#adjuncts & #studentloandebt

…the movies, not just one. DIY this time, not BYOP. Unfortunately, there is still not much public awareness of student debt among NTT faculty. See for yourself: search  YouTube for "student debt crisis." Then add "adjunct" or "faculty" and search. Here's a chance to fill the information gap. Robert Applebaum, founder of million+ member grassroots student loan debt forgiveness movement challenges student loan debtors to create and submit videos. He writes,

ForgiveStudentLoanDebt is re-branding as "Student Debt Crisis" to reflect the fact that the reforms we seek are not limited to just forgiveness of loans, but a whole host of other steps that chip away at the status quo. 

I'm writing today to ask each of you to participate in our very first video submission challenge: create your own short video that we can use to spread our message in favor of fundamental reforms to the way in which higher education is paid for in this country.

As you know, we've already delivered more than ONE MILLION signatures in support of H.R. 4170,The Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012, to Rep. Hansen Clarke who, in turn, delivered them to Chairman John Kline of the House Education and Workforce Committee. We trended nationally on Twitter, using the hashtag #ListenToTheMillion, targeting every member of the Education Committee. 

We've sent letters, emails and tweets, and we've personally visited Congressional Offices, placed phone calls and done everything in our power to make some noise.  Now, it's on to the next project. . .

To participate in the video challenge, please follow these instructions:
1. Record your own video focusing on your own student debt experience: 

• Please use the phrases "I majored in Debt" or "Listen to the Million," depending on your message. 

• Explain how much you borrowed to go to school vs. how much you now owe. 

• Tell the world about your employment situation and how you'd probably be better off financially had you never gone to school at all.

• Be yourself, use humor or gut-wrenching honesty, but make it powerful so that we can put human faces on the crisis.

2. Upload your video to YouTube, or Vimeo, then grab the embed code for your video;
3. Click here to go to the video submission page (don't worry: instructions are listed there, too);
4. Copy and paste the embed code for your video from YouTube or Vimeo to the video submission form at the bottom of this page.  Please submit no later than August 31, 2012. 

That's it!  Thank you, as always, for your continued support and participation.  Without you, this budding movement would never have gotten off the ground!  Let's keep the momentum going!

Sincerely,
Robert Applebaum, StudentDebtCrisis.com
Follow us on Twitter @DebtCrisisOrg and Facebook at StudentDebtCrisis1

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Ed note: 

...about this week's blogging gaps and catching up. I fell off the blog wagon and have also been less active on Facebook but today hope to make a dent in backlog. In partial defense, I tweeted regularly from @NewFacMajority and @VCVaileNFM. Not tweeps? Sorry about that but it's hard to be many places at once without benefit of T.A.R.D.I.S. App enhanced tweeting is the most efficient way to both get the most out and take the most in. Tentatively, Joe's latest COCAL Updates are next, depending on drats and what's comes up in the feed reader


Facebook: please feel free to post adjunct news and notices on the NewFacultyMajority Facebook page.