School is Out!

All In The Red is an activist collective based in NYC, which focuses on issues around student debt. It has emerged from a series of marches expressing solidarity with thousands of students striking in Quebec against tuition hikes.

Calling for a nationwide network to spread awareness and organize around the issue of student debt through direct action and political theatre, they are kicking off a summer of actions and declaring this Friday, June 22 to be the “Night of the Living Debt.” At 7 p.m. in Washington Square Park, performance artists/activists Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping will exorcise the demons of student debt, followed by costumed zombies marching with pots and pans through the streets of Manhattan,

All in The Red states:

“Along with our colleagues in Occupy Wall Street, student activist organizations, and other public interest groups, we are concerned in particular with the pernicious relationship between education and debt. The predicament is compounded, both by seeming disregard from the government for the welfare of student debtors, despite overwhelming public support for student debt relief.

We can no longer allow the shackles of debt bondage to be a source of shame. The student debt crisis must be placed at the center of our conversation about the public good.

On the “Night of the Living Debt,” Friday evening, June 22, we will rise from the grave of debt and join the struggle to end the ties that bind our education to a decadent financial system. We will call for a nationwide conversation about how we can transcend an obsolete system that enriches a few by mortgaging the futures of the many.”

Student movements across the globe in Canada, Mexico and Chile, to name a few, have inspired a wave of actions in the US. Activists make a point that this is the first moment since the Occupy movement began last September, that students are free to participate.

Those working to house out of town occupiers, here in NYC, are preparing for a substantial influx of students this summer to join the front lines in the effort to create awareness around these issues.

Students are facing relentless tuition hikes and have reached a staggering level of debt at $1 trillion. With out access to employment or job security, students are beginning to realize their burden and OWS is welcoming them with open arms.

For additional information, contact info@allinthered.org

Twitter: @NYCStrike
Facebook: NYC Infinite Strike
Website: www.allinthered.org

Image by a.mina, courtesy of Creative Commons Licensing.