By Domenic Giandomenico, Legislative Director
Student loan debt has grown to epic proportions over the past decade, with the outstanding burden held by students having recently swelled to in excess of $1 trillion. This has caused the latest generation of college graduates to postpone many of the decisions that typically come with adulthood, such as purchasing a home, starting a family, or embarking on their choice career path. Even more troubling, the looming debt facing those already enrolled in college has forced many students to drop out, and has pushed others to avoid going to college altogether.
We’ve arrived at this point thanks to decades of unfettered tuition increases at colleges and universities across the board. Yet, instead of taking action to make college more affordable to help mitigate the problem on the front end, some institutions have responded to the crisis by suing their students for their inability to pay their exorbitant loan payments.
Simply put, this cannot continue, or the American dream will soon be out of reach for millions of students in the near future.
That’s why DFER is proud to support the “I Am Not a Loan” campaign. The campaign, which was initiated by The Education Trust, is dedicated to urging colleges to do what they can to reduce student debt. We encourage you to join us in pushing your local institution or alma mater to take the pledge.
Click here to get involved in the campaign.
Domenic Giandomenico joined Democrats for Education Reform in 2013 after devoting more than a decade of his career to ensuring that every student of every age, background, and aspiration has access to the excellent education they deserve.