Activists and students plan to hold demonstrations on college campuses and in communities around the country Wednesday to mark what they call 1TDay — the day when the U.S. student debt reaches $1 trillion.
Organizers said rallies and acts of civil disobedience are set for at least a dozen cities, including Newark, Del., home of Sallie Mae,the private corporation that handles billions of dollars in student debt. A massive rally is planned for New York City’s Union Square.
The events are being organized by the Occupy Student Debt Campaign, a coalition of groups from the Occupy Wall Street movement against corporate greed.
“Trillion Dollar Day is a reminder that private banks are still very much in the predatory lending business; this time it’s students, not homeowners,” said Andrew Ross, one of the organizers.
According to the coalition, 2010 graduates had on average $25,250 in student debts.
"I'm the first person in my family to go to college,” said activist Annie Spencer, a doctoral student at City University in New York. “I'm now $80,000 in debt and don't see a day when I won't struggle to make ends meet. Those of us who took on this trillion dollar debt were sold the promise of a better life in exchange for carrying the burden, but the deck was stacked against us from the start."
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