Tiffany Konyen - Student Loan Debt is a Social Justice Issue!
“Whether you’re in debt, out of debt or someone who’s been in debt, it shapes the way we perceive and interact with each other.” – Tiffany Konyen
If you’re one of the 43 million Americans carrying the heavy burden of student loan debt, know this: it's not a result of personal failure—it’s the system at work. In today’s late-stage capitalist economy, the cost of a college degree has skyrocketed, far outpacing the wages that are meant to cover it. But beyond the economic disparity lies a darker reality: capitalism, racism, classism, and sexism (take your pick) thrive in a climate of exhaustion, undereducation, and widespread indebtedness. No wonder so many of us are struggling to catch our breath or build our financial security.
Tiffany Konyen is determined to change the conversation around education financing in America. A Doctoral Candidate in Anthropology and Social Change at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, Tiffany's research delves into how student loan debt affects people’s material conditions and the broader transformations happening in graduate education. They’re also an active member and organizer with The Debt Collective, the nation’s first debtors' union, aimed at destigmatizing debt and using collective action to drive systemic change.
Student loan debt often triggers feelings of shame, isolation, and alienation. “The same feelings are also experienced by those who are debt-free or have paid off their loans,” says Tiffany, who is outspoken about the social injustice of student debt. “There’s this deeply ingrained narrative that goes beyond economic inequality, touching on issues of white supremacy—this idea of ‘why should anyone else get something if I’m not getting it?’”
It’s a scarcity mindset that’s woven so deeply into our thinking, convincing us there isn’t enough to go around.
But education isn’t some rarefied commodity. It’s a resource that can be endlessly replenished for the benefit of the entire community. Imagine the countless teachers, therapists, doctors, and civil engineers who could dedicate their skills to underserved communities if they didn’t have the weight of student loan debt hanging over them. That’s the kind of energy we need to be cultivating.
Tiffany is on the same page. “To break the status quo, to free ourselves from the ‘shoulds’ that dictate who we’re supposed to be instead of embracing who we truly are—that’s the heart of abolition and debt activism,” they say. “It’s about helping people see beyond the systems that confine and define them.”
Mentioned in this Episode
GUEST CONTACT AND BIO
Tiffany Konyen (she/they) is a Doctoral Candidate in the Anthropology and Social Change Department at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA. Their research offers insight into the impacts of student loan debt on material life conditions, as well as on processes of transformation within graduate education in the US. They are a member and organizer with the Debt Collective, the country’s first Debtor’s Union with the expressed purpose of collectively de-stigmatizing and leveraging experiences of indebtedness towards systemic change.
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