Our Voices
Our Statement on DeVos’ Newly Proposed Borrower Defense Rules
By Bahar Akman Imbdoen The Department of Education’s newly proposed borrower defense rule is an assault on the most vulnerable people in our society and a handout for actors who want to prey on them. Higher education is not meant to be a debt trap; it should be...
What do we want? … #ZeroDebt! …..When do we want it? … Now!
By Bahar Akman Imboden Tuition and fees at the University of Massachusetts campuses will increase by 2.5 percent in the 2018–2019 academic year. This is the 5th consecutive year of increases, culminating in an almost 20 percent hike! This is unacceptable and...
Campus Update – June 2018
Hello! My name is Matt Frentz and I am our Organizing Manager here with the Hildreth Institute. I am the newest member of our organization and I am very excited to have joined a team that is working towards #ZeroDebt. Here you will find updates from me and our...
No Loan Degrees – It’s possible!
By Bahar Akman Imboden At Hildreth Institute, we believe that colleges and universities have an important role to play in fixing our financial aid system. The student debt we are assuming as a society has become unsustainable: it threatens the stability of our...
Student Loans Are a Family Affair
by Nikki Calizo I grew up thinking and believing that college was a non-negotiable. My mom always told me that education was the only inheritance they could give us. All my family went to college in the Philippines and it’s not uncommon for parents to pay for...
Is College Financially Feasible for the Middle Class?
By Alex Stetter My parents have saved for my college tuition since I was born. Thus, when my parents said that they would be willing to support any higher education endeavors that I undertook, I assumed that meant they would be able to cover the entire cost....
Our recent statewide poll finds higher education and student debt hot-button topics for voters
(Press release) Boston, MA — A recent poll conducted by Anderson Robbins Research found that large majorities of Massachusetts voters believe the current system of paying for higher education, in which most students and families take out interest-bearing loans from...
Should we consider a lottery or gambling to help the poor?
In their recent NYT opinion piece titled “College Does Help the Poor” Tim Bartik and Brad Hershbein argue that “while a college degree does not eliminate inequality, it still pays off for people from low-income backgrounds.” While I agree that it is unrealistic to...
The Privilege to Serve
By Peter Hulbert In an impromptu speech on the steps of the University of Michigan’s Union in 1960, then presidential candidate John F. Kennedy asked a group of students: “How many of you who are going to be doctors are willing to spend your days in Ghana?...
Student Loans, Not Just for Millenials
By Debbie Westmoreland Baker In 1996, I borrowed $34,000 to become a public school teacher in Oklahoma. When the newly established income-based repayment plans and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) were offered in 2007, I inquired about the program and was...