Student loan debt is on the rise, and, because of the lingering effects of the recession, fewer graduates are getting the kinds of jobs that allow them to pay back what they borrowed.

Members of the Class of 2009 owed an average of $24,000, up 6 percent from the year before. National Public Radio reported on Oct. 21 that 66 percent of students now graduate with debt, and some find their debt influencing major life decisions long after graduation.

If students cannot find a job quickly in order to be able to start paying back their loans, $24,000 can easily balloon to $100,000 or more.

"Default: The Student Loan Documentary" puts a human face on the student debt crisis, following several borrowers’ stories of struggling with the student lending industry. Because they were unable to start paying back their loans within nine months of graduation, their private loan interest rates spiraled upward, making a once manageable debt insurmountable.

The public is invited to view this 27-minute documentary at CSU Monterey Bay at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 8, in the Teledramatic Arts and Technology Building on Sixth Avenue at A Street.

Aurora Meneghello, the documentary’s director, will be on hand.

After the screening, Dr. George Caffentzis, professor of philosophy at the University of Southern Maine, will talk about student debt in the context of the economic crisis and the global student movement.

Amanda Armstrong, a graduate student at UC Berkeley, will present strategies being used by the growing movement against student debt, and members of CSU Students for Quality Education will facilitate a discussion of the issue. Driving directions and a campus map are available here. More information is available from Professor Caitlin Manning at cmanning@csumb.edu. Pretty much our intention from the start was to educate people on student loans: how they work, what happens when you cannot pay them back, and to open a dialogue about debt. – Aurora Meneghello This year, for the first time, the amount of student loans will surpass the $100 billion mark and the outstanding balance will exceed $1 trillion. That means the amount of credit card debt and student debt is about equal. – New York Federal Reserve The credit risk falls on young people who will start adult life deeper in debt, a burden that could place a drag on the economy in the future. – USA Today