This is jaw-dropping. The writer openly casts it in terms of privilege, but countless similar stories could be written by people who can barely afford public universities or even community colleges. US academics, it’s time for you to vocally challenge the insane debt machine you’re a part of. And don’t tell me you can’t do, because you can: faculty bodies can issue statements, demand cost-impact statements about administration plans, build community-access resources, and build curricular resources that are open and free. Yes, these would be baby steps, but that’s because you’re a bunch of babies who’ve been suckling at the teat of $1.5T in student debt. It’s time to wean yourselves and put an end to this system of indentured servitude.