Taking a stand against the for-profit schools which they say have saddled them with mountains of debt, a number of recent graduates, dubbed the Corinithian 15, on Monday launched a student debt strike.

The former students, with help from the anti-debt collective Rolling Jubilee, are refusing to pay the federal loans that Corinthian College Inc., the for-profit college chain, reportedly duped the students to sign up for, in exchange for a degree which they say is worthless.

“I was excited to attend Everest College online because they promised to help me find a well-paying career,” said student loan striker Latonya Suggs, from Cincinnati, Ohio. Suggs said she “took out thousands in loans so that I could make a better life for my son,” but upon graduating found that the criminal justice degree she obtained from Everest is not even recognized by most employers.

“I am completely lost and in debt,” Suggs continues. “Not only did the school fail me, but the Department of Education failed me because it is their responsibility to make sure that these schools provide a quality education at an affordable cost at a scam-free school.”

Another former Everest College student, Natasha Hornes, described how the college coerced students into taking out thousands of dollars in loans.

“Some Everest students were pulled out of class and told they could not return unless they signed loan paperwork,” Hornes said. “Other times, loan officers came into class and made us stop what we were doing to sign financial aid forms. We were told that we had no choice. If we didn’t sign, we couldn’t stay in school.”

Under both state and federal investigations for their tactics, Corinthian College Inc., one of the largest for-profit, post-secondary education companies in the country, announced in July that it would close its doors because its funds had been frozen. And while many of the institution’s tens of thousands of students have been given relief from their private loans, the student strikers are asking the federal government to forgive those loans as well.

“Not only did the school fail me, but the Department of Education failed me because it is their responsibility to make sure that these schools provide a quality education at an affordable cost at a scam-free school.”
Click Here: Bape Kid 1st Camo Ape Head rompers—Latonya Suggs, former Everest College student

The Corinthian corporation owns the Everest Institute, Everest College, WyoTech and Heald colleges, which together have a total of over 70,000 students.

Further, despite multiple accusations of fraud, the U.S. Department of Education has seemingly “come to its rescue,” as Meghan Byrd notes for the Campaign for America’s Future Blog.