Biden Campaign Press Release - ICYMI: Young Americans for Biden, Student Debt Crisis and Rise Host Student Loan Voter Townhall and Phone Bank with Alyssa Milano and Anjelika Washington

Young Americans for Biden, Student Debt Crisis, and Rise hosted a student loan voter townhall and phone bank, on Wednesday, October 28. The event featured appearances by actresses and activists Alyssa Milano and Anjelika Washington, and panelists Natalia Abrams, executive director of Student Debt Crisis, Cody Hounanian, program director at Student Debt Crisis, and Max Lubin, CEO of Rise.

Panelists spoke to attendees about free resources for student loan borrowers from the Student Loan Voter campaign and what's at stake for student loan policy in this election. Volunteers made calls to voters, encouraging them to turn out and vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

See below for highlights from the event.

Alyssa Milano and Anjelika Washington spoke to volunteers via Zoom

"I feel like for too many people the cost of education, and then even beyond that, the cost of borrowing money to finance that education makes it impossible to ever realize any kind of prosperity," said Alyssa Milano, activist and actress. "And it's a weight that's pulling the entire economy down with it. Keeping poor people poor, and lenders rich. Creating barriers to obtaining an education, buying a home, investing in businesses, and being able to take full advantage of our financial and social potential. And I just feel like no one should have to work two jobs into their middle age because their student loans generate thousands of dollars of interest every year."

"We as Americans right now are going through lots of crises. We are going through a racial justice crisis, a public health crisis, a climate crisis, and also an economic crisis– and this student loan crisis is a part of that crisis," said Anjelika Washington, activist and actress. "Like Alyssa was saying, Black people in general, people of color, are disproportionately affected from this public health crisis, which rolls over into our economic crisis that we are all facing right now. And when I was educating myself on Joe Biden and his plans, not only for people of color, but his plans for Americans, young Americans to go to college, to have a career. And I read that Joe Biden was planning on making public college tuition-free. Especially two-year public college tuition-free. Which is again, what I did while I was working at Starbucks paying my way. I paid thousands and thousands of dollars to go to community college for my associates degree. Which I'm grateful to do it, because now I get to stand here and say that should have been free."

"Student Debt Crisis is dedicated to reforming student debt and higher education policies in America," said Natalia Abrams, executive director of Student Debt Crisis. "And we represent just a small snapshot of student loan borrowers, about 1.5million supporters across the nation that are committed to advocating for real structural change in Washington. And we know that with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris we can do exactly that."

"Students know that college is increasingly unaffordable, and it's absolutely unacceptable that for the last nine months college students have had so few resources to support themselves during the pandemic." said Max Lubin, CEO of Rise. "While they've been out of work, or trying to learn from home. So that's what our mission at Rise is all about. Empowering students to advocate to lead campaigns that make college free and accessible to everyone."