TODAY: Dreams Not Debt Week of Action Kicks Off with Student Debt Rally in D.C.

With the student loan payment pause expiring May 1, youth organizers are pressuring the Biden Administration and legislators to cancel student debt

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

April 4, 2022

PRESS CONTACT:

Carmel Pryor

press@allianceforyouthaction.org

WASHINGTON — Today, the Alliance for Youth Action kicks off their Dreams Not Debt Week of Action at a rally in front of the U.S. Department of Education at 12 p.m. ET calling on President Biden to cancel student debt. 

The rally, named “Pick Up the Pen, Joe,” is hosted by Debt Collective and co-sponsored by the Alliance for Youth Action along with nearly 100 coalition partners. This event serves as a reminder to President Biden that, with a stroke of a pen, he can sign an executive order to help young people live out their dreams instead of living in debt.

The $1.7 trillion owed in student debt by 44 million Americans is harming a generation already impacted by skyrocketing rent prices, low wages, recessions, and a pandemic with Black families, and Black women in particular, being disproportionately affected. 

“The student debt crisis limits our ability to dream about building the future we deserve for ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities,” said Dakota Hall, Executive Director of the Alliance for Youth Action. “While the continued student loan pause extension is welcome—it is simply not enough nor what young people voted for in 2020. We’re showing up at the rally alongside Alliance Network organizations – Ohio Student Association and Virginia Student Power Network – to demand President Biden use the authority we gave him to issue an Executive Order to cancel all student loan debt. It’s a simple, effective way to add billions back into our economy, narrow the racial wealth gap, and fulfill a campaign promise ahead of the midterm elections this November.”

WHO: Alliance for Youth Action, Alliance Network organizations Ohio Student Association and Virginia Student Power Network (VSPN) along with nearly 100 coalition partners of the Debt Collective

WHAT: Pick Up the Pen, Joe! Rally to Cancel Student Debt 

WHEN: Monday, April 4th, 2022 at 12:00 PM ET

WHERE: Eisenhower Memorial, 540 Independence Ave. SW, Washington D.C., DC 20500

This is a public in-person rally. The rest of the week, the Alliance for Youth Action will be holding events virtually. For updates on the Dreams Not Debt Week of Action, see here.

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