NEWSSCHOOL ADMINISTRATION

You’re not alone. Since 1999, student debt has increased by 511%, eclipsed credit card debt, and will soon exceed $1 Trillion. But intense lobbying has stripped away basic consumer rights and bankruptcy protection for student loans, subjecting borrowers such as Stef Gray to exploding interest rates, questionable fees, delinquencies, and default.

Like so many other recent graduates today, Stef Gray has been unable to find full-time work since graduating and faces a mound of private student loan debt.  But Stef is now changing the game by directly petitioning Sallie Mae to stop charging a fee to delay payment on her loan until she is employed - and thousands of people have joined her petition on Change.org.

You can start a petition to make a change, too. If you, or someone you know, has experienced the unfair practices of the student loan industry, here are some helpful resources to help you fight back:

1.) Get help!  At least one out of five borrowers default on their student loans. Groups such as Student Loan Justice, Forgive Student Loan Debt, and Occupy Student Debt are just a few grassroots organizations mobilizing to shift the balance of power.  You should also visit The Project on Student Debt, FinAid.org,  Demos.org, Student Loan Borrower’s Assistance, and the Office of the Ombudsman.

2.) Keep meticulous records of all communication with your lender. Start with using a call log including the date and time you called, who you spoke with, how long you were on hold, and detailed notes about your conversation. (Stef Gray made a video of her conversation with Sallie Mae.) Keep any documents on file, too.  The more evidence you have to back-up your claims, the easier to prove your case and build support. Be sure to keep copies of your promissory notes, all statements of your accounts, and any other documentation regarding your loans.

3.) Start a petition on Change.org. Below are steps for creating a petition to your student lender:

• Find out who is a decision-maker at the bank, lender, or collection agency. (This person will most likely be the target of the petition.)
• Briefly explain what happened (e.g. Are you being forced to pay extra fees? Were you forced into default? Did they lose your paperwork?).
• Tell the target what you're asking for (e.g. Stop Double-Dipping To Cash In On Unemployed Graduates; Stop abusive collection calls; Apply my payment to my principal first and then my interest). Remember to be specific in your request.
• Launch your petition!
• Spread the word on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.
• Research local reporters who are writing or reporting on the student debt crisis, higher education, and consumer rights in your area and email or call them about your story.
• Email katie@change.org to let us know that you’ve started a petition.

4.) Connect with local groups to build your campaign. Many organizations are working on cases like yours. Look for groups like Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition (state-based group) and U.S. PIRG (national network of groups) to help you with arranging a meeting with an elected official, pitching your story to the media, and advocating for state legislation to help student borrowers fight back.

Remember, you're not alone. By taking a stand, you're helping shine a light on the unfair practices of big banks and student lenders everywhere.

Now, go start your petition!

[Editor's Note: Guest blogger Kit-Bacon Gressitt and her group created the Change.org petition "Act Against Hate at Cal State University San Marcos." You can find more of her writing at http://www.excusemeimwriting.com/]

Imagine opening what appears to be a college newspaper and finding a picture of yourself superimposed into a pornographic photo, with a description of sexual acts. Imagine how that would make you feel as you walk through campus, not knowing who was behind the anonymous tabloid, uncertain if the person looking at you across the classroom was the one who photoshopped your face into a scene of naked women.

This is what one student at Cal State University San Marcos is going through, and she is suffering this abuse due to two things:

Right now, schools across the country are facing budget shortfalls caused by the foreclosure crisis.  As kids and families lose their homes and move away, schools lose their students and the funding goes with them.

Is the foreclosure crisis having an impact on your school district?  It’s easy to do something about it by asking your school district to take its money out of Wall Street banks that led to the foreclosure crisis and into a community bank that invests in the local community.

1. Call your School District accounting office to ask them what bank they use and who has the power to change banks.

Google search for “School District, your City/County/Town Name and Accounting” to find the phone number. If there isn't a number for accounting specifically, just call the general number and ask for the accounting office or in some cases the treasurer. When you call, be nice.  Accountants don’t usually hear from the public.

What to say when you call:
Hi, this might seem like a strange question, but I am wondering what bank the school district uses?
If they ask, tell them why you’re calling: I just read about a school district that might move its money to a community bank, and I wondered if my school district uses a community bank.
Thank them for that information, then ask them: If the school district wanted to change banks, who would make that decision?

2. Start a petition at Change.org

Chose your target. It should be the individual or group who can make this decision, as identified in your call. Or, when in doubt, target the school board. Most school boards are responsible for the financial health of a school district, so they should be able to make recommendations on the district's banking.

Tell the decisionmaker what you’re asking them to do (for example: "Move Ridgewood School District’s accounts to a community bank.")

Briefly explain why this issue is important to you -- did your school close after the foreclosure crisis, or have you seen the negative impact that the foreclosure crisis has had on your schools?  Include that information. (For example: "Big banks like Wells Fargo are responsible for the foreclosure crisis that has hurt our schools. My child's school closed because so many kids moved away after their homes were foreclosed. The school district should move its accounts to a responsible community bank.")

3. Build your campaign.  Email the petition to your friends, classmates, neighbors, and family to spread the word, and post it on your Facebook page. And, contact katie@change.org to let her know that you've started your petition and want help promoting it to the larger Change.org community.

4. Connect with local groups. You might also connect with organizations working on this issue.  Look for groups like the organization that started the first one of these campaigns, Minnesota Neighborhoods Organizing for Change and New Bottom Line, which is supporting individuals all over the country who want to change banks.

For 48 years, thousands of North Carolina's brightest students have come from all around the state to gather for the summer - to devote themselves to their studies and to learn from each other - for six weeks on college campuses. But if the state budget doesn't change soon, this program - the North Carolina Governor's School - will end after this year.

"If the North Carolina General Assembly shuts down the Governor's School on its 50th year of existence, with it dies the beauty of quality education. With it dies the ability to foster a student's desire to become a life-long learner," says Joseph DeChristina, 16, a former Governor's school attendee who started a petition on Change.org to save the program.

On Monday night, a bullied former student and the mother of a suicide victim asked the largest school district in Minnesota to create a safer environment for students of all sexual orientations. With them in spirit were the more than 12,000 Change.org members who have signed the petition asking the Anoka-Hennepin school board to remove the district's "gag" policy which forbids teachers and staff from talking about LGBT issues with students.

As 2010 grad Justin Anderson, who went to Blaine High School in Anoka-Hennepin, and Tammy Aaberg, whose son Justin tragically died of suicide last summer due to anti-gay bullying, presented the print-out of all 12,000+ signatures on the Change.org petition to board members, they urged the board to come to their senses and create a safe educational environment for students.

When you saw the news reports last week of a man being SWAT teamed for not paying his student loans, you may have wondered: are they coming for me next?

Well, worry no more. The team from the film Default: The Student Loan Documentary started a petition on Change.org to end this rampant confusion about whether or not students with outstanding loans could be criminally prosecuted. And they're declaring victory today, as the Department of Education released a statement, saying that defaulting on your school loans is not a criminal offense.

Sara Gast, spokesperson for the Department of Education, made the distinction. Students can be arrested for criminal activity like fraud.  But not being able to pay your loans back isn't something you'll be thrown in jail for.

"Generally, defaulting on student loans is not itself a crime," said Gast. "However, there are a number of circumstances surrounding defaults that are criminal, such as trying to obtain federal student aid while in default, or getting a loan with no intention of going to school and then defaulting with no intention of ever repaying."

Some stories are a straightforward trajectory. A problem is identified. People gather around that problem and strive to change it. The change is made, and the people rejoice.

Others are a roller-coaster-like slog. And that's how it's been for Charlotte Mecklenburg's preschool program, Bright Beginnings. From the time that the school superintendent proposed cutting two-thirds of the slots for vulnerable preschool aged children to the district back in January, the ride has been bumpy. At certain points, the program seemed as good as saved, when the very next, it seemed doomed.

But victory has been declared! The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board announced that all Bright Beginnings classrooms will be saved. Local teachers, students and families are rejoicing.

Commenters are having a field day. Tanya McDowell was recently arrested on charges of selling marijuana and crack cocaine to an undercover officer. Take a look at people's reactions on the internet:

"Why steal someone else's education to get your kid out of a bad, drug-infested school if you're just going to raise him in a bad, drug-infested home? I bet she just sent him there so he could be a dealer to kids with money. Sicko."

"Sad to say, I knew this was coming, trying to turn a thug into Rosa Parks."

"Not surprise (sic) she is involved in drugs...I wouldn't want her or her child in my children's school. Why would I want her in a position to influence my child."

Drug charges are the perfect excuse not to care about Tanya McDowell. After all, many people might think, obviously she deserved whatever trouble she meets - whether it's a $200,000 bond for a drug arrest or a $15,000 fine for "stealing" her son's education. If Tanya McDowell was a saint, then we might be able to excuse her enrolling her son in a nicer school district to get him a better education. But if she's a sinner, she deserves what she gets.

The student loan crisis is huge, says Kyle McCarthy, part of the team behind the film Default: The Student Loan Documentary. With one in five students now defaulting on their school loans and student loan debt surpassing credit card debt, the problem isn't going away anytime soon.

But there's one thing he's asking for - one thing that could make the situation better, almost with a stroke of the pen.

United States Department of Education, could you make one thing clear, to Kyle and to all American students: you're not going to SWAT team our homes if we can't pay our student loans, right? McCarthy and the team at Default started a Change.org petition, asking the Department of Education to come out with a strong statement, letting students know they won't be criminally prosecuted for unpaid debt.

Current and former students at Minnesota's largest school district have two big allies in their fight against bullying and harassment: the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

The groups say Anoka-Hennepin School District's "neutrality" policy -- which bans any discussion of LGBT identity or issues by faculty and staff during class time -- is actually a "gag" order for teachers working to create a safe and welcoming environment for all students.

The two groups' May 24 letter to the Anoka-Hennepin School District demands that school district officials immediately repeal the "neutrality" policy. Show your support by signing the petition on Change.org, which tells the district: "Don’t wait for SPLC and NCLR to file a federal lawsuit or allow another day go by while students and families suffer. Make it a priority to create safe schools for all students in the Anoka-Hennepin School District now." It asks the district to respond by June 20.