About 30 people sat on chairs and milk crates on the grassy lot at the top of Morton Hill to hear Deborah Thorne talk about student debt today.
Thorne, a professor in Ohio University's sociology and anthropology department, discussed with Occupy OhioU participants the effect student loans will most likely have on students once they graduate.
"This is the first time student loans will go above $1 trillion … more than the current credit card debt," she said.
Thorne said she supports the Occupy Wall Street movement and knows from first-hand experience student debt does not go away quickly.
"I think student loans are something worth getting upset about, involved about and will be important for a while," Thorne said, who added that she is still paying off college loans.
Thorne warned students that although college can benefit students in the long run, after-school loans aren't something that will go away easily.
“It’s your future," she said. "You can protest today, but in the end, you need to think about if you want to take on this debt."
af234909@ohiou.edu
