Thread by @AAUP

President Biden’s long awaited announcement of a plan to alleviate the student debt of roughly 20 million Americans has ignited a national debate about the fundamental role of higher education in our society.

The AAUP would like to weigh in...

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From the AAUP’s perspective, higher education exists to support the common good. An education should be accessible & affordable as a human right to anyone willing to seek it.
Biden’s action on student debt relief is a vital first forward…
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toward reaffirming the purpose & promise of higher education in our democracy. This transformative plan will go a long way toward narrowing the racial wealth gap exacerbated by the student debt crisis
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As AAUP president @imulvey wrote this week, "soaring tuition costs have made higher ed attainable only to the wealthy or those willing to take on a lifetime of suffocating debt. This crisis is the direct result of decades of disinvestment & underfunding
aaup.org/news/debt-forg…
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of our public institutions of higher education, not the decisions of Americans wishing to better themselves as tuition skyrocketed.

The data on student debt makes clear that the racial wealth gap has been fueled in part by the student debt crisis.

brookings.edu/wp-content/upl…
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Particularly for Black women.

12 years after starting college, Black women owe 113% of their student loans, while every other racial group is able to pay off some portion of what they owe.
theintercept.com/2022/08/22/stu…
#CancelStudentDebt
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Besides making less than other college-educated white women & Black & white men, Black women are also more likely to be parents in school, often burdened by costs related to child care that can result in them borrowing more for college.
nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna2…
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"It is hard to imagine this kind of injustice going unaddressed if it were directed at a white population."
-AAUP president @imulvey
aaup.org/news/debt-forg…
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While it is far less than the $50k of debt cancellation the AAUP called for along with 50+ organizations last year, Biden's action will free millions from a long-broken, predatory & abusive student loan system. forgivemystudentdebt.org/faq/
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As we have since 1915, the AAUP will continue to push for higher education actions & policies that move us towards a more just & equitable society including robust, sustainable public funding for higher education.
Please join us.

aaup.org
10/10

This debate is a good occasion to consider Jason Thomas Wizniak’s argument for universal debt cancellation published in @AcademeBlog

aaup.org/article/misedu…

#CancelAllStudentDebt