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“Attacking the Concept of Debt” | Harvard Magazine
Only a few years ago, Douglas Jones, who worked night shifts as a security guard at a nursing home in Roxbury, was hesitant to spend even $10 more than his typical budget allowed. Payments on his student loan debt were being withdrawn directly from his bank account. If the balance was short—for instance, if Jones hadn’t managed to get 40 hours at his job that week—the bank charged an overdraft fee. The debt had ruined his credit score and he hadn’t had a credit card in years. “They were even taking money I didn’t have,” Jones says. “It was stressing me the hell out.” Along with millions of other Americans, Jones had fallen prey to the for-profit college industry, which is in essence a two-pronged system—federal loans at one end and for-profit schools designed to access those loans at the other.
For-Profit Schools Target The Black Community. Here’s How You Can Avoid The Scam | BET
This article takes a deeper dive into for-profit schools and the students who have been scammed into pursuing quick-and-easy higher education. Let’s all take a minute to look at why this problem hits the Black community the hardest.
All the Ways Student Debt Exacerbates Racial Inequality — ‘It’s Like Landing in Quick Sand’ | MarketWatch
Student debt is often thought of as a generational issue, plaguing 20- and 30-somethings as they make their way into adulthood. And while it’s true that young adults are coping with levels of student debt rarely experienced by their parents and even older siblings, perhaps one of the biggest factors defining a borrower’s student loan experience is their race.
For-Profit Schools’ Predatory Practices and Students of Color: A Mission to Enroll Rather than Educate | Harvard Law Review
In a move with significant implications for federal civil rights enforcement, the Department of Education has halted investigations into several large for-profit institutions widely accused of defrauding students. This decision sends an even clearer message that the Department of Education stands on the side of corrupt corporations rather than with students.
Betsy DeVos Doesn’t Give a Damn About Students, Education or the Cost Thereof | The Root
Can we stop telling the lie that Betsy DeVos has the best interest of this nation’s students at heart? The U.S. Department of Education has devolved into yet another classist system of oppression set up to hold down people of color and low-income families. This latest move by DeVos is proof of that.
Parents Poised to Gain Easier Access to College Loans | The Wall Street Journal
Amid Enrollment Pinch, Tighter Standards Put on Borrowing Program in 2011 in Line to Be Loosened. The Obama administration is moving to ease access to student loans for parents with damaged credit, a policy reversal that could saddle poor families with piles of debt but also boost college enrollment.