US ‘debt generation’ to protest against rising college costs

Protest movement has been baptized Occupy Graduation:

US: Hundreds of US students plan to use this summer’s graduation as a stage to protest crippling debt. With the presidential election on the horizon, policymakers are searching for a solution to the mountain of student debt which has topped $1 trillion.

The protest movement has been baptized Occupy Graduation and is the brain-child of US ice cream maker Ben and Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen.

He dubs the movement a way for students to silently protest the spiraling price of education, without disrupting the ceremonies of their compatriots.

In protest at rising college costs the movement asks graduands to put a sticker with the amount they owe in debt on their caps and don a symbolic ball and chain at their graduation ceremony. At least six universities have already put in orders for the inflatable ball and chain kit including New York City, George Washington and North Carolina – and the movement looks to be gathering momentum.

Student debt is now the largest consumer debt in American society, totaling over $1 trillion with the average college attendee owing over $25,250 by the end of the course. One in every five students is expected to default on the debt, severely damaging his or her credit rating. “We’re already seeing a large increase, a large number of student loan defaults across the country. Russia Today