 Good Monday All.
This group has done very big things in the past. We need to do another very big thing. Today's action is that big thing. We're asking everyone to send a letter to your college's President. I sent a letter like the one below. Use that as a basis. Using your own words is best, but whatever works for you...the KEY is to impress upon them that they need to call publicly for bankruptcy protections. I sent my letter both as an actual, physical letter AND as an email. Do both. This one could solve this whole thing. PLEASE DO YOUR PART. *including this graphic for your state would likely be helpful. TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY. BE STRONG. Godspeed- Alan ps. I am very happy to join you in any meeting that might result from your letter. I can do all the heavy lifting to show them just how severe this crisis has become and defend our position. =========== My Letter ============= Mr. President, I attended ________ from__________ to_______________ I am disgusted by the collective failure of college presidents in this country to address the unprecedented removal of constitutional bankruptcy rights from student loans. Please don’t pretend to be unaware of this shocking usurpation of the citizens' rights. We both know that all college heads- including you- are very aware of it. You may NOT be aware that uniform bankruptcy rights were called for in the Constitution (ahead of every right in the Bill of Rights) as a direct result of a debtor’s rebellion that happened shortly after The Revolutionary War, but it’s true. Today, 37 of the 43 million federal student loan borrowers are hopelessly underwater on their predatory college debt- It has become a destabilizing, national threat. I urge you strongly to publicly call for the return of standard bankruptcy rights to student loans, and also call for the wealthiest colleges in the nation (whose cumulative endowments now approach $1 Trillion in value) pay at least half the cost of the $6 billion/year in discharges that will result. This is the solution that will be most beneficial, and least costly to all parties involved. It is a very small price to pay considering the alternatives, which could well involve the evaporation of federal loan support for all the colleges, civil unrest, and other horribles one might imagine when the pitchforks and the torches come out. These have actually already begun, See the story of Justin Mohn, or the Nelson family of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma for two recent examples. Like it or not, fair or unfair, the citizens’ rage against this national threatening loan scam will be increasingly turned against the colleges who have profited so immensely from it. I know this is the least-cost, most stabilizing solution available. I also see the coming storm. I strongly urge you to take this very good advice. Former Harvard president Larry Summers has recently called for the return of bankruptcy rights to the loans. You need to make a similar call while in office, not after you leave. I consider this letter confidential. Come July, if I hear nothing from you and you take no noticeable, public action toward the end I suggest, I will reconsider that status. I hope to hear from you in a good-faithed, constructive way. I am at your beck and call should you wish to have a dialogue about this urgent matter. Godspeed- ====================================================
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