Students across the nation are preparing Thursday for public demonstrations designed to demand student loan reform, free education, and better wages for campus workers.
Called the "Million Student March," the movement lists three demands, per its official website:
Tuition-Free Public College
Cancellation of All Student Debt
A $15 Minimum Wage for All Campus Workers
"Education should be free. The United States is the richest country in the world, yet students have to take on crippling debt in order to get a college education," Student March said in a statement on its website. "The average college graduate of the Class of 2015 has over $35,000 in debt. More than 40 million Americans share a total of $1.2 trillion in student debt and 58 percent of that is held by the poorest 25 percent of Americans."
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau placed the total amount of student loan debt at $1.2 trillion, which has doubled over the past 10 years, Reuters reported. Eight million of those borrowers have defaulted on their student loans, accounting for about $110 billion.
Compounding the nation's student loan debt problems is the still-recovering economy and a job market that is particularly tough on recent college graduates. Additionally, studies show student loan debt is holding borrowers back from committing to other important financial decisions like buying a home and starting a family.
The Obama Administration has campaigned for tuition-free community college as well as a rating system to appropriate federal funding to the most deserving public schools. The leading Democratic candidates for the 2016 presidential elections, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have their own tuition-free college plans as well, Reuters noted.
"Students face rising tuition costs, mounting debt, and a lack of good-paying jobs when they graduate," Student March's statement read. "Further, while top administrators take home six and seven figure salaries, many campus workers are paid poverty wages and are forced to rely on federal and local assistance."
