WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.760 --> 00:00:03.840 This is Latino USA, the Radio Journal of News and 2 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:09.160 Kurtur Latino USC Left Latino USA. I'm Maria Inosa. We 3 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:12.720 bring you stories that are underreported but that mattered to you, 4 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:14.880 overlooked by the rest of the media. And while the 5 00:00:14.920 --> 00:00:17.160 country is struggling to deal with these, we listen to 6 00:00:17.239 --> 00:00:20.800 the stories of Black and Latino Studios United, Latino Front, 7 00:00:21.040 --> 00:00:25.360 a cultural renaissance organizing at the forefront of the movement. 8 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:27.320 I'm Maria Ino Jossa. 9 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:33.560 The way we got to debt cancelation was not because 10 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:36.239 of researchers. It was not because of policy makers, and 11 00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:38.960 it sure was not because of elective officials. It was 12 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:43.480 because of borrowers coming together and really organizing and really 13 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:47.920 small numbers at first to show the absurdity of the 14 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:51.360 student loan system, and through their organizing, it's the only 15 00:00:51.400 --> 00:00:54.560 reason we even know the phrase debt cancelation, and it's 16 00:00:54.600 --> 00:00:57.640 the only reason now that millions of people have experienced 17 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:01.080 the filling of debt cancelation and is the reason why 18 00:01:01.080 --> 00:01:03.960 we're in the moment where debt cancelation is feeling more 19 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:05.400 real than it ever has before. 20 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:14.119 From FUTU media and PRX, It's Latino USA like Maria 21 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:19.760 no Josa today the growing call to abolish student debt. 22 00:01:27.240 --> 00:01:30.800 So I'm in the studio today with producer Julia Rocha. 23 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:31.320 Hey. 24 00:01:31.319 --> 00:01:34.720 Who Hey Maria. So, I don't know if you remember 25 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:37.160 this media, but when I joined the team as a 26 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:40.919 little intern at Latino USA back in January of twenty twenty, 27 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:43.800 I was still in school at our shared alma mater, 28 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:47.760 Barnard College, and as a child of immigrants and first 29 00:01:47.800 --> 00:01:51.840 generation college student, higher education was always framed to me 30 00:01:51.960 --> 00:01:54.440 as like the avenue for upward mobility. 31 00:01:54.800 --> 00:01:58.680 It's always framed that way, especially for children of immigrants. 32 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:01.320 It's like, got to go to school, No ifs, answer 33 00:02:01.440 --> 00:02:02.320 butts for sure. 34 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:05.680 So I graduated the spring that the pandemic hit, and 35 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:10.200 as I tuned into my YouTube live broadcast virtual graduation. 36 00:02:10.200 --> 00:02:12.680 Oh my god, that's so sad. 37 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:17.160 In my parents' living room in California, Oh god, I 38 00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:20.520 was already thinking about the nineteen thousand dollars I had 39 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:23.680 taken out in federal student loans in order to attend 40 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:26.400 school and how I was going to pay that money back. 41 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:29.440 That's a lot of money for a young person. So 42 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:32.200 it's like you can't really celebrate because you're like celebrating, 43 00:02:32.200 --> 00:02:33.639 but you're also like, oh my god, I've got to 44 00:02:33.639 --> 00:02:35.399 start paying this back right right. 45 00:02:35.639 --> 00:02:38.119 And compared to some of my peers, it wasn't even 46 00:02:38.120 --> 00:02:40.440 that much. I had a lot of friends graduate with 47 00:02:40.600 --> 00:02:44.400 six figures of student loan debt. It's just a wild feeling, 48 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:48.480 like an anxiety that starts to overshadow everything else. The 49 00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:51.080 main question on your mind isn't what am I going 50 00:02:51.160 --> 00:02:53.360 to do to build a fulfilling life or make a 51 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:56.880 positive impact on my community. For many people, it starts 52 00:02:56.919 --> 00:02:59.280 to become how on earth am I going to pay 53 00:02:59.320 --> 00:03:04.240 this back? And of course this is an issue that 54 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:09.080 disproportionately impacts black and brown communities. Some studies show almost 55 00:03:09.200 --> 00:03:12.160 ninety percent of black students have to take out loans, 56 00:03:12.520 --> 00:03:16.120 and around seventy three percent of LATINX students takeout loans, 57 00:03:16.360 --> 00:03:20.720 compared to sixty six percent of white students. Studies also 58 00:03:20.760 --> 00:03:24.120 show that LATINX students who grew up in economically vulnerable 59 00:03:24.160 --> 00:03:28.000 communities might see student loans as a financial burden that 60 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:31.639 can affect their families financial stability, choosing to drop out 61 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:36.600 of school or skip college altogether. But because of the pandemic, 62 00:03:36.760 --> 00:03:38.960 I actually haven't had to pay back a cent of 63 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:41.960 my student loan so far, because in March of twenty twenty, 64 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:45.400 the Department of Education issued a moratorium on student loan 65 00:03:45.440 --> 00:03:49.280 payments and interest. To help our students and their families, 66 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:52.680 I've waived interest in all student loans held by federal 67 00:03:52.720 --> 00:03:57.040 government agencies and that will be until further notice. 68 00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:00.280 Right, I remember that. I mean it was a big deal. Also, 69 00:04:00.480 --> 00:04:04.360 of course, twenty twenty was a presidential election year, so 70 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:07.160 there was a lot of motivation politically to do this 71 00:04:07.200 --> 00:04:11.440 because student debt cancelation was a big talking point. Joe 72 00:04:11.440 --> 00:04:16.120 Biden running on a platform basically of at least partial 73 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:19.880 student debt cancelation, and if you look back at the 74 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:22.479 ads from his campaign, you can see it was definitely 75 00:04:22.520 --> 00:04:26.120 appealing to bring out young voters. 76 00:04:26.400 --> 00:04:29.880 I was really terrified of going into debt after I 77 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:32.560 graduated high school. The fact that Joe Biden wants to 78 00:04:32.600 --> 00:04:36.560 forgive student debts is something I'm excited about voting for me. 79 00:04:38.320 --> 00:04:40.719 So I started to get interested in the issue, and 80 00:04:40.760 --> 00:04:42.960 I wanted to know how we got to this moment. 81 00:04:43.440 --> 00:04:46.320 My first question was, how on earth did we get 82 00:04:46.320 --> 00:04:49.000 to a place where the US government holds around one 83 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:52.520 point six trillion dollars in student loan debt. As I 84 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:55.440 did more research, I found that just a few decades ago, 85 00:04:55.720 --> 00:04:59.400 public college used to mean free college. I spoke with 86 00:04:59.520 --> 00:05:02.920 doctor j Leo Mustapha Bishop. He's a leading researcher on 87 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:06.960 anti racism, racism and higher education and student loan policy. 88 00:05:07.400 --> 00:05:09.479 We switched to student loans of the exact moment that 89 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:12.640 low income people, black and brown communities were enrolling. 90 00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:16.360 Right into the buildings as a mass people to come 91 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:16.960 out of class. 92 00:05:17.640 --> 00:05:21.240 You also have the sixties and the seventies being not 93 00:05:21.320 --> 00:05:24.359 only a time of social movements and social unrest in 94 00:05:24.400 --> 00:05:28.480 the country, but particularly on college campuses. You are seeing 95 00:05:28.960 --> 00:05:32.839 everything from free speech to racial justice movements to apart 96 00:05:32.880 --> 00:05:36.080 time battles, all planning out on college campuses. 97 00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:40.520 Julil says that in the wake of student organizing, there 98 00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:43.560 was a backlash, and a vocal figure in that opposition 99 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:47.000 was California Governor and then President of the United States 100 00:05:47.320 --> 00:05:47.960 Ronald Reagan. 101 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:50.320 Plain truth of the matter is this has to stop, 102 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:52.520 and it has to stop like the day before yesterday, 103 00:05:52.760 --> 00:05:54.960 and it's going to be stopped whatever it takes. 104 00:05:55.640 --> 00:05:58.839 During his time as governor of California, Reagan called for 105 00:05:58.880 --> 00:06:02.160 an end to free state college tuition, and then when 106 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:05.279 he was elected President, Reagan continued to cut the education 107 00:06:05.400 --> 00:06:08.680 budget as well as spending for other social programs, and 108 00:06:08.839 --> 00:06:12.120 instead of government funding, student loans became the norm in 109 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:13.840 the decades to come, and I. 110 00:06:13.760 --> 00:06:16.320 Think a lot of that was because student loans were 111 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:19.800 imagined as this way to kind of discipline this new 112 00:06:20.440 --> 00:06:24.760 wave of students who didn't fit the former profile of advantage, 113 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:27.240 of privilege, of coming from the elite backgrounds. 114 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:33.479 Okay, So I think what I'm understanding is that as 115 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:38.320 student debt essentially becomes a bigger part of how we 116 00:06:38.360 --> 00:06:41.560 pay for higher education, that meant that there were now 117 00:06:41.640 --> 00:06:44.520 other actors who were in the picture, Like, for example, 118 00:06:45.080 --> 00:06:48.719 loan companies started popping up, and like debt collectors, right. 119 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:52.760 Yeah, So, student loan companies like sally May signed multi 120 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:56.839 million dollar contracts with the federal government, and in these agreements, 121 00:06:56.880 --> 00:06:59.679 if a borrower couldn't pay the loan back, the government 122 00:06:59.720 --> 00:07:02.839 would step in and cover the cost. So not only 123 00:07:02.839 --> 00:07:05.560 would the loan company not lose money, they were also 124 00:07:05.640 --> 00:07:09.000 guaranteed a profit on each loan, which gave many of 125 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:11.400 these companies a reason to give out large sums of 126 00:07:11.440 --> 00:07:15.200 money regardless of whether a borrower could actually pay it back. 127 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:20.440 Okay, so I'm sorry, but this sounds like a crisis 128 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:22.680 just waiting to explode. 129 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:23.400 Yep. 130 00:07:23.640 --> 00:07:26.160 When the two thousand and eight recession hit, it became 131 00:07:26.280 --> 00:07:29.480 clear that many of these loans would never be repaid, 132 00:07:29.760 --> 00:07:32.400 and the student loan industry received one of the first 133 00:07:32.400 --> 00:07:33.440 big bailouts. 134 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:36.920 It was the worst day on Wall Street since the 135 00:07:36.960 --> 00:07:38.400 crash of nineteen eighty seven. 136 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:40.800 The height and financial turmoil that we have experienced of 137 00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:44.240 late may well lengthen the period of week economic performance 138 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:46.560 and further increase the risk to growth. 139 00:07:46.960 --> 00:07:50.160 So after the recession, the government made some adjustments. The 140 00:07:50.200 --> 00:07:53.520 government now gives out loans directly, but long companies still 141 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:57.000 profit from servicing the loans. Here's Julie Bishop again. 142 00:07:57.440 --> 00:08:00.240 Loan servicers. They don't own your loan, lie that they 143 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:02.160 get paid to service it. So they get paid to 144 00:08:02.200 --> 00:08:05.120 call you, to call you again, to enroll you in 145 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:08.360 programs to make sure you're making your payments. We paid 146 00:08:08.400 --> 00:08:11.440 debt collectors when you aren't making your payments to come 147 00:08:11.440 --> 00:08:14.440 after you, paid private law firms to come after you. 148 00:08:13.840 --> 00:08:16.440 You know, so you realize that there are a lot 149 00:08:16.440 --> 00:08:19.640 of players. That there's a lot of money at stake 150 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:24.559 in the student debt industry now, and it's so big 151 00:08:24.960 --> 00:08:26.640 that it's almost as if a lot of people have 152 00:08:26.760 --> 00:08:29.120 just accepted that this is the way it's going to 153 00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:30.840 be right, that it's a part of everyday life in 154 00:08:30.880 --> 00:08:34.480 the United States of America. But there's been a lot 155 00:08:34.520 --> 00:08:35.440 of demand for. 156 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:40.760 Change, definitely, So as I started digging into the issue, 157 00:08:40.840 --> 00:08:43.360 I also wanted to know the story behind the call 158 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:46.560 for student debt abolition and how it's become a part 159 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:48.000 of our mainstream conversation. 160 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:51.880 Today marks what activists are calling one T Day, the 161 00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:55.520 day US student debt reaches one trillion dollars. 162 00:08:56.160 --> 00:08:59.080 In twenty twelve, just a bit over a decade ago, 163 00:08:59.400 --> 00:09:02.320 people came out to protests that federal student loans hit 164 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:06.080 one trillion dollars. The demand from protesters was the same 165 00:09:06.160 --> 00:09:10.040 demand as many advocates today, cancel all student debt and 166 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:13.640 make college tuition free. But at the time the demand 167 00:09:13.760 --> 00:09:16.800 was unheard of, and coverage of the protest from across 168 00:09:16.880 --> 00:09:20.760 the political spectrum framed the demand as lofty and naive. 169 00:09:21.280 --> 00:09:24.760 So I'm wondering what did happen after that protest ten 170 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:28.080 years ago. And what did in fact help to move 171 00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:30.920 the needle on the conversation? Was it the activism? 172 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:38.720 Student activism has been key in changing the conversation. And 173 00:09:38.800 --> 00:09:41.480 today we're going to hear the stories of students who've 174 00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:45.240 been speaking openly about their debt and demanding change. And 175 00:09:45.280 --> 00:09:47.600 we're going to start with the story of Nathan Horns, 176 00:09:47.920 --> 00:09:50.160 who was part of what some say is the first 177 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:53.320 student debt strike in US history, which happened back in 178 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:57.640 twenty fifteen. Nathan went to a for profit college which 179 00:09:57.720 --> 00:10:01.280 was notorious for putting profit over student but what he 180 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:04.720 discovered through his activism was that the problem was deeper 181 00:10:04.760 --> 00:10:07.640 than the school itself. It was the student loan system 182 00:10:07.800 --> 00:10:11.160 that allowed it to thrive. And as students realized that 183 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:15.079 their debt was not a personal problem but a systemic issue, 184 00:10:15.400 --> 00:10:18.840 they began to demand systemic change. 185 00:10:19.040 --> 00:10:22.800 Who I'm sorry that you have debt, but on the 186 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:25.760 other hand, as a journalist, I'm really glad that you're 187 00:10:25.800 --> 00:10:29.000 doing this story, so I want to hear it. Let's 188 00:10:29.040 --> 00:10:29.600 take a listen. 189 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:41.079 My name is Nathan Horns. I am from Columbia, Missouri. 190 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:44.360 In two thousand and eight, just as the nation was 191 00:10:44.400 --> 00:10:49.000 plunged into an economic recession. Nathan Horns, an African American 192 00:10:49.040 --> 00:10:52.720 eighteen year old, had recently graduated from high school in Missouri. 193 00:10:53.240 --> 00:10:56.280 He moved to California to pursue his dream of becoming 194 00:10:56.280 --> 00:10:56.920 a pop star. 195 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:01.720 I just wanted to be a member of a boy band, 196 00:11:02.400 --> 00:11:03.800 Like I thought I was going to be like the 197 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:07.679 next member of like Endsye or Backstreet Boys. Those are 198 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:10.560 my boys. Love them seeing them live like one hundred times. 199 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:13.880 His mom gave him a clear ultimatum. Nathan had two 200 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:16.640 years to make it in the music industry with his parents' 201 00:11:16.679 --> 00:11:17.559 financial support. 202 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:21.720 After the two years was up, she's like, hey, you're 203 00:11:21.760 --> 00:11:24.880 not financially stable. We need you to go to school. 204 00:11:25.640 --> 00:11:28.840 Both of my parents went to state schools, so my 205 00:11:28.920 --> 00:11:31.680 parents didn't take out any loans. My mother and my 206 00:11:31.800 --> 00:11:35.439 father are both college graduates, and it was very important 207 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:38.560 to them that their children went to college. 208 00:11:38.640 --> 00:11:41.600 Nathan was feeling the pressure from his parents, and then 209 00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:44.480 one day while he was watching TV, he saw a 210 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:46.280 commercial for Everest College. 211 00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:48.040 I was looking for work and for six months, I 212 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:48.960 still can't find a job. 213 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:50.400 I didn't know what else did at high ChEls. 214 00:11:50.400 --> 00:11:52.920 Everest, your commercials are actually real, I'm not an actor. 215 00:11:53.080 --> 00:11:55.439 You have to call try it out. That never's theirs 216 00:11:55.480 --> 00:11:55.720 for you. 217 00:11:56.040 --> 00:11:58.920 Everst College was a for profit college. It was owned 218 00:11:58.920 --> 00:12:03.319 by Corinthian Colleges, Incorporated, a massive corporation based in California. 219 00:12:03.800 --> 00:12:06.880 A for profit college is a college owned and operated 220 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:10.320 by a private company or business. They're often managed by 221 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:14.120 investors and stakeholders, and the profit they make is often 222 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:18.640 used for non educational purposes, like paying shareholders and executives 223 00:12:18.880 --> 00:12:23.280 lucrative salaries. Coming out of the recession, the labor market 224 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:26.200 was in shambles and more and more people were looking 225 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:30.600 to hire education to better their situation. Companies like Corinthian 226 00:12:30.800 --> 00:12:34.640 saw this as an opportunity, advertising aggressively in black and 227 00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:38.040 brown communities and making the dream of a college degree 228 00:12:38.400 --> 00:12:39.360 feel accessible. 229 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:42.720 I just was like, Hey, these are colleges that are 230 00:12:43.040 --> 00:12:46.240 near where I live. Let me try to enroll. 231 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:49.680 Even though Nathan thought he was enrolling in a local school, 232 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:53.560 Corinthian had one hundred and five campuses across the country 233 00:12:53.559 --> 00:12:58.200 and online with over one hundred thousand students. So Nathan 234 00:12:58.200 --> 00:13:00.440 called the number on the screen that day a hold 235 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:04.640 of a recruiter. Then, for weeks on end, his phone 236 00:13:04.800 --> 00:13:07.840 wouldn't stop ringing with calls from the recruiters at. 237 00:13:07.760 --> 00:13:10.600 Everest, and they were saying like, Hey, Nathan, we really 238 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:12.600 want you to come and check the school out. There's 239 00:13:12.679 --> 00:13:16.480 no pressure, just come in. We'll show you the school, 240 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:18.440 you know, see if it's a good fit for you. 241 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:22.720 Finally, Nathan, along with his older sister Natasha, decided to 242 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:24.840 get on the bus and check the school out, not 243 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:27.839 far from where they were living in Los Angeles at 244 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:30.960 the time. Nathan and Natasha's dream was to start a 245 00:13:31.040 --> 00:13:33.400 recording label in music camp for kids. 246 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:38.160 When we finally get there, we sit down with the 247 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:43.760 recruiter and she basically says, Hey, if you don't sign 248 00:13:43.880 --> 00:13:46.720 up today, you're going to have to wait six months 249 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:50.839 to enroll in school. She knew exactly what to say. 250 00:13:51.280 --> 00:13:52.640 I just felt nervous. 251 00:13:54.200 --> 00:13:56.760 So Nathan filled out the paperwork right there on the spot, 252 00:13:57.160 --> 00:14:00.320 enrolling in Everest. At the time, Everest had one of 253 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:03.880 the highest for profit tuition rates in the country. For example, 254 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:06.600 a two year degree in paralegal studies at the campus 255 00:14:06.640 --> 00:14:10.160 that Nathan went to cost about forty one thousand dollars 256 00:14:10.520 --> 00:14:13.920 compared to twenty four hundred dollars at the nearby community college. 257 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:20.920 Going into Everest, it was not like your normal state school. 258 00:14:21.320 --> 00:14:25.640 There's not all these extracurricular activities. There's not a sports team, 259 00:14:25.800 --> 00:14:28.760 there's not a mask on. You're just kind of here 260 00:14:29.280 --> 00:14:30.240 to do the work. 261 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:34.400 In twenty eleven, when Nathan was enrolled at Everest, twenty 262 00:14:34.440 --> 00:14:37.800 six percent of undergraduates at for profit schools were black, 263 00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:41.960 compared to sixteen percent at public and private colleges. There 264 00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:44.560 were similar trends in LATINX student enrollment. 265 00:14:45.400 --> 00:14:50.400 You could definitely tell that they were targeting African American 266 00:14:50.680 --> 00:14:55.040 and Latino men and women, black and brown mothers. 267 00:14:55.520 --> 00:14:59.720 Even though for profit schools aren't public institutions, they still 268 00:14:59.720 --> 00:15:02.600 get the vast majority of their revenue from federal funding. 269 00:15:03.160 --> 00:15:08.360 How federal student loans for profit colleges like Everest explicitly 270 00:15:08.400 --> 00:15:12.360 targeted low income and military students who qualified for federal 271 00:15:12.400 --> 00:15:15.840 financial aid and student loans, so even though most students 272 00:15:15.880 --> 00:15:19.360 couldn't pay the high tuition price upfront, they could take 273 00:15:19.400 --> 00:15:22.040 out a loan from the federal government. In the case 274 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:25.720 of Corinthian, over eighty percent of their total revenue was 275 00:15:25.760 --> 00:15:28.920 covered by these federal funds, and to cover the rest, 276 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:33.360 Corinthian turned to private loans with incredibly high interest rates. 277 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:37.480 Nathan remembers going to the financial aid office where he 278 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:39.640 was given a mountain of paperwork. 279 00:15:40.160 --> 00:15:44.840 They don't give you time to read any documents or 280 00:15:44.880 --> 00:15:48.280 anything like that. They're just like, Hey, don't worry about that, 281 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:52.000 We're going to get you scholarships. Where are the scholarships. Oh, 282 00:15:52.040 --> 00:15:54.600 they came in the form of a student loan that 283 00:15:54.640 --> 00:15:59.040 we never told you about. Congratulations, you're in debt. 284 00:16:01.800 --> 00:16:04.800 Although the financial aid staff spoke about these loans as 285 00:16:04.920 --> 00:16:08.840 quote unquote scholarships, Nathan says the school pulled out both 286 00:16:08.920 --> 00:16:12.840 federal student loans as well as private loans, all without 287 00:16:12.880 --> 00:16:16.280 his informed consent, and he would soon find out his 288 00:16:16.400 --> 00:16:17.880 story was not unique. 289 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:24.640 Coming up on Latino, USA, Nathan embarks on a journey 290 00:16:25.040 --> 00:16:29.760 to hold fraudulent for profit schools accountable, but what he 291 00:16:29.920 --> 00:16:34.000 encounters is much bigger than he could have imagined. Stay 292 00:16:34.000 --> 00:17:21.600 with us, not yes, Hey, we're back. So when we 293 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:24.240 left off, we were hearing the story of Nathan Horns. 294 00:17:24.760 --> 00:17:28.200 He attended Everest College, which is a for profit school 295 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:33.200 owned by Corinthian College's Inc. It's a company that targets 296 00:17:33.280 --> 00:17:36.840 low income and vulnerable students of color and brings them 297 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:41.359 into expensive college programs. Producer Juyiro Chai is going to 298 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:42.520 pick up the story from here. 299 00:17:43.520 --> 00:17:46.600 In twenty ten, Nathan had enrolled in Everest College to 300 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:50.120 study business management with the hopes of starting a recording 301 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:53.879 label in music camp for kids with his sister. Although 302 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:57.280 Nathan couldn't afford the school's tuition, he says, the financial 303 00:17:57.280 --> 00:17:59.960 aid officer assured him that his tuition would be covered 304 00:18:00.080 --> 00:18:03.520 through grants, But Nathan soon found out he was actually 305 00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:06.520 expected to pay this money back because these so called 306 00:18:06.560 --> 00:18:11.000 grants were actually student loans taken out without his consent. 307 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:15.320 No one knew about the loans. We didn't know about 308 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:19.879 the loans until six months before the loans were due. 309 00:18:20.320 --> 00:18:23.000 And it's not like the federal government was unaware that 310 00:18:23.040 --> 00:18:26.880 for profit schools like Everest were doing this. In twenty twelve, 311 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:29.560 while Nathan was in his second year of school, the 312 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:33.520 US Senate published a one thousand page report outlining the 313 00:18:33.600 --> 00:18:36.919 many ways students were being misled and taken advantage of, 314 00:18:37.320 --> 00:18:41.440 and the way federal money was funding these institutions. It stated, 315 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:45.760 federal taxpayers are investing billions of dollars a year in 316 00:18:45.840 --> 00:18:50.200 companies that operate for profit colleges. The report also pointed 317 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:53.600 out that the vast majority of students left with student 318 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:57.520 loan debt that would follow them throughout their lives, and 319 00:18:57.560 --> 00:19:01.080 although some elected officials began to take note, the school 320 00:19:01.160 --> 00:19:03.000 stayed open for several more years. 321 00:19:03.600 --> 00:19:08.000 This morning, my office filed suit against Corinthian Colleges in 322 00:19:08.080 --> 00:19:11.560 what can only be described as a for profit college 323 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:13.200 predatory scheme. 324 00:19:13.960 --> 00:19:17.800 Then, in twenty thirteen, Kamala Harris, who was Attorney General 325 00:19:17.840 --> 00:19:20.520 of California at the time, sued Corinthian. 326 00:19:21.320 --> 00:19:26.359 Essentially, we are talking about Corinthian colleges taking advantage of 327 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:31.560 Californians who simply aspire to achieve the American dream. 328 00:19:32.040 --> 00:19:34.560 All of this was going on just as Nathan was 329 00:19:34.560 --> 00:19:43.240 getting ready to graduate from Everest in May of twenty fourteen. 330 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:47.080 Nathan arrived at the church where his graduation was taking place. 331 00:19:47.800 --> 00:19:52.040 Nathan remembers Everest officials guided excited graduates into one room 332 00:19:52.440 --> 00:19:55.880 while family and friends filtered into the auditorium. 333 00:19:56.320 --> 00:20:00.480 As we're in this room putting on our caps and gaps, 334 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:07.160 incomes the president of our location and he tells us, hey, 335 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:11.560 we need you to sign this form that says you 336 00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:15.359 won't try to sue the school if you don't get 337 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:19.280 a job. They then tell us, if you don't sign 338 00:20:19.400 --> 00:20:23.280 this paper, we will then make it so that you 339 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:27.400 don't walk today. So I just was like confused, and 340 00:20:27.600 --> 00:20:30.880 other people were crying and signing the paper. 341 00:20:33.280 --> 00:20:36.920 It was only after graduation that Nathan learned he owed 342 00:20:37.040 --> 00:20:42.080 sixty eight thousand dollars plus interest in student loans. Nathan 343 00:20:42.320 --> 00:20:45.960 was twenty four years old, unemployed, and expected to start 344 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:48.879 paying back over six hundred dollars a month for his 345 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:49.639 student loans. 346 00:20:50.040 --> 00:20:54.879 Immediately after graduation, We're all like, what did we just sign? 347 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:57.359 What did we just do? Did we just sign our 348 00:20:57.440 --> 00:20:59.760 rights away? We need to figure something out. 349 00:21:00.200 --> 00:21:02.920 Unsure what to do next, Nathan and a few friends 350 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:06.200 from Everest began a Facebook group for other Everest students 351 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:10.320 to connect and share experiences. He called the group the 352 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:11.440 Everest Avengers. 353 00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:17.320 It's so true because you know, avengers assemble. We got together, 354 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:22.000 we created the change we wanted to see. 355 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:26.680 Nathan and his friends started calling an emailing former students, 356 00:21:27.080 --> 00:21:29.719 and when they had enough people together, they gathered at 357 00:21:29.720 --> 00:21:32.040 a local coffee shop a few blocks away from the 358 00:21:32.040 --> 00:21:33.560 Everest campus they'd attended. 359 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:38.320 When we first started having our meetings at Clatch Coffee. 360 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:40.880 We were just sitting there telling our stories. 361 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:45.040 Although the meeting started small with just over a dozen students, 362 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:49.040 by the summer after graduation, Nathan says they were gathering 363 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:52.000 upwards of one hundred students at each meeting. 364 00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:55.399 Of course, this is a very small coffee shop, so 365 00:21:55.920 --> 00:21:59.680 they had this nice patio area and once a week 366 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:02.880 we just go out there and just get with our 367 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:05.360 laptops and do research. 368 00:22:06.320 --> 00:22:09.600 Then, in late May of twenty fourteen, a librarian at 369 00:22:09.640 --> 00:22:13.919 Everest Campus Nathan went to abruptly resigned and started talking 370 00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:18.359 to the media about Everest predatory recruitment tactics. At the 371 00:22:18.440 --> 00:22:21.240 time that this librarian was blowing the whistle on Everest, 372 00:22:21.600 --> 00:22:24.880 a group of organizers calling themselves Strike Debt reached out 373 00:22:24.920 --> 00:22:28.639 to her. Strike Debt got its start in twenty twelve, 374 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:32.440 forming out of the Occupy Wall Street movement. In twenty eleven, 375 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:36.200 they were exploring the relationship between household debt and racial 376 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:40.239 capitalism and asking themselves what a debt strike could look like. 377 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:44.320 Hannah Appel, a graduate student at Columbia University at the time, 378 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:46.520 was organizing with Strike Debt. 379 00:22:46.520 --> 00:22:48.760 What is withholding our payments look like, who would that 380 00:22:48.800 --> 00:22:51.800 give us power over? How could that potentially change our 381 00:22:51.840 --> 00:22:54.679 material conditions? And of course when we hear the language 382 00:22:54.680 --> 00:22:57.280 of strike, the place that we're most familiar with that 383 00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:59.960 language is in a labor union, as in a workers union, 384 00:23:00.040 --> 00:23:03.280 and wright workers alone or vulnerable, but together workers have 385 00:23:03.320 --> 00:23:06.000 the power to withhold their labor to make demands. 386 00:23:06.320 --> 00:23:09.040 Strike Debt got in touch with the librarian and asked 387 00:23:09.040 --> 00:23:12.040 if she knew of any students organizing around their debt. 388 00:23:12.320 --> 00:23:15.760 The librarian, who had seen Nathan's Facebook group, reached out 389 00:23:15.800 --> 00:23:16.160 to him. 390 00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:18.640 She found me on Facebook and was like, Hey, there's 391 00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:22.840 this group. She explained what Occupy Wall Street was. Because 392 00:23:22.840 --> 00:23:25.480 I'm like, I'm just trying to be a pop star. 393 00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:28.000 I have no idea what any of that even means, 394 00:23:28.040 --> 00:23:30.159 Like I've never even been to Wall Street. 395 00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:34.040 Nathan passed on his contact info. Hannah and the other 396 00:23:34.080 --> 00:23:37.240 Strike Debt members reached out to Nathan and organized a 397 00:23:37.280 --> 00:23:39.720 meeting between the Strike Debt crew and the group of 398 00:23:39.760 --> 00:23:41.679 students Nathan had been organizing. 399 00:23:42.280 --> 00:23:45.840 And that was the first time many of us discovered 400 00:23:46.320 --> 00:23:51.920 about the Department of Education what student loans actually are, 401 00:23:52.840 --> 00:23:57.719