The Campaign for College Affordability, a coordinated effort by groups working to ensure access to higher education, is offering an innovative essay contest, with scholarship money as the contest prize.
With total student debt in this country totaling over $440 billion, and the average student today graduating with debt almost three and a half times that of graduates a decade ago, this campaign is giving students and recent graduates the opportunity to highlight the crisis in student aid and at the same time, turn their debt into cash, $2,500 specifically.
The contest is open to current students, undergraduate or graduate, and former students with at least $2,500 in outstanding educational debt. Those interested are to write and place an essay, reported article, opinion piece or multimedia work on the topic of college affordability in a college, local or national publication [print or web]. The requirement for publication is aimed at encouraging more public dialogue on this issue, read a press release published by the Campaign for College Affordability.
Campus Progress, a participant member of the campaign, has contributed the $2,500 scholarship. It won this sum for its innovative Debt Hits Hard videos in Huffington Post's Contagious Film Festival, according to the press release.
Contestants can submit their entries to the Campaign for College Affordability up until Oct. 29, 2007 and the winner will be announced Nov. 13, 2007. The panel of judges that were chosen this summer is comprised of top policymakers, journalists and experts. Entries on three topics will be accepted: college access, student debt and fair lending. The judges will choose one winner from the top five entries, which will be selected by the organizations that make up the Campaign for College Affordability. Essays will be judged for their content, visibility and potential impact.
"You can report on the issues; write about your personal struggles with debt, affordability, and the system; propose creative solutions - we're looking for original contributions to the debate," read the College Affordability Now Web site.
On Jan. 11, 2007, the campaigns national coalition held a press event and lobbied to Congress at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., while people across the country called on their Representatives to make college affordable, read the College Affordability Now website. A week later, the House of Representatives took an important step toward softening the blow of student debt by passing a bill that cuts interest rates for subsidized Stafford student loans in half.
"We hope to keep up the momentum until everyone has the opportunity to receive a quality higher education without accruing a crushing debt load," said the members of the campaign on their Web site.
Since the bill was passed, the members of College Affordability Now have continued to pressure Congress to increase need-based grant aid by raising the maximum Pell Grant to $5,100, according to the campaign's Web site.
"I find it sad that students have to carry with them the burden of having debts after they graduate college," Lauren Jones, senior advertising major, said. "And the fact that some individuals chose not to attend solely on the fact that they can't afford to attend an university for the reason that they can't take the risk of carrying around with them an outrageous debt is sickening and something needs to change.
"All individuals who wish to attend college should be able to do so without having the constant worry and stress of paying off student loans years after they have graduated," Jones said.
Submissions are due by October 29 and contestants can enter to win online at http://collegeaffordabilitynow.org/essaycontest.
Be the first to comment on this article!