As most of you know, I wrote an essay nearly 2 years ago that sparked a true, grassroots movement to forgive student loan debt as a means of economic stimulus. While the proposal I've put forth garnered a great deal of attention, very little of that attention has been turned into action. There are any number of explanations for this: those who are crippled by student loan debt are financially unable to contribute monetarily to the cause, those who aren't crippled by student loan debt don't seem to care about the issue at all. Those of us who advocate for changes to the way we fund higher education in this country can speak about the issue until we're blue in the face, but unless and until the rank-and-file of the movement take the reigns and move beyond merely complaining to one another online, very little is likely to change.
Here, a blueprint for action is presented whereby student loan reform advocates are encouraged to join forces with on-campus student groups who tend to be more organized than a disparate grassroots movement with no discernable central authority.
For the record: I'm game. I've made myself available to anyone and everyone with ideas for how to turn a simple idea into action and, eventually, reality; however, I am not independently wealthy and cannot do all of this on my own as I've tried to do for the last two years.
As I've said on many occasions, this movement belongs to each and every one of the nearly 300,000 members who have come aboard in the last two years and our success will either rise or fall with the level of commitment those members put into the cause.
For too long, I've seen apathy and despair trump optimism and activism - a regrettable malaise has begun to set in whereby so many people seem resigned to the fact that they will forever be shackled to their educational debts. It does not have to be that way - but before we can see results, we have to put aside the petty in-fighting, the pointless jockeying for attention and the urge to tear others down to prop ourselves up. These are the poisons that kill most grassroots movements before they ever seem to get off the ground and they've already begun infecting this one.
2009 was a year for Hope. 2010 was a year for Action. Let's make 2011 the year of results.
Robert, why do you feel the need to remind us that your loans aren't in default? Would it somehow change anything if they were? What are you trying to demonstrate?
As an active participant who has sent many letters, e-mails, spoken to my Reps., written the President, and other Senators in the Nation who seemed to have an interest in our plight -- I agree with Robert Applebaum. It is going to take action on everyone's part to keep the agenda alive and moving forward. I truly believe many people want to do more but can't afford to, or simply don't know how to go about it. Our system of government makes it difficult to communicate effectively with our representatives, and if you are not persistent and continue to do it on your own you will not be heard. It is unfortunate. In these difficult economic times the government is inundated with requests for attention to their financial causes. I would like to hear from other members of our group on how they think some of us can help them learn more on how to reach out and be heard. I just got off my computer this morning after a discussion with my Local Representative in my distric in Maine. I have sent him information on our groups agenda, and have educated him on the issue of student loan debt and reform. I have asked for his suggestions. The state of Maine does not consider this a significant issue because we have one of the lowest college enrollments in the country. I am not from this state, and was educated in New York and Connecticut. I have reached out to Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe and they simply ignore or send me form letters. Susan Collins is aware of the situation, but it is not a major concern for her in the State of Maine and her constituents have other issues she focuses on, so I have little impact on her primary agendas. Despite this I continue to call her office, e-mail, and inform my local Representatives who have connections with her. I have also contacted the office of Arnie Duncan, and continue to do what I can on a personal basis to help bring this issue to the forefront. I blog, daily. I assumed that others do the same on a daily basis. If this is NOT the case, I would be happy to help others connect and learn how to do so. I can't afford to take on a leadership role on a personal basis- though I wish I could. I am retired, but am returning to work part-time. I would like to offer any help I can to any individual who would like some assistance on how to contact officials, or use our political process in their limited situation. I am very appreciative that Robert Applebaum has continued to play a leading role in a more public forum for this cause. But, he has done a great deal, and it will be up to us to keep this process going. President Obama has often talked about government transparency. This is an issue at the State level, too. It is not easy to be heard and your issues acknowledge by your representatives as a single individual. But, if all of us make our voices heard whereever we are -- someone will need to address it -- sooner or later. I think that we all have a great opportunity to be heard the next two years. A political election is coming up. The voices of the people will be heard by President Obama, as he has made some changes to reach out again to the American people over the next year, and listen. This is the opportunity we need to seize. We can't expect Robert to do it all for us. I encourage everyone to pick up the phone, call your reps, write hand written letters to the President, to Arne Duncan, to your Congresspersons, and do it weekly at the minimum. E-mails are good, but other methods are also important. Sometimes I am exhausted and want to quit -- but I don't. Be respectful, be professional, be sincere and ask for a reply. Most importantly, dont' give up.
Certainly doesn't help that one of the people on the forefront of this, A.C., is a raving lunatic who shoots off insulting emails whenever he is in a drunken stupor demanding money and insulting anyone who doesn't buy his book.
No, it sure doesn't. Add to that his relentless personal attacks on me for having the audacity to speak on the topic of student loan reform without his personal approval and you can begin to understand why movements like this rarely get off the ground - far too many "advocates" are more concerned with their own notariety than they are about accomplishing the goals of the group. I could have written that now infamous essay and walked away. I didn't because I felt that continuing to speak up about the abuses of the student lending industry was the right thing to do and I continue to believe that to this day. I don't have a personal stake in the outcome. I've never defaulted. . .don't plan on doing so. I don't have private loans to deal with and my federal loans are all consolidated and locked into a relatively low interest rate that makes repayment fairly easy. This has never been about me personally needing or wanting debt forgiveness but, rather, about the 300,000 other people whose lives are truly made a living hell because of their student loan troubles. I've tried as best I could to do right by the people who look to me as a leader in this cause. I never had to take a public stance on the issue - like I said, I wasn't experiencing difficulties with repayment then, nor am I experiencing such difficulties now. I did it because somebody had to say it. . .and keep saying it until someone listened. I'm proud of my success in getting the national and even international media to shine a spotlight on this ever-growing problem and I will continue to do whatever I can to raise awareness about the issue, however; nothing will ever truly change unless and until the very people I've been fighting for decide to stand up and fight back themselves.
To let those who doubt my sincerity or integrity know that I have no NEED to be engaged in this fight - I do it because it's the right thing to do. If I didn't have someone going around bad mouthing me and dragging my name through the mud on a daily basis trying to undermine my credibility, I'd have no need to point that out.