TAKE ACTION We need to remind our legislators they work for us!
Call your legislators
WHY CALLING MATTERS
Elected officials need to feel the pressure from their constituents, one way of doing so is by calling their offices consistently pressuring them with what you and others in your community are concerned about.
Call often. They track these calls more then emails or letters.
WHO/HOW TO CALL
In regards to the Budget Reconciliation process you should be calling your Federal elected officials. That is your Senators and Congress person, you can find your elected officials here. When you input your address it will tell you who your elected officials are and will have a phone number listed of their Washington D.C. office.
Click here for a helpful template you can use in calling your elected officials.
Attend a town hall meeting
WHY ATTENDING MATTERS
Attending town halls is important for constituents because it allows them to engage directly with their elected officials, voice concerns, and stay informed about local and national issues. Here are a few key reasons why town halls matter:
- Direct Communication with Representatives – Constituents can ask questions, express concerns, and hear directly from their elected officials about policies and upcoming decisions.
- Holding Leaders Accountable – Town halls provide an opportunity to challenge leaders on their actions and ensure they represent the community’s interests.
- Understanding Policies & Decisions – Attending helps constituents stay informed about legislation, government actions, and how they impact their community.
- Building Community Engagement – These meetings bring neighbors together, fostering discussions and collaborations on important issues. There is power to numbers.
- Influencing Change – Public feedback at town halls can shape policy decisions, as officials often take constituent opinions into account.
- Increasing Civic Participation – Engaging in town halls encourages more involvement in voting, advocacy, and local governance.
- An opportunity to get them on record. – There is usually time given for questions. This is an opportunity to ask direct questions and take a video of their response. This is called Bird Dogging.
HAVE A MEETING WITH YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS
STEPS TO SETTING UP A MEETING:
- Get a group of folks together: Even if it’s 3 of you, that’s great!
- Have one person send an email or call the electeds office
- Find your elected officials contact, click here
- Set a time, place, and general purpose for the meeting
- Prep with your group before the meeting
- Plan who will take what responsibility during the meeting
- Go over what the central ask of the meeting
- Have the meeting with the elected official(s)
- Use the visit guide above as an agenda for the meeting
- Debrief with your group
THEY WON’T MEET, WHAT NOW?
- Who is running against them?
- Empty chair town hall
- Calling their office consistently to ask for a meeting
Bird Dogging
Bird-dogging is a political activism strategy where individuals or groups attend public events, such as town halls or campaign stops, to ask tough, pointed questions and hold politicians accountable on specific issues. It involves persistently pressing candidates or officials to take a clear stance, often in front of an audience or the media.
Why is Bird-Dogging Important?
- Forces Transparency – Politicians are often vague or avoid controversial topics. Bird-dogging pushes them to take a definitive stance.
- Holds Leaders Accountable – By publicly asking tough questions, activists can highlight inconsistencies or gaps in a politician’s policies.
- Raises Public Awareness – When these interactions are recorded and shared, they can educate the broader public on important issues.
- Influences Policy Priorities – Persistent questioning can pressure politicians to address issues they might otherwise ignore.
- Empowers Citizens – It allows everyday people to have direct, impactful interactions with those in power.
Open a student loan case with Congress
Student Borrower Protection Center has a great tutorial on how to: Open a student loan case with Congress this is a great step by step guide on the process.
Members of Congress have teams of caseworkers who help constituents experiencing issues with a federal agency. Student loan servicers are paid hundreds of millions of dollars by ED to help borrowers manage their student loans. If you are having an issue with your federal student loans or your student loan servicer, you can contact your senator or representative for assistance. Problems with your federal student loan debt might include (but are not limited to):
- Challenges reaching your student loan servicer or excessively long wait times
- Lost paperwork or inaccurate information from your servicer
- Incorrect information on your credit report related to your federal student loans, including loans that have already been paid off
- Issues filing an application for Borrower Defense to Repayment
Please visit Student Borrower Protection Center for more details.
Tell your story – Speaking your truth will set you free
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO SHARE YOUR STORY?
Our own stories and experiences shed light on the importance of various programs, the harms of cutting funding, the impacts of various pieces of legislation to our own lives and the lives of our communities.
Building a mission around student debt—whether it’s to advocate for policy change, raise awareness, or build a community of support—depends heavily on the power of personal stories. Here’s why it’s crucial for debtors to share their experiences:
1. Humanizes the Issue
Student debt can seem like just numbers and statistics, but real stories show the human impact—stress, delayed life milestones, limited career choices, and mental health struggles. This emotional connection makes the issue relatable and urgent.
2. Builds Collective Power
When people share their experiences, it creates a sense of solidarity. It shows borrowers they’re not alone, and that this is a systemic problem, not a personal failure. That unity is powerful for organizing and pushing for change.
3. Challenges Stigma
Many borrowers feel shame or guilt about their debt. Sharing stories helps break down that stigma and shifts the narrative from “you made bad choices” to “the system is broken.”
4. Influences Policy Makers
Policymakers respond to stories that connect with their constituents. A thousand-dollar statistic doesn’t hit as hard as a single mother working two jobs just to cover loan interest.
5. Drives Media Attention
Journalists and media outlets are more likely to cover a movement when there are compelling, diverse personal stories. It brings color, emotion, and urgency to headlines.
6. Educates the Public
A lot of people don’t fully understand how predatory or burdensome student loans can be—especially if they haven’t experienced it. Hearing firsthand accounts builds empathy and informs the public debate.
HOW CAN YOU SHARE YOUR STORY?
- In writing through an OpEd or Letter to the Editor
- On Social Media either through a video, text, post, short video
- Public speaking at an event or rally
OP-ED / LETTER TO THE EDITOR
An op-ed (short for “opposite the editorial page”) is a short opinion article written by someone outside of a newspaper’s editorial staff—like a student loan borrower, advocate, or expert—who wants to publicly share their viewpoint on a current issue. Op-eds are published in newspapers or online media and usually make a clear argument, backed by personal experience or facts, to persuade the public or decision-makers. For example, a for-profit borrower might write an op-ed to expose how their school misled them and call on lawmakers to support debt relief.
A letter to the editor is usually shorter (about 150–250 words) and written in response to a recent article or news event. It’s a quick way to add your voice to a public conversation and can be a powerful tool to highlight student debt issues or demand accountability for predatory schools. Both formats help bring attention to your story, influence public opinion, and show elected officials that people in their communities care about these issues.
Here’s a helpful OpEd handout: Op-Ed Handout
Op-Ed Sample pieces
SOCIAL MEDIA
For-profit borrower organizers can use social media as a powerful, low-cost tool to spread awareness, build community, and drive action. Platforms like Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn allow you to share personal stories, expose predatory practices by schools, and highlight important updates on loan forgiveness, legal action, or borrower defense deadlines. Sharing your experience puts a human face on the crisis—and when many borrowers do this together using common hashtags (like #CancelStudentDebt or #ForProfitFraud, #borroweroffense), it builds momentum and gets the attention of media, advocates, and policymakers.
Organizers can also use social media to host live Q&As, collaborate with advocacy groups like the Debt Collective or SBPC, and mobilize people to file complaints, attend events, or sign petitions.
Posting short videos, infographics, and personal testimonials can help break down complex topics (like borrower defense or state AG complaints) into accessible, shareable content. The more visible your mission is, the more likely it is to attract support, partnerships, and pressure on the institutions that caused the harm. Would you like sample posts or hashtags to start with?
Maddy from the Debt Collective has put out some amazing guides to get you started.
SHARE YOUR STORY WITH US!!!
Sharing your story helps us grow our network of borrowers and strengthens our ability to advocate for change. We use these stories to inform legislators and partner organizations, and to better understand the scale of harm caused by the predatory for-profit college industry. If there’s a campaign or state-level legislation, your input also helps us connect with the right people in the right places. Please know that only two trusted team members have access to this form, and your information will never be shared outside the scope of our mission.