OccupySallieMae

By Isaiah Toney – DC SLAP Coordinator

I am one of those lucky people who got to grow up in a household with two parents both with college degrees.  Even luckier, I grew up with the expectation that I would go to college and live the life of a college graduate.  I saw going to college as helping break the Poverty Cycle: my family’s socioeconomic status provided me the opportunity to go to college, which would help me find a good job and career, which would secure my own socioeconomic status so I could provide for my children.  Just like my parents did.  Just like so many hardworking people did.

But at first thought I do not feel lucky to be in college today.  That feeling of luck and privilege, hope and confidence in the future is still in there somewhere, but it has become consumed by something discomforting.  It has been a generation since my parents went to college, and we were stunned to learn how expensive college is.  And then we learned about student loans.

So we took action.  On October 26^th, I organized with students all across Washington, D.C. to march and rally with Occupy DC to demand that Sallie Mae stop profiting on the backs of students.  All one hundred and fifty of us- students and allies- went directly to the Sallie Mae offices in Washington, D.C. and demanded a meeting with Anthony Terracciano, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sallie Mae Corporation to discuss addressing the problems that student debt creates for our youth and our economy.  We were not met with open arms, but with hostility and rejection.

When I graduate from The George Washington University this year, I will probably have close to $80,000 in student loans.  I have about $66,000 now and still have credits to complete.  Many of my fellow students are in a similar situation: huge amounts of student debt in a job market that is becoming increasingly more evading to recent college graduates.  When I think about how long it will take for me to pay off those loans I can’t help but feel overwhelmed.  And I am angry.  That’s why I am joining Student Labor Action Project and the United States Student Association in the fight against student debt by signing this petition, organizing actions, and strategizing with students all over the country at USSA’s Legislative Conference held in DC March 23-26^th.

They have taught me many things here at GWU, including how to do good research.  So the first time I looked into student debt and the Sallie Mae, Inc., I thought I was reading fiction- but these are facts:

1. This year, student debt in this country will reach $1 Trillion.
2. In the year 2000, total student debt was around $200 Billion. (400% increase in twelve years.)
3. Last year student debt surpassed credit card debt as the largest source of debt held in the United States.
4. On average, college graduates of 2010 had about $25,000 in student debt.
5. Sallie Mae was once a government entity, meaning that all of its functions were a part of the Department of Education.  In just the fourth quarter of 2010, they reported a profit of $447 Million.

I know I’m not the only person wondering why a public entity needed to be privatized and wondering where that $447 Million in profit was extracted from in just three months.  I know I’m not the only person angry about his or her own situation.  I also know that I’m not the only person angry about our collective situation- and Sallie Mae, the corporation profiting on our labor.  You can find stories from students and graduates from all over the country at our petition hub here.

How are students supposed to pay off such huge loans as corporations like Sallie Mae manipulate our government into a staunch position in opposition of creating jobs?  How are students supposed to contribute to an economy that has ensured the burden of debt upon those we expect to drive our economy forward?  How are families supposed to encourage their children to work hard in school so that they can look forward to a life consumed by bills late for payment and promises late for fulfillment?

We must realize a change.  This spring, the United States Student Association and the Student Labor Action Project are launching a campaign to force Sallie Mae to stop exploiting the hope and hard work of young people all over this country by forgiving student debt after five years of payments AND cancelling interest on all student loans.  We will be petitioning, leafleting, protesting and occupying to win debt relief for millions of people unfairly punished for trying to better themselves and the economy they take part in.

The best way for you to join us is to sign this petition and contact Student Labor Action Project and the United States Student Association to organize and coordinate actions in your area.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 10:18 pm. It is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.