A panel of progressive-minded activists speaking at Generation Progress’ 2013 Making Progress Summit earlier this week in Washington, D.C., found common ground on a couple of key facets of federal student loans: First, they’re racist.
And second, students in America should be given college educations for free.
“We have to acknowledge that student debt is a racial justice issue, because people of color are specifically targeted for high interest rate by companies like Sallie Mae, and companies that profit from student debt have been sued for racial discrimination,” one female participant said to the panel of progressives, Red Alert Politics reported.
Chris Hicks, a student debt campaign organizer with Jobs with Justice, said similarly: “Eighty-one percent of African-American students have debt, while only 64 percent of white students do.” Mr. Hicks also referred to Sallie Mae as a “racist” institution, Red Alert Politics said. His suggested course of action?
“Find the reddest states in the deepest South, where students are the most exploited, take some model legislation and force bad, crazy, Republican tea partiers to have to respond to that, put them on the defensive,” Mr. Hicks said, in the report.
Service Employees International Union coordinator Austin Thompson said free college for all was the way to go, citing the socialist France as the model.
“Do you know how much they pay for college in France? Zero. I don’t think we should be paying for college at all,” he said, Red Alert Politics reported. “We’re paying for school to help big companies make a profit – they should be paying for us.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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