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The ‘Corinthian 15′ Take A Stand By Calling A Student Loan Strike

If you owe the bank a thousand dollars, the bank owns you.
If you owe the bank a trillion dollars, you own the bank. 
Together, we own the bank.

The Debt Collective helps people organize with each other to challenge creditors. We believe no one should have to go into debt for basic needs like housing, healthcare, and education. When the indebted join together they can build power to help create a just society.

For more information on the Debt Collective please click here.

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Many students graduating from universities face a mountain of student loans so large, escaping its shadow seems almost impossible. But a group of former students today is taking matters into their own hands.

With the help of Rolling Jubilee, a campaign that purchases student loan debt and then forgives it, 15 graduates of Corinthian College are starting a student debt strike by refusing to pay their loans.

The united former students, calling themselves the Corinthian 15, are fed up with colleges, especially for-profit colleges, that take advantage of students who are simply seeking an education. The strike is the first time a group has come together to collectively refuse to pay federal student loans. The goal is to get the Department of Education to cancel their debt, along with that of all other current and former Corinthian students, under the assertion that Corinthian defrauded them. They hope that many more rise up and join the fight.

Latonya Suggs, Cincinnati, OH

I was excited to attend Everest College online because they promised to help me find a well-paying career. But they lied to me and took my money. Not only did the school fail me, but the Department of Education failed me because it is their responsibility to make sure that these schools provide a quality education at an affordable cost at a scam-free school. I took out thousands in loans so that I could make a better life for my son. I earned a criminal justice degree that most employers do not even recognize. I am completely lost and in debt. The only solution is for the Department of Education to discharge my loan so I can start over. I deserve free tuition for the time I wasted. In fact, all student debtors should join together to demand debt cancellation and free education. We are not going to stop fighting until we win. That’s what this strike is about.

Latonya Snuggs, a Cincinnati native, took out $40,000 in student loans to attend Everest College, a Corinthian institution. She hoped that a higher education would bring a better life to her and her infant son. Instead, she was left with crippling debt and a degree in criminal justice that employers would not even recognize.

For-profit colleges are some of the worst offenders when it comes to taking advantage of students who rely on loans. Corinthian Colleges Inc. has been investigated by state and federal authorities on multiple occasions for fraud, yet the Department of Education has come to its rescue, helping to find buyers to take over campuses and online operations.

Luke Herrine, a Rolling Jubilee team member, is calling on the Department of Education to “stop acting as a debt collector for a predatory lender, and start discharging the debt of these students. It is fully within its statutory powers to do so.”

This past July, Corinthian announced that it would have to close because its funds had been frozen while it was under investigation. Fearing a sharp rise in students eligible for loan refunds, the Department of Education struck a deal with Corinthian, monitoring the organization’s selling of campuses and other assets. Currently 56 of the 107 campuses have been purchased by ECMC, a debt collection company that has never run a school. Previously, ECMC was an Education Department contractor. The firm plans to keep the colleges open under the name Zenus.

Nathan Hornes II, Los Angeles, CA

I graduated from Everest with a Bachelor’s degree in Business and a 3.9 GPA. But today I work two minimum wage jobs. I owe $78,000 in student loan debt even though Everest is being sued for fraud. Still, the Department of Education has refused to cancel my debt. I want to know — why is the Department of Education supporting a scam for-profit school instead of students? I am on strike because I deserve a full refund and a free education. I co-founded a group called the Everest Avengers where Corinthian students are planning a long-term battle against Corinthian and the Department of Education. There are 40 million student debtors across the country. This is only the beginning. If we all join together, imagine how much power we would have to end student debt for good.

The Rolling Jubilee also announced that it has abolished over $13 million of student loan debt, easing the lives of almost 10,000 people being crushed by unmanageable debt. Launched in November of 2012, the campaign purchases debt for pennies on the dollar on the secondary market, using money from a crowdfunding campaign that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, then erases it. The most recent purchase was from the same debt collector who wanted to get rid of the unpaid tuition receivables and sold it to Rolling Jubilee for $1. Since the campaign was launched, it has managed to eradicate over $30 million in education and medical debt, alleviating the endless struggle for thousands of Americans.

Another student, Nathan Hornes, is from Los Angeles and graduated Everest with a 3.9 grade point average and a degree in business management. Now in his mid-20s, he currently works two minimum-wage jobs and struggles to earn enough money to pay back his $78,000 worth of debt. “Why is the Department of Education supporting a scam for-profit school instead of students?” he asks.

But he remains hopeful: “If we all join together, imagine how much power we would have to end student debt for good.”

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