TheInnerU

Here’s an update on the upcoming news conference to highlight the crippling effect employment credit checks can have on college students and recent grads…

Believe it or not, according to a recent study, half of all graduates over the last five years are unemployed or underemployed. So between the anemic job market and the rising cost of higher education, more and more students and recent grads are struggling to pay off their student loan debt. And we have a lot of debt. Nationally, it adds up to over a trillion dollars. That’s more than our total credit card debt! Put it all together and you end up with what I like to call the student debt triple threat: a college education is more expensive than ever, students are mortgaging their futures to pay for it, and if they fall behind, they may not even be able to get a job thanks to the credit agencies. 

That’s why the New York Public Interest Research Group is holding an event at BMCC (199 Chambers Street  New York, NY 10007) on October 16th at 11:30am to speak out on behalf of students everywhere. So far, Council Members Brad Lander and Ydanis Rodriguez, a student who has been affected by this practice, and a member of the BMCC student government are scheduled to speak. As you can imagine, there’s still a whole lot to be done and they’d like to enlist your help!

Here are things you can do to ensure that the event is a resounding success:

1. Invite people on Facebook. Here is a link to the event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/414466858608690/ In order to send invitations must first “Join” the event.
2. Help make signs! All day this Thursday (Oct. 11), NYPIRG has a storefront reserved at the Parsons School of Design’s Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery (66 Fifth Avenue at 13th Street) in Manhattan. It’s part of a project called PDA, or Public Display of Action. The idea is that they can make signs for the event and passersby will be able to see them and see the signs as we make them, which in itself will be an advertisement for the campaign.  Go join! They’ll be there from 9am to 5pm.
3. Help reach out to the media! Do you have good contacts with reporters who may want to cover the event? Please let the New York Public Interest Research Group know! Contact: 9 Murray Street
   New York (212) 349-6461; OR Andy Morrison, NYPIRG amorrison@nypirg.org
4. Attend the news conference next Tuesday, October 16th!

SPREAD THE WORD!