Students across the country helped to pass the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (H.R.4872).  In the Spring of 2009, in response to President Obama’s proposal to substantially increase grant aid, the Student PIRGs and the USPIRG Higher Education Project launched the Campaign to Increase College Aid.  The social and economic health of the country relies on increasing the number of people who complete a college degree, but budget cuts are increasing college costs. On average, students borrow $23,300 in loans to pay for college. We aimed to stabilize and increase grant aid to decrease student loan debt.

Grassroots Action

“Wall of Debt” Week of Action: Sept 14-18 2009 Students filled out petitions in the form of bricks indicating the level of student loan debt they will graduate with. This national “wall of debt” emphasized, in numerical terms, the level of debt facing students on the local, state, and national level. US PIRG engaged 5,800 students in the events on the ground and in cyberspace to sign the brick petitions.
	“Raising Pell” Week of Action: October 5-9 2009 The momentum behind student aid reform did not stop in September. On Tuesday, October 6, Young activists took over facebook and twitter, to raise awareness about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. Their message encouraged other students and friends affected by debt to get active in the campaign. On Wednesday and Thursday, students hit the congressional phone and fax lines for national youth call-in and fax-in days demanding that Congress pass the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.
“Take a Swing at Sallie Mae”  March 6 – 10, 2010 The momentum behind student aid reform did not stop in September. In early March, students across the country educated their peers and the media about the sweetheart deal that banks and lenders receive from within the student loan programs, which creates excessive profits for the industry.  Students could ‘take a swing’ at the nation’s largest lender, Sallie Mae, while at the event.

Research

On March 23rd, US PIRG released a report Obama’s Budget: Supporting Students, Not Banks, highlighting the increased levels of debt students are experiencing and the need for more need based aid. The report estimated Pell Grant increases for students in each state.

Advocacy

US PIRG has been in constant contact with major players of the student aid bill every step of the way in both the House and Senate. We’ve generated newspaper editorials across the state of Pennsylvania, including one in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and two in the Scranton Times-Tribune.  Federal lawmakers in PA changed their votes during final passage. We ran an ad in Politico magazine in support of reform with 50 organizations as signatories.  USPIRG generated close to half of the signers. We circulated a letter in the House in April with over 150 student governments as signers. We’ve connected with hundreds of lawmakers on the Hill, including with Representative Petri (R- WI) to support the efficiency of the student aid reform.

Media

We’ve appeared in over 50 national news stories to promote student aid reform issue, like the Washington Post, Rolling Stone, the National Journal, Huffington Post, Reuters, USA Today, and the New York Times.

Student spokespeople

PIRG student volunteers came to Washington DC to rally in support of SAFRA.  Sam Obergh, an intern with NJPIRG and Pell grant recipient, appeared at an event with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on March 17th.  Samantha O’Leary, a volunteer with MASSPIRG chatted with Education Chairman Harkin just seconds before she appeared at a press event with him to tout the passage of the bill through the Senate.

Bill Signing

Representatives from USPIRG and the Maryland PIRG student chapter were able to celebrate the signing of the bill on March 30, 2010, at the Northern Virginia Community College event.  President Obama signed it with students from the college and other federal lawmakers looking on.

US Public Interest and Research Group (US PIRG) and the Student PIRGs. 

USPIRG is a national federation of state based, non-profit consumer advocacy organizations. The Student PIRGs have chapters on close to 80 college campuses across the country, through which students get involved in public interest campaigns and learn civic skills.  USPIRG launched its Higher Education Project on behalf of its campus constituents in 1994. Visit our websites at www.uspirg.org or www.studentpirgs.org for more information.