Lot's Wife Edition 5 2015

STUDENT AFFAIRS 23
What Would
Happen if we
Just Didn’t Pay
Back our HECS?
REA
BY MALI
With students collectively going on a strike and refusing to pay
back their student loans, the American department of Education
is about to find out what exactly happens when students refuse to
repay their tuition fees.
The movement began with 15 students from the private
Corinthian College refusing to pay their debt back upon
realising the degrees they were awarded from the for-profit
institution were barely worth the paper they were written
on. With a group called The Debt Collective, students from
Corinthian College demanded that their loans be cancelled
on the grounds that they were defrauded. However the
Department of Education were not easily swayed, despite
conducting their own investigations in to the institution.
It has become fairly obvious that the Department of
Education are in cahoots with the private companies and
investors who profit from student debt. They allow these
private institutions access to government funding to prop
them up and even when they are disgraced to the extent of
Corinthian, they continue to assist them in finding a buyer.
Even though the college has been known to be in trouble for
many years, the Department of Education had continued to
help them, and now that it has closed they have done far less
than the all-volunteer Debt Collective in getting student debt
discharged.
Student debt in America has reached crisis point, it is only
second to credit card debt with Americans owing 1.2 trillion
dollars. At a Department of Education hearing collective
organisers reminded the department that Corinthian College
was not the exception, that for profit colleges putting
graduates in to poverty has become the norm.
The Debt Collective are challenging power of this 1.2 trillion
dollar debt under the fundamental belief that;
"If you owe the bank a thousand dollars, the bank owns
you. If you owe the bank a trillion dollars, you own the bank.
Together, we own the bank."
The idea is that when put together, their total amount of
debt becomes powerful and gives students collective control,
thousands of graduates have signed on to the campaign,
together representing $72 million in debt.
Many organisations have shown their support and
endorsed the debt strikers, including the New York Times
editorial board and the American Federation of Teachers.
The Debt Collective show us how effective the collective
The Debt Collective are
challenging power of this
1.2 trillion dollar debt under
the fundamental belief
that; "If you owe the bank a
thousand dollars, the bank
owns you. If you owe the
bank a trillion dollars, you
own the bank. Together, we
own the bank."
action of students can be. By undermining the government
and the student debt collectors, these students and
graduates have taken control of their debt and in a wider
sense, they have empowered all students within their
universities.
One of the more subtle aspects of the Liberal higher
education reforms in Australia has been the offering of
commonwealth supported places to private providers, the
first step in privatising the entire system. If this were to pass,
colleges like Corinthian College would appear in Australia,
and as they are for-profit, would abuse their government
funding and put students in serious debt without legitimate
qualifications. The story of Corinthian College and the Debt
Collective is a pertinent warning for us in Australia.
A protest is being held to oppose the Americanisation
of the Australian on August 19th, the MSA will be providing
buses leaving at 1pm from Robert Blackwood Hall, join us
earlier at 12 for a BBQ on the Menzies Lawn.
Mali Rea is the Education (Public Affairs) Officer