OCCUPY STUDENT DEBT

Student debtor stories submitted by the 99%

Who is YOUR Representative? Work with Occupy Student Debt and Forgive Student Loan Debt to petition EVERY Representative to support HR 4170. Start your own petition urging YOUR Representative to support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012.
Dear Representative ________,My name is _________, and as one of your constituents, I urge you to support H.R. 4170 The Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012.  Like so many other young people, I borrowed money for school and I’m drowning in debt. I borrowed ________, paid ________ and still owe_____. With 2/3 of college students borrowing money for school and 1 out of 5 defaulting on their student loans, we clearly need serious and swift action. We are suffering and want to contribute to society but we’re drowning in debt.  Rep _______, please support ending indentured servitude and support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (HR 4170).

Who is YOUR Representative? Work with Occupy Student Debt and Forgive Student Loan Debt to petition EVERY Representative to support HR 4170. Start your own petition urging YOUR Representative to support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012.



Dear Representative ________,

My name is _________, and as one of your constituents, I urge you to support H.R. 4170 The Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012. Like so many other young people, I borrowed money for school and I’m drowning in debt. I borrowed ________, paid ________ and still owe_____. With 2/3 of college students borrowing money for school and 1 out of 5 defaulting on their student loans, we clearly need serious and swift action. We are suffering and want to contribute to society but we’re drowning in debt.

Rep _______, please support ending indentured servitude and support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (HR 4170).

Teetering on the edge of financial ruin.

Current balance, $175,000. Original Principle was $120,000. Administered by Sallie Mae and National Collegiate Trust (American Education Services) I imagine in the next few years it will be a quarter million.

I’ve never been able to touch the principle since i started paying. I struggled finding a job for 2 years after school, and my interest skyrocketed during forbearance and deferment.

Now i finally have a well paying job as a graphic designer, and i still struggle. My job is very demanding, i work long hours, and usually have to take side work to make due. I mostly live paycheck to paycheck, my monthly payments equal around another month’s rent, about $1200. I also suffered two great family losses in one year, had to move, and had some health problems. Which put a huge financial burden on my life. Sallie Mae and National Collegiate Trust have no sympathy or understanding for their customers. At this point i’m so far behind payments, I have no idea how i’m going to catch up. I get about eight phone calls a day harassing me for money i don’t have, threatening to sue me, and unwilling to work around my pay schedule or income. It’s humiliating, demoralizing, and disruptive. This disturbance and added stress makes it difficult to concentrate on my work, and takes a toll on my general well being. I’ve even had the collections agencies (who are owned by the lenders) make harassing phone calls to my office, extended family, and even friends.

At 19, had i known my education was going to cost me over a quarter million dollars, i would have made other arrangements. But the schools are payed by these lenders to sell you these loans, and they sell that dream of success really well. My only hope now is that my family and I remain in good health and hopefully the laws change soon.


H.R.4170 Campaign - Get Involved
By Denise Smith, Kasey Oliver, and Ryan Jacobi in ForgiveStudentLoanDocumentary.com
H.R.4170 Campaign - What every member should do to get involved in the H.R.4170 Campaign!  
Pease register at the www.forgivestudentloandebt.com Website! Stay up to date on all the latest FSLD news and share your story and participate in the forums!
#1  Petitions!!! 
Sign the following petitions created by Robert Applebaum, Esq., founder of forgivestudentloandebt.com, asking Rep. John Kline (MN), The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Barack Obama to Support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (H.R.4170):
Support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 at http://signon.org/sign/support-the-student-loan.fb1?source=c.fb&r_by=525506
Support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (H.R.4170) at http://www.change.org/petitions/support-the-student-loan-forgiveness-act-of-2012-h-r-4170
Easy to read Summary and FAQ sheet: http://www.forgivestudentloandebt.com/content/hr-4170-fact-sheet 
Full bill text: http://www.forgivestudentloandebt.com/content/student-loan-forgiveness-act-2012-hr-4170-bill-text 
Please also sign the following petitions in support of H.R.4170 created by members of the student loan community:
Rep Nancy Pelosi: Support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (HR 4170) at http://www.change.org/petitions/rep-nancy-pelosi-support-the-student-loan-forgiveness-act-of-2012-hr-4170
Rep John Carney: Support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (H.R. 4170) at http://www.change.org/petitions/rep-john-carney-support-the-student-loan-forgiveness-act-of-2012-h-r-4170
Rep Jim Moran: Support The Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (HR 4170) at http://www.change.org/petitions/rep-jim-moran-support-the-student-loan-forgiveness-act-of-2012-hr-4170
Rep Mike Turner: Support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (H.R.4170) at http://www.change.org/petitions/rep-mike-turner-support-the-student-loan-forgiveness-act-of-2012-h-r-4170
The President of the United States: Pass H.R. 4170 Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 at http://www.change.org/petitions/the-president-of-the-united-states-pass-h-r-4170-student-loan-forgiveness-act-of-2012
Rep Mike McIntyre: Support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (HR 4170) at http://www.change.org/petitions/rep-mike-mcintyre-support-the-student-loan-forgiveness-act-of-2012-hr-4170#
#2
Weigh in at PopVox by clicking on “support” and send a message to your representative. (There is a character limit of around 1500 for your comments)
https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/hr4170
#3
Go to OpenCongress  and click the green “support” check mark, upper right side of page and send a message to your Representative and Senators—you also can print a copy for mailing.
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h4170/show
#4
Mail a letter to your Representative strongly urging them to co-sponsor and support this bill!  Tell them why you support H.R.4170, what its passage would mean to you personally and how it would benefit the economy!
Find contact Information: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/
#5
Call your Representative and strongly urge them to co-sponsor and support this bill! 
Tell them why you support H.R.4170, what its passage would mean to you personally and how it would benefit the economy! 
Find Your Representatives/Senators at http://www.contactingthecongress.org/
#6 If there is are open seats in your state, contact the candidates to ask them what their position is and encourage them to support H.R.4170.
Look here to locate them: http://www.politics1.com/states.htm
#7
Email your friends, family members and everyone you know! 
Send them this petition link:
http://signon.org/sign/support-the-student-loan?source=s.em.cr&r_by=2058688&mailing_id=2695
Ask them to sign.  Tell them your story and explain how H.R.4170 will benefit not only borrowers but also our economy!
#8
If you are on twitter, tweet the following message to your followers: 
Support The #StudentLoanForgivenessAct of 2012 http://signon.org/s/KftCVc #signon #highered #studentloans
#9
If you are on Facebook, copy & post the following message on your wall:
Support The Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012!!! Please sign, then SHARE SHARE SHARE!!! http://signon.org/sign/support-the-student-loan?source=s.em.cr&r_by=2058688&mailing_id=2695
#10
If you are on other social networking sites please reach out there as well.  The more we reach out, the more likely we are to hit our goal of 1 million signatures!
#11 Ready to take a really BIG step?  Write to every last Representative in Congress.  Set a daily goal and work down this list:
pdf version at https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1u0DvarjLiVNDRlT1h4MXlTcC13WDJPX0lRUGYwdw
xlxs version at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Alu0DvarjLiVdE5jSERwQk1rY2RCQWRuR1hKbUFCRkE

H.R.4170 Campaign - Get Involved


By Denise Smith, Kasey Oliver, and Ryan Jacobi in ForgiveStudentLoanDocumentary.com

H.R.4170 Campaign - What every member should do to get involved in the H.R.4170 Campaign!

Pease register at the www.forgivestudentloandebt.com Website! Stay up to date on all the latest FSLD news and share your story and participate in the forums!

#1 Petitions!!!

Sign the following petitions created by Robert Applebaum, Esq., founder of forgivestudentloandebt.com, asking Rep. John Kline (MN), The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Barack Obama to Support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (H.R.4170):

  • Easy to read Summary and FAQ sheet: http://www.forgivestudentloandebt.com/content/hr-4170-fact-sheet
  • Full bill text: http://www.forgivestudentloandebt.com/content/student-loan-forgiveness-act-2012-hr-4170-bill-text

Please also sign the following petitions in support of H.R.4170 created by members of the student loan community:

  • Rep Nancy Pelosi: Support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (HR 4170) at http://www.change.org/petitions/rep-nancy-pelosi-support-the-student-loan-forgiveness-act-of-2012-hr-4170
  • Rep John Carney: Support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (H.R. 4170) at http://www.change.org/petitions/rep-john-carney-support-the-student-loan-forgiveness-act-of-2012-h-r-4170
  • Rep Jim Moran: Support The Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (HR 4170) at http://www.change.org/petitions/rep-jim-moran-support-the-student-loan-forgiveness-act-of-2012-hr-4170
  • Rep Mike Turner: Support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (H.R.4170) at http://www.change.org/petitions/rep-mike-turner-support-the-student-loan-forgiveness-act-of-2012-h-r-4170
  • The President of the United States: Pass H.R. 4170 Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 at http://www.change.org/petitions/the-president-of-the-united-states-pass-h-r-4170-student-loan-forgiveness-act-of-2012
  • Rep Mike McIntyre: Support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (HR 4170) at http://www.change.org/petitions/rep-mike-mcintyre-support-the-student-loan-forgiveness-act-of-2012-hr-4170#

#2

Weigh in at PopVox by clicking on “support” and send a message to your representative. (There is a character limit of around 1500 for your comments)

https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/hr4170

#3

Go to OpenCongress and click the green “support” check mark, upper right side of page and send a message to your Representative and Senators—you also can print a copy for mailing.

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h4170/show

#4

Mail a letter to your Representative strongly urging them to co-sponsor and support this bill! Tell them why you support H.R.4170, what its passage would mean to you personally and how it would benefit the economy!

Find contact Information: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

#5

Call your Representative and strongly urge them to co-sponsor and support this bill!

Tell them why you support H.R.4170, what its passage would mean to you personally and how it would benefit the economy!

Find Your Representatives/Senators at http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

#6 If there is are open seats in your state, contact the candidates to ask them what their position is and encourage them to support H.R.4170.

Look here to locate them: http://www.politics1.com/states.htm

#7

Email your friends, family members and everyone you know!

Send them this petition link:

Ask them to sign. Tell them your story and explain how H.R.4170 will benefit not only borrowers but also our economy!

#8

If you are on twitter, tweet the following message to your followers:

#9

If you are on Facebook, copy & post the following message on your wall:

#10

If you are on other social networking sites please reach out there as well. The more we reach out, the more likely we are to hit our goal of 1 million signatures!

#11 Ready to take a really BIG step? Write to every last Representative in Congress. Set a daily goal and work down this list:

Does YOUR representative support Hansen Clarke’s Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (H.R. 4170)???

Does YOUR representative support Hansen Clarke’s Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (H.R. 4170)???

http://www.change.org/petitions/rep-mike-mcintyre-support-the-student-loan-forgiveness-act-of-2012-hr-4170

130k grew to 175k in

I borrowed about $120,000 for law school (and had a little over 10k from undergraduate school), graduating in 2009.

I currently owe approximately $175,000. My daily interest is $31.56. I barely make that much after taxes!

Over $50,000 dollars in loans are graduate loans with an interest rate of 8.5%. My credit was in the mid 700’s when the government/ banks issued the loans to me- at such a high percentage rate.

My loans fell into default and the lender said that, unless I agreed to capitalize the interest or pay two past due payments, they would have to keep me in default. The lender bombards me with emails regularly, and I did not receive notice to resubmit my Interest-Based Payment application from the lender because I assumed it was an advertisement- one of the many encouraging me to go back to school and take out more loans. My license can be revoked for falling into default on my student loans. I was underemployed and did not have the thousands of dollars necessary to bring the loans current (yes, two months resulted in over 3k in payments due). Thus, I had no choice but to agree that I would be charged interest on interest at between 6.8 and 8.5% on over 100k in debt in order to convince the lender to review my income based repayment options and reinstate my loan to good standing.

A system that puts a young person in this situation is wrong. I am not asking for the right to file bankruptcy. I am simply asking that the government either cap the loans or give an honest and reasonable interest rate. Furthermore, capitalization should NEVER be required to bring you loan into good standing. This seems like an UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICE.

I feel like I have done everything right, have been lied to by society, and am a prisoner to my debt. I am not alone. My best friend owes $60,000 at 9.5%, with her mother as a co-borrower, and she works as a preschool teacher.

If your license does not require good-standing on your student loans to maintain it, why would you not default in my situation? As a debt settlement/ collections attorney, I do not have that option. The Florida Bar will take my license if I default. Despite that, it is an option that crosses my mind every single day that I work 12 hours a day- six days a week! I love my job as much as I love my husband. I can’t imagine giving up the right to help people out of debt because I couldn’t manage to pay mine. But, at the end of the day, I know I can’t go to jail for not paying my debt. So, I will keep slaving away to pay. But I pray that the rest of the world will not, and will force change on this ridiculously corrupt system.