Student debt is currently one of the major focal points in the larger conversation about the cost of college. To make college more accessible, students and their families have relied on loans to help finance their educations leading to what is now being described as the “student debt crisis”. At $1.5 trillion, student loan debt is now the second-largest source of consumer debt, behind home mortgages, surpassing credit card debt in the United States. The average bachelor’s degree graduate at one of Virginia’s four-year public institutions will walk away with approximately $30,000 in student loans. As startling as these number are, they do not tell the whole story of student loans or the student debt crisis.

Virginia has passed a state budget after a long few months. Our Policy Director, Gerica Goodman, writes about what this budget means for Virginia’s young people.

are you a current college student who wants to build political power for your generation? Do you want to learn how to affect and craft policy, lobby elected officials, organize your campus, and design a strategic communications plan? If the answer is yes, then here are four ways Virginia21’s Summer Leadership Institute (SLI) will empower you.

Following the feedback we received from #the30percent Campaign and Millennial Engagement Survey, Virginia21 created a legislative agenda that reflected the views and opinions expressed by the students and young professionals we represent, including college affordability, student loans, economic prosperity, and student privacy.  Here's what we accomplished and what you should know.