PHILADELPHIA STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NOV. 14, 2008

Contact: Jeff Rousset, (845) 642-8145, jeff.rousset@gmail.com

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PHILADELPHIA STUDENTS AWARD DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FAILING GRADE

Announces National Campaign: Accessible Education

PHILADELPHIA — Students from area universities and high schools converged on the local office of the U.S. Department of Education today, publicly awarding the agency an “F–” report card for their failure to act on the worsening student debt crisis. The students pressed the agency to meet with them about mounting costs that increasingly bar continuing education from those without financial resources.

“All we’re asking for is a voice in the process,” said Joanna Grim, a member of Temple University’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, which organized the event. “Here in Philadelphia, our high schools have a 50 percent dropout rate, and those who do graduate are finding college unaffordable.”

College tuition, which has doubled on average in the last decade, is proving to be a significant barrier for many. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United States has the lowest university completion rate of any Western developed country, at just 54 percent — due in an overwhelming majority of cases to financial hardship. Students who do graduate face a daunting burden — in the past decade, the average student debt for a graduating college senior has more than doubled from $9,250 to $19,200, and more than two-thirds of students surpass $20,000 in debt.

Students from Temple, Penn and Drexel University filled out scores of postcards for the Department, each reading “BAIL ME OUT!” along with a Philadelphia student’s name and financial needs. Agency representatives did not return students’ phone calls requesting a meeting.

“The doors to the Department of Education are closed today, just like the doors to our universities. Students are being locked out of their education by debt,” said Pasha Mamontov, a sophomore at Drexel.

Today was a national day of action for Students for a Democratic Society at Department of Education offices around America, to announce their first national campaign: Accessible Education.

Philadelphia SDS is the city-wide chapter of the nation’s largest progressive student organization, Students for a Democratic Society, with more than 200 chapters around the United States working together to build student power for Accessible Education.

Press Release PDF:

Philadelphia SDS Press Release

more: http://www.flickr.com/photos/phillysds/

 

from Washington DC: