Today, Occupy Student Debt is launching a national campaign to protest “the tyranny of student debt in the US higher education system”. The campaign aims to get students around the country to join a “debt strike”. Students who sign the campaign will be pledging not to pay off their student loans.
This ambitious campaign hopes that its immense numbers will be enough to prevent serious economic repercussions, but for now the group remains small. At this time, the Occupy Student Debt Campaign’s Facebook page only has 118 ‘likes’ and only 41 students have signed the debtors’ pledge.
The debtors’ strike has been organized with help from Andrew Ross, a professor of social and cultural analysis at NYU. When he led a teach-in in mid-October entitled “Is Student Debt a Form of Indenture,” Ross sparked this challenge to student debt. Last week, he explained his involvement to The Chronicle; “Like many faculty, I see a lot of suffering and humiliation among students in taking on this debt. There was the recognition that my own salary is debt-financed. … There’s an element of complicity. It’s an incredible burden for faculty to bear.”
The Occupy Student Campaign has three pledges right now; the debtor’s pledge, the non-debtors’ pledge of support, and the faculty pledge of support. All three are based on a common set of principles: “that student loans should be interest-free; that tuition at all public institutions should be federally funded; that private and for-profit colleges should open their financial records to the public; and that students’ “debt burden” should be written off.”
The consequences of not paying off student loans may be too great for many to face. Only time will tell whether this campaign will gain momentum or quietly flicker out in the coming weeks.
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I am flabbergasted at the fact that this conversation is going on, or something as idiotic as this at an institution that prides itself on being even quasi-selective is taking place. The above analysis is tremendously flawed for these debt pledge participants.
1) One of the above posters argued that you need to have a college educations to even perform unskilled labor-while this is true, if you wanted to be a secretary, why would you go to a school as expensive as this? I have never heard anyone expect a secretary to hold a masters degree, and I suspect you haven’t either and this is just a gross exaggeration to get yourself some attention (mission accomplished, congrats). But if your end goal was to be a secretary, or some other form of unskilled labor where the expected compensation is less than 60k/year gross, WHY WOULD YOU COME TO A SCHOOL THIS EXPENSIVE?!!?!?!?!?! Literature at every twist and turn tells you how much NYU costs, and to be idiotic enough to come to a school this expensive while you could have gone to a much cheaper school and not have had any debt is pathetic. If your goal was to get a degree and do something unskilled and don’t have the financial backing to attend a school like this, then all I can do is pray for you and hope you do not continue to make decisions as moronic as the ones you have already made.
2) DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE CONDITIONS OF LOANS?!?!?! When you take out a loan, there is a little thing called COLLATERAL that you should be aware of. Furthermore, the concept of having cosigners was something that your loan was contingent upon. What does this mean? If you decide to shut your eyes and decide to default, YOUR PARENTS WILL HAVE TO PAY IT BACK ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!! It is no longer about you at this point. Fine, have your drug-infested orgy in the park, but now your parents and the rest of your family is going to have to suffer for your idiocy. Yea, its cute that you don’t want to pay back loans you took out, how is it going to feel when a collection agency is knocking on your parents doors, seizing your house, taking back your family cars? Now there are consequences for your actions, consequences you probably are completely oblivious to. I wonder how your parents would feel about this…
Furthermore, you have cosigners for your loans, meaning if your parents don’t have enough assets to cover the amount of debt you took on, people that were kind enough to lend their name to your loans are now put at risk. Therefore, you have effectively drove your family into homelessness, and now are working on ruining the lives of the people who trusted you to pay back the loans so they wouldn’t have to. But please, sign that petition!!!
Higher education chancellors solve their campus financial deficiencies on the backs of graduating students: university student debt. University of California Berkeley Chancellor Birgeneau hijack’s all our kids’ futures. I love University of California (UC) having been a student & lecturer. But today I am concerned that at times I do not recognize the UC I love. Like so many I am deeply disappointed by the pervasive failures of Regent Chairwoman Lansing, President Yudof, Chancellor Birgeneau from holding the line on rising costs & tuition increases
Chancellor Birgeneau has molded Cal. into the most expensive public university. Paying more is not a better education.
Californians are reeling from 19% unemployment (includes: those forced to work part time; those no longer searching), mortgage defaults, loss of unemployment benefits. And those who still have jobs are working longer for less. Faculty wages must reflect California’s ability to pay, not what others are paid.
Current pay increases for generously paid University of California Faculty is arrogance. Instate tuition consumes 14% of Ca. Median Family Income!
Paying more is not a better education. UC Berkeley(# 70 Forbes) tuition increases exceed the national average rate of increases.
UC President Yudof, Cal. Chancellor Birgeneau($450,000 salary) dismissed many much needed cost-cutting options. They did not consider freezing vacant faculty positions, increasing class size, requiring faculty to teach more classes, doubling the time between sabbaticals, cutting & freezing pay & benefits for chancellors & reforming pensions & the health benefits.
They said such faculty reforms “would not be healthy for UC”. Exodus of faculty, administrators? Who can afford them and where would they go?
We agree it is far from the ideal situation, but it is in the best interests of the university system & the state to stop cost increases. UC cannot expect to do business as usual: raising tuition; granting pay raises & huge bonuses during a weak economy that has sapped state revenues & individual Californians’ income.
There is no question the necessary realignments with economic reality are painful. Regent Chairwoman Lansing can bridge the public trust gap with reassurances that salaries & costs reflect California’s ability to pay. The sky above UC will not fall when Chancellor Birgeneau is ousted.
Opinions? Email the UC Board of Regents marsha.kelman@ucop.edu