Thursday, November 19, 2015

Students Protest Student Debt, 'Education is a Human Right'

The Collegiate Times has reported on students at Virginia tech protested their tuition and student debt, arguing that public colleges should be free in one of their latest articles.
They chanted:  "Hey hey ho ho where does our tuition go?"  "VT! VT! Sure doesn't come back to me."
The protest was apart of the #MillionStudentMarch arguing that education is a human right, not a privilege.

The march was not just about making public schooling free, the protest also argued diminishing all of the current student debt, and requiring a $15 minimum wage on campuses.

Currently, students in America contribute to 1.2 trillion dollars in student debt, and the average student in the graduating class at Virginia Tech will owe $35,000.

Students leading the protest were questioned because they did not have their protest approved to be on campus, did not pay for risk insurance, and did not have a university sponsor; therefore, violating university policies.  The protest was then directed off campus.

Students at Virginia Tech were just one of the hundreds of universities who participated in the #MillionStudentMarch on Nov. 12.

I was personally unaware of this protest that took place, but I think it is a great way for students to voice their opinions on this growing public issue.  We need to spread the word about college debt and find a solution.  Student debt continues to rise with increasing tuition rates, making it harder and harder for students to payback their loans in a timely fashion.

What are your opinions on the increasing student debt crisis?

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