Higher "Ed" Could be Next Bubble to Burst
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Welcome to USSA!
The United States Student Association, the country’s oldest and largest student-led organization, represents over 4 million students at over 400 campuses across the nation. We work to develop current and future leaders and amplify the student voice at the local, state, and national levels by mobilizing grassroots power to win concrete victories on student issues.
The National State & Systemwide Student Association Summit
The National Statewide Student Association Coalition Summit brings together students from SSAs across the country to discuss and learn how to organize effectively around issues facing students on the statewide level. The SSA Summit also is a time to develop new skills on how to win concrete victories, establish and run a strong Statewide Student Association. Join us this year and take the first step towards building a powerful Statewide Student Voice! Register Here
United States Student Association’s
43rd Annual National Grassroots Legislative
Conference
The United States Student Association, the country's oldest, largest, and most inclusive national student-led organization, develops current and future leaders and amplifies the student voice at the local, state, and national levels by mobilizing grassroots power to win concrete victories on student issues.
Each spring, the United States Student Association puts on the Grassroots Legislative Conference and National Student Lobby Day (LegCon). This four-day event provides students at every level of organizing and leadership ability the opportunity to learn new skills in student advocacy, network, lobby federal elected representatives on student issues, march through historic downtown Washington, DC, rally on Capitol Hill, and of course build lifelong friendships.
The 43rd Annual
Grassroots Legislative Conference will be March 23-26, 2012. This year the
United States Student Association will prioritize Voter Access, Pell Grants, fighting back Student Debt, and
restoring TRIO Programs. Join hundreds of student leaders from across the United
States and make education a priority and a right! Please fill out the following
questions to register your campuses delegation for the 43rd Annual National
Grassroots Legislative Conference.
Click here to register!
Click here for LegCon details and FAQ
SAVE Student Aid! Petition
We are at a turning point with federal student aid funding. Because of our nation’s historic economic downturn, we’ve already seen $30 billion cut from our federal student aid programs. The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also known as the Super Committee, has until Nov. 23 2011 to come up with a plan. Federal student aid could very be on the chopping block again.
Your voice is powerful and it is needed more than ever. We are asking student government presidents from across the country to join together in urging the Super Committee and our lawmakers to Save Student Aid! (click petition above)
The Student Scoop: USSA's Blog
USSA VP Victor Sanchez Speaks at Anti-Voter Suppression Press Conference - June 13, 2011
USSA VP Victor Sanchez spoke at a press conference today opposing the many voter suppression laws popping up across the country. He spoke alongside Rev. Jesse Jackson, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Wade Henderson, and former USSA Field Associate and current member of Black Youth Vote Deven Anderson. See pictures below:
Click here to read more about the national effort to stop state voter suppression laws. Click here to view more pictures form the press conference.
USSA Staff meets with Congressional Leadership - June 10, 2011
USSA staff members presented Legislative Advocate of the Year awards to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. Staff was able to speak with Senator Reid about a variety of higher education issues, including the Pell Grant funding and DREAM Act. See pictures below:
CAL Furthers the DREAM - June 8, 2011
By Nestor Rivera
As economic times for California continue to show a dim future,
California residents and Legislature continue to show support to
undocumented students. As the Federal DREAM(Development Relief and
Education for Alien Minors) Act failed to pass the US Senate after
successfully passing the House this past December 2010, California
continues to push for improving the climate for undocumented people in
the US. As the support of Senator Barbara Boxer on the US Senate floor
debating DREAM and Zoe Lofgren’s stance against “Secure Communities”
other CA leaders continue to fight for alternative solutions to resolve
what democracy has failed to address in Congress. If legislation such
as AB 130 & 131 passes in the CA legislature once again and is
signed into law it would ensure students who are of undocumented status
to pursue their dreams of higher education in California. As rises in
tuition occurring in all three systems of higher education, some
foresee double the costs at the University of California within a
decade, AB 130 & 131 is the only safety net proposed to keep
qualified educated Californians in Higher Ed since the passage of AB
540.
Oregon Students Fight for Tuition Equity - June 7, 2011
Today, the Oregon State Legislature is voting on SB 742, a bill that would allow qualifying undocumented students to pay in-state tuition. Visit the Oregon Student Association to learn more!
Obama Administration Releases New Regulation to Protect Students - June 2, 2011
By Lindsay McCluskey
Today, the U.S. Department of Education
released a final rule on “gainful employment” that seeks to hold career college
programs, including for-profit institutions, accountable for student outcomes. Federal law requires any career college
program that receives federal student aid to “prepare students for gainful
employment in a recognized occupation.”
The new rule finally provides a definition for “gainful employment” so
the law can now be enforced.
United States Student Association President Lindsay McCluskey issued the following statement on the Department of Education’s new regulation.
“Students welcome the final release of the U.S. Department of Education gainful employment rule as an important first step in protecting students and taxpayers. The issued rule will affect all career college programs, targeting those that routinely saddle students with unsustainable debt they cannot repay and issue degrees they cannot use. Institutions who fail to meet the new regulations will be ineligible for federal financial aid.
Congress Re-Introduces Bankruptcy Protection Legislation to help Students Drowning in Debt - May 31, 2011
By Getachew Kassa
Last week, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Representative Steve Cohen
(D-TN) in re-introducing the Struggling Students Act of 2011and Private
Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act, respectively. The legislation
would allow private student loans to be dischargeable in bankruptcy by
reversing a provision of a 2005 bankruptcy law which gives special
protections for private student lenders.
“Relief for the millions of students averaging $25,000 of debt couldn’t arrive any sooner as unemployment rates for young people remain in the double digits,” said United States Student Association (USSA) President Lindsay McCluskey. “For the first time in history, student debt surpassed credit card debt in 2010. History will be made again as student loan debt is projected to reach $1 trillion in 201l. Congress must act to alleviate this extreme debt burden for young people”
Investing in prisons over education is being not smart on crime - May 27, 2011
By Lindsay McCluskey and Robert Rooks
What does it mean to be "tough on crime"? Does "toughness" depend on
how many people we imprison? Or should the indicator be whether our
society combats crime at its root? Current policies point directly at
the former option, but we need to be smarter on crime.
The United States leads the world in incarceration with 2.3 million people behind bars; while we are home to five percent of the world's population, we house 25 percent of its prisoners. That means that one in 31 adults in the United States is currently in prison, jail, or on probation or parole (1). Is this because we have a larger population than most countries and logically imprison more people? Nope. China's population is four times greater than ours, yet China imprisons one million less people, even with its draconian criminal laws. Are Americans inherently more violent than citizens in other countries? The fact that over half our inmates were convicted of non-violent drug offenses suggests that it has more to do with our criminal laws than our nature. Has the incarceration rate risen proportionally with our country's population growth? Well, between 1970 and 2000 the general population rose by less than 40 percent, yet our incarceration rate skyrocketed by 500 percent (2). So how did the world's greatest defender of freedom snatch freedom away from more of its citizens than the harshest of totalitarian states?
Register for USSA's 64th Annual National Student Congress! - May 26, 2011
The summer's fast approaching and I'm sure you're looking forward to
earning some money, gaining valuable internship experience, traveling,
or just kicking back and relaxing with friends. You could also add
building the student movement to the list, if you attend USSA's 64th annual National Student Congress this July 22-27 at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, Florida!
Registration for the National Student Congress is currently up and running! Early registration rates will increase after June 17, so organize a delegation for your campus today! Click here to visit the conference website to learn about registration, housing, and more!
This is what democracy looks like! - May 23, 2011
More than 100 William Paterson University graduates and some faculty members stood and turned their backs to Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno as she began her commencement address Wednesday in protest of the steep state cuts to education funding.
On PressTV, a nationally broadcast program, USSA Vice President Victor Sanchez talks about the struggles for recent college graduates in and out of the workforce.
"It's an important part of the American Dream- being able to be successful doing what you love," said VP Sanchez last week.
Students applaud re-introduction of DREAM Act; ready to fight for undocumented students' right to a higher education - May 12, 2011
On May 11th, 2011, Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill)
and Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
re-introduced the DREAM Act. United States Student Association President
Lindsay McCluskey issued the following statement:
“For a decade now, young people have led a movement powerful enough to keep the dream of opportunity and legal status alive for thousands of undocumented students. Yesterday, Senator Durbin and Representatives Berman and Ros-Lehtinen continued this fight by re-introducing the DREAM Act. Despite an entrenched legislative atmosphere, these legislators, along with 32 other Senators, have courageously put justice ahead of political posturing by publicly endorsing the DREAM Act. The United States Student Association (USSA), representing nearly four million students on hundreds of campuses nationwide, applaud these legislators and look forward to working with them to finally pass the DREAM Act.
USSA Board Pass DREAM Act Resolution - May 3, 2011
The USSA Board of Directors passed a resolution at the May 2011 Board of Directors meeting in Seattle, WA urging President Obama to not deport undocumented young people; a position 22 members of the U.S. Senate have also taken.
Click here to read the resolution.
Higher Education is the Senate's Golden Opportunity - April 28, 2011
By Lindsay McCluskey,
A political issue that enjoys broad support is rare, especially during a
contentious budget debate occurring in a painfully jobless economic
recovery. Even more rare is when said issue has a base of politically
active supporters, giving politicians precious capitol to do what is
both right and popular in a time when common ground seems like foreign
soil. Luckily for today’s legislators, there is such an issue: higher
education.
A political issue doesn’t develop a swell of organic support unless there is a problem, and access to college is certainly a burden on families nationwide. A vast majority of college students require loans to finance their education and the average borrower now graduates nearly $25,000 in debt. This number has been ballooning exponentially over the years to the point where Americans now owe around $1 trillion in student loan debt - that’s even more credit card debt.