OCCUPY STUDENT DEBT

I am in my 60s and finally paying off my student loans, but it took decades. I’ve had thoughts of loan collectors deducting payments from my social security checks when I retire or standing over my grave with an I.O.U.

In the late 60s I went to the University of Illinois to get a B.A. and tuition, fees and housing were affordable. I was also active in the vibrant political movements of the 60s and 70s and learned about the unfair nature of the economic system in which we live and work.

Politicians and predatory lenders like Sallie Mae have gradually dismantled the state land-grant system of colleges put in place when Lincoln was President. They also have chipped away at free or low-cost state systems like CUNY in New York or SUNY in California.

When I went graduate school in the 80s at Northeastern Illinois University, costs were dramatically higher. Ironically, I was enrolled in a Social Science Program with a major in Womens’ Studies but could not afford the expenses. I was a single parent with two daughters and, even with student loans, I could not pay rent, child care at the college, and other costs. Physically, I could not work part-time, attend classes and raise two children by myself. 1%ism already existed in higher education.

I left graduate school to get a full-time job. I had Dystonia which affects my speech. Many employers openly discriminated against me and I took out forbearances on my student loans which accelerated the amount of interest. The only treatment for Dystonia is bo-tox injections in the vocal cords by a skilled Neurologist or ENT Doctor. I had neither medical insurance or a job and getting a job was made more difficult by not having medical treatment for my voice.

I finally got a job and have nearly paid off the student loans, but the money I’ve paid in interest alone could have been used in a more socially beneficial way such as sending my daughters or other young people to college.

Other industrialized countries have both free, universal education and health care. The 99% and our children in this countyry deserve the same. Join the Occupy Movement and the Single Payer Movement.