Yesterday we read about the ongoing “crisis of architecture.” Today, Fast.Co Design publishes an infographic video dissecting the student debt bubble. Education News, a blog dealing with student issues, produced the video to visualize the ideas set forth by dot-com venture capitalist (and noted libertarian) Peter Thiel in an April 2011 TechCrunch interview.

In April, Thiel convincingly argued that by taking out massive student loans to pay for higher education, we’re all contributing to a bubble, akin to the mortgage crisis of the late ’00s. His ideas weren’t particularly original (as anyone who’s been through the meatball maker of graduate school can attest), but they lent gravity to the burgeoning movement against student debt, since Thiel is famous for arguing contrary (and in come cases, correctly) to prevalent thinking on the national economy. ”You have to get rid of the future you wanted,” he said, “to pay off all the debt from the fancy school that was supposed to give you that future.” It’s worth noting that Thiel’s been beating this drum for some time, founding the 20 Under 20 program that grants twenty college students $100,000 to drop out of school and start their own company.

Is the movement against student debt starting to gain momentum? Or does the value exchange between debt and a prestigious degree still seem a fair one? I’m curious what current students think, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section. In the meantime, take a look at Part 1 below, or head over to the Higher Education Bubble splashpage for the whole static infographic.

Education News

by Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

posted in Video

tagged education, graduate school, infographic, peter thiel, student debt, techcrunch, the bubble, video

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