Socioecological topologies of student debt in the United States

Abstract

Student debt burdens are second only to mortgages in the United States’ debt portfolio. With nearly 43 million people repaying trillions of dollars of student debt, it is no surprise that calls for student debt cancellation have grown amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has only exacerbated already existing economic crises in the US. And yet, meaningful action to address student debt has largely been absent from recent legislation meant to help Americans overcome the residual impacts, including the financial burdens, of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we argue the absence of student debt relief is consonant with what we articulate as the topologies of student debt in the US, which we use to contextualize the student debt crisis. We provide two case studies—on the relationship between environmental legislation and student debt, and on the uneven ruralities of student debt—that give insight into the socioecological dimensions of student debt's topologies. We end this article by inviting others to join us as we develop more geographical evidence to support ongoing activism for student debt cancellation.