Student Debt Relief Advocates to Camp Out Outside the Supreme Court So the Justices Can See Who They’re About to Screw Over

Next week the Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether the Biden Administration has the right to forgive up to $20,000 per borrower in Federal student loans. Advocates are working to put a very human spin on just who the court would be saying “no” to by having college students from all over the country fly to DC and camp out at the courthouse overnight in order to secure seats in the courtroom when the hearing is held. Per Business Insider:

“I think that when people see who is impacted, if they themselves are not, they start to understand that this is about fairness and this is about opportunity, and not ruining someone’s life with decades of unpayable debt just because you’re trying to earn an education,” Max Lubin, CEO and co-founder of Rise — a student and youth-led nonprofit working to make higher education free — told Insider.

I so desperately want to believe this is a winning tactic, but this is the court that overturned Roe v. Wade without a care in the world (or basis in case law!). I’m afraid this is like showing Cruella DeVille the puppies that would go into making her coat; when the cruelty is the point, it almost might excite people who want to harm you more. However, Lubin’s plan isn’t blindly optimistic; some political strategy is behind it, and think it’s pretty clever. Per the above article:

Lubin said that his organization alone is planning to bring out around 100 college students from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin  — all swing states — to the Supreme Court to participate in not only a rally outside the Court on February 28, the day of the arguments, but to camp out overnight to ensure students and borrowers can get a seat in the courtroom.

It’s shrewd to have the student advocates and face of the plan come from swing states because it sends a message to everyone: voters are watching. In theory, the court is supposed to be non-partisan. LOL. We all know it isn’t and this court in particular isn’t even trying to hide that fact. Reminding them (and the Republican lawmakers who support blocking debt forgiveness) what’s on the line isn’t a bad thing.

What’s on the line is financial security and freedom for millions of Americans saddled with student loan debt via a couple of lawsuits that have worked their way through the court system all the way up to the Supreme Court. Per Business Insider:

The Supreme Court will be taking on two lawsuits that blocked Biden’s debt relief. One was filed by two student-loan borrowers who sued because they did not qualify for the full $20,000 amount of debt relief. Another was filed by six GOP-led states who argued the relief would hurt their states’ tax revenues, along with the revenue of student-loan company MOHELA.

Ah, MOHELA, my own student loan servicer. May they rot in hell for eternity. (I never pass up an opportunity to rag on them. They suck.) I’ve got nothing for the sour-grapes borrowers who didn’t qualify for the full $20,000. Guess what, neither did I! You don’t see me crying to Amy Coney Barrett about it, do you? That just sums up the worst parts of America in a nutshell, doesn’t it? I didn’t get something good, so I want to make sure no one else gets access to it, either. Good grief.

This all goes down next week with the Supreme Court hearing the arguments, and the White House has repeatedly said it is confident its plan is legally sound. Here’s hoping! If not, well, you’ll all have a reason to hate MOHELA along with me. Plus, the Biden Administration is pretty used to winning at this point, and I don’t think they’d accept a loss now, although what their Plan B is, time will tell.

(featured image: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We, The 45 Million)