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Student Town Hall Meeting Stimulates Dialog on Student Loan Reform

Students rallied for student loan debt relief at a town hall meeting during day two of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s 39th annual conference. Students and panelists raised questions and shared ideas about making college more affordable and more accessible.

Keynote speaker Deputy Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Education Robert Shireman answered questions and explained the Obama administration’s recent changes to the student aid process and student loan repayment policies.

“We have four points of concern,” said Bradley Akuburio, a junior from Northwestern University. “We need the interest rates on students loans reduced. We need protection from tuition hikes. We need protection from the effects of state budget cuts and we need jobs after we graduate so we are able to repay our student loans.”

The President of Bennett College for Women, Dr. Julianne Malveaux, said higher education is in a state of emergency.

“We have to combat the current mindset of our nation,” she said. “We have bailed out the banks but our students have not seen that same kind of relief. It is time to invest in education again like we did when were competing with the Russians during the “Sputnik era”.

Consumer protection laws regarding student loans were a resounding point of concern during the meeting. Student loans are specifically exempted from standard bankruptcy protections, statues of limitations, and other fundamental consumer protections.

“Not having bankruptcy protection breeds predatory lending,” said Alan Collinge, author of The Student Loan Scam. It’s actually more profitable for lenders if borrowers default on their payments.”

Edie Irons, communications director for the Institute for College Access and Success, explained income-based repayment, a new payment option for federal student loans. For most eligible borrowers, IBR loan payments will be less than 10 percent of their income and even smaller for borrowers with low earnings. IBR will also forgive remaining debt, if any, after 25 years of qualifying payments.

The meeting concluded with the agreement that still more needs to be done. Members of the panel committed to organizing similar town hall meetings around the country to educate students and parents about current student loan policy and to seek innovative ideas on student aid reform.

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition is a progressive organization devoted to protecting, defending and expanding civil rights to improve economic and educational opportunity. The organization is headquartered at 930 E. 50th St. in Chicago. To learn more, please visit http://www.rainbowpush.org or call (773) 373-3366. To arrange an interview with Rev. Jackson, please call the numbers listed above.

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