On November 14, 2008 the Philadelphia chapter of Students for a Democratic Society held a rally at the Department of Education in order to attract public attention and that of the Department of Education, to the problem of student debt. Kicking off the organizations National campaign for Accessible Education, SDS chapters around the country organized similar events at the Department of Education in their respective cities.
The goal of the action in Philadelphia was to engage the Department of Education in conversation with students and student groups in order to start addressing the horrendous student debt crisis in the city. However, with the Department of Education ignoring requests to sit down and speak with Philly SDS, a rally where students presented the department with a giant report card failing them in the areas of affordable, accessible, and quality education as well as in student participation served to relay the message.
With a boisterous crowd wielding signs, banners, and noisemakers, the students eventually closed their rally with a march around city hall. Unsurprisingly, participants and observers alike overwhelmingly agreed with SDS’s demand that the Department of Education start to act on the issue of student debt in Philadelphia.
Currently, with the announcement of budget cuts effecting social and education services throughout the city, Philly SDS is focusing attention on supporting community efforts to counter-act or stop the budget cuts. The campus chapters at Drexel, Penn, and Temple continue to work on the issue of student debt and accessible education.
