Bernie Sanders. Very disappointed in NYT.” This comment was written on October 8th, 2015, yet the article was published in early September bringing to light that despite the public confession, the Times has still not changed the way they cover Sanders, “ You don’t have to be a Sanders supporter to see how unfair the coverage has been.” An act so obvious that even those who aren’t supporters are aware of.

The lack of coverage from major companies and news sources impact how much people are informed. In effect it also impacts who votes and who we as college students or student debt victims vote for. No doubt there are a lot of college students who are in support of Hillary Clinton, but, why? Is it because we are not being properly informed on other candidates plans and Hillary Clinton is without a doubt a very famous name? In order to come to sound conclusions, we need to be properly informed.

An act that I believe is not being done.

Bernie Sanders Studen Loan Plan Better Than Hillary Clintons?

In the last post I concentrated mostly on Hillary Clinton’s ideas on our student loan crisis. A lot of attention has been given to Hillary Clinton during this presidential debate. It may have to do with the fact that she is a Clinton, a name that resounds so loudly within America. For whatever reasons it may be, not a lot has been said about Bernie Sanders ideas despite the fact that he is advocating for completely free tuition unlike Hillary Clinton.

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Although he is a very prominent figure in the presidential debate, his ideas towards our education have not been as highlighted like Hillarys. Which is interesting seeing as with Hillary’s plan you are still expected to pay a certain amount for your education and maybe even take out a loan if necessary. With the propositions presented by Sanders you wouldn’t have to, he proposes that tuition be completely free with the Government paying 67 percent and the state providing the rest of the 33 percent. “…public higher education was virtually free in many parts of this country…It was understood that we all benefited from living in a society where every young person…could obtain a higher education…” His idea is influenced off of the idea of what America used to stand for. “It is important for us to return to that view of education as integral to America’s commonwealth, and to our democracy.” Bernie Sanders, unlike Hillary, approaches higher education affordability as a problem that is not only personal but also societal.

Heather Gautney, an associate professor at Fordham University and a senior researcher for the Sanders campaign recently wrote a piece comparing Sanders layout with that of Hillary’s “New College Compact” and she is quick to point out many flaws. One of them being that students would still be expected to work in order to pay for their tuition if necessary. But I think that many of us know that sometimes it is incredibly hard and at times impossible to juggle a job on top of attending school. With ten classes this semester, I know I completely agree with this statement.

It is very easy for some to say that with hard work we can achieve going to school and and also having a job, but they fail to realize that for some this is not possible, mentally, physically, and emotionally. “That can be difficult for students carrying a heavy class load, especially if the work isn’t related to their studies.” So much of stress in college comes from the workload that we are pressed with. Imagine having to deal with that on top of having to also work? Some truly can’t handle it.

Another thing she is quick to point out is that family contributions are expected to help pay for your kids tuition in the “New College Compact”. Hillary does specify saying that families would only contribute what they can, but some families as Gautney points out cannot afford to have another payment on top of what they already have to deal with, “Many middle-class families today are already struggling to make ends meet, living paycheck to paycheck and often borrowing just to meet their routine expenses.” All this would achieve is worsening the economic life of the family which truly is a social problem as well, because how can a family progress and contribute to society if loans and payments they can’t afford are inhibiting them from rising above. It is very similar to the caste system in India during the classical era. Once you were born into a class you weren’t able to rise above it to become something more, but you were able to become lower in the system.

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But like a commenter of the article mentions it is difficult to stand behind what Sanders is saying simply because what is the probability that his bill will pass if he wins Presidency. “The GOP will retain the House for another 8-10 years. There’s no way it’ll work.” Currently Republicans run the House of Legislature, trying to run a plan that consists of providing free higher education by taxing the rich is not something that is going to be welcomed by the party.

Hillary’s plan also runs the risk of not being passed by the house, but as a commenter mentioned because her plan is more “moderate” it has higher likelihood of working. It uses ideas from both sides of the spectrum. She is making college more affordable but she isn’t just handing it to us completely free, we still have to work for it.

Another point made that garnered my attention was when a commenter gave the example that he attended the same college his daughter recently graduated from and the difference each paid despite it being the “Same school, same buildings, same laboratories, and some of the same profs.” the cost was significantly different. He mentioned that he would like to see a proposition “that requires schools to reign-in spending” instead of just relying on having free education.

While both plans have their good qualities about them, they also have qualities that are a bit skeptical. Despite the problem the idea Sanders proposition holds I am still in agreement that college should be free.

What Are People Saying About Hillary Clintons New College Compact Plan

In the last post we talked specifically about Hillary Clinton’s ideas on how she would help with our student loan crisis. A topic such as this has no doubt many expressing their own opinions over the matter and specifically over the ideas of anyone trying to help with the current situation.

The New College Compact, designed by Hillary Clinton, has brought forth many interesting comments one of which was asked by username TM, “Is there no personal responsibility left in America?”

Instead of empathizing with the situation some students and graduates are in, there are some who look at it with a different point of view. Some are saying that if people want to have an education so badly, then they should be willing to work hard and sacrifice things for it.

It’s an interesting point because as a student it is very easy to have the mentality that education of all sort should be free; which I completely agree with. But, there’s also another side in which I believe that having some sort of reasonable responsibility should come along with attending a college.

Now personally as a college student I would love it if my tuition was completely covered by the government as I believe it should be, though I also realize how much having to pay for things myself and manage things on my own has given me a sense of responsibility. Its seems a bit much to me that every single little thing be paid for. Though that being said I also realize that there are so many who come from so vast a background that really do not have the funds to help with anything at all.

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Commenter Eric Gilmore brought up an interesting point saying that in Hillary’s plan it is still expected for families to help support their children financially in attending school but if this plan takes effect the poorest are the ones who are going to be the most affected. “I get the notion from her plan that it still requires some degree of suffering with our young people, and as such the poorest off will obviously hurt the most from that.” It’s truly an eye opening comment because, if families are still being expected to help pay according to how much they make it is still a burden amongst the family especially for those who truly cannot afford it. Many families live off paycheck to paycheck or even worse. To expect family support is almost in a sense like taking the burden off the student and giving it to their parents instead, which doesn’t fix the problem.

I think there should be an equal balance between having help and also having your own responsibility depending on you and your families personal economic status.Though if we are going to be responsible for some of our costs it cannot be ridiculous nor unreasonably impossible to be able to do so without sacrificing our quality of life.

Hillary Clintons Plans on Our Student Loans

Out of every candidate in the presidential debate Hillary Clinton’s idea on our student loan crisis has been the most scrutinized. It might have to do with the fact that she was the first candidate to bring up the topic and present her idea which she calls “The New College Compact”.It is currently an important factor that is keeping her well established within different generations and culture groups.

There are five main points that she believes will be able to make college affordable to all who “work hard to put themselves through school”. One of the things she mentions is her plan to make community college free. A thought originally presented by Obama that she has now incorporated into her plan. Many of us choose to attend community colleges in order to save some money before attending a university. It is a common choice among us college students. So when someone presents the idea of making community college free, there will be many on board. But how many of us know how hard it is to get credit for classes we’ve taken once we decide to transfer; its an absolute mess. With a plan that makes sure our credits will count and facilitate our transition from community college to a four year school, she is successfully reaching out to so many potential voters.

Secondly, colleges will have to strive to make their tuition affordable and will also have a lot of liability when it comes to the success of their students. An example Hillary presents is if we do end up needing to take out loans for programs “that don’t lead to good-paying jobs”, then our universities will have to take some responsibility as well. The burden of having to pay for school ourselves suddenly does not look as daunting. As college students we don’t hold so much trust in our education system but if they also have to respond when things don’t work out then I think it makes a lot of us feel more trusting and at ease.

Her new policy will also ask the state to once again meet their obligation in funding higher education and the state will once again have to invest in our education. Such a relief to our ears! There’s always so much action against the investment on higher education, it’s always what the state decides to take money away from.

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Lastly, those with outstanding student debt will be able to refinance it at a much lower cost rate. What a relieving thought to many out there. As I mentioned in my post before, at times student loans end up defining our economic status and this could potentially redefine that for many of us.

All this sounds great, but we do run into the possibility that if Hillary is elected will those in the house agree with her. “If elected, could she persuade Congress…whose legislatures have been increasingly controlled by Republicans…”(NY Times). We as common people can relate to it, but it’s a different story for those in the political area. They aren’t just thinking about our education, but they are also thinking about the country as a whole. The thought of not being able to make profit from higher education does not sit well when it is one of the things bringing in a good amount of profit to the state. What are we to think if Hillary is elected, could she be able to convince Republicans in the house?