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Activist Destroys $500 Million Worth of Student Debt Records in Chile

HeadlineMay 21, 2014

In Chile, an activist says he has destroyed student debt records worth $500 million. Francisco Tapia, known as Papas Fritas, or “French fries,” says he stole the papers from the for-profit Universidad del Mar and burned them in an “act of love” in order to free the students from loan debt. The rise of privatized education in Chile began under the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, and the costs for higher education are now among the highest in the world. Meanwhile, in the United States, a new study shows student debt has increased more rapidly at schools with the highest-paid presidents. The report by the Institute for Policy Studies looked at public universities with the highest executive pay rates and found that administrative spending outstripped spending on scholarships by more than two to one.

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