Click here to read about the summer's FEATURED ARTISTS!

Click here for site NEWS.

*          *          *

   

*          *          *

Enter the site's "American Gothic" photo contest. CLICK HERE for details!

WEBSITE BOOK PREVIEW

Ten Summers: The Story of www.dorothyswebsite.org

     Those who have been with the site since at least last year know that after celebrating the site's 10th Anniversary summer in 2012 I began working on a book about the site. The working copy of the book, called "Ten Summers: The Story of www.dorothyswebsite.org," was finished in May. This page has been posted to let visitors know a bit about the book, why it was written, and provide a brief excerpt.

     Why call the book "Ten Summers?" The site began as a computer exercise in the summer of 2003. Originally it was something that was supposed to last for only about a month. Over ten summers, the site evolved into the web entity visitors see today. One half of the story describes the history of www.dorothyswebsite.org plus how and why it came to have its present format. In addition to the history, the book includes 25+ poems which have appeared on the site, pictures and descriptions of each of the summer themes which began in 2006, a section of photographs from the "Attitude" collection and more, including a guide to the cards which have been handed out at the concerts over the years.

     But that is only half the story. Since the reason the site exists is tied directly to Dorothy's experiences within the student loan system, the other half of the book weaves that story in and out of the text. Anyone who has ever glanced through the Essay Archives section of the site has probably seen that the very first essay to be included concerned the student loan system. Creating a forum through which to express my concerns about the student loan system was probably the most important reason information was posted to the internet to begin with.

     Several years before creating the site I began seeing periodic anecdotes in the press about problems being encountered by those who had taken out student loans. The stories would appear, then go away; appear, then go away. Anecdotes are just that - singular, personal accounts, but the number and frequency of the appearances of the stories, taken together with my own experiences, made me wonder if they were symptomatic of greater problems brewing within the system. If there was one common factor which I noticed about the stories over the years, it was that a majority of the stories were about women. Since 2003, and especially within the last couple of years, those stories have involved ever-increasing outstanding debt, not only students but their relatives being pursued for repayment of the debt, and even people in their 60s still making payments on student loans. But again, those are just anecdotes. What is fact is that in 2010 total student loan debt in the U.S. exceeded outstanding revolving credit debt (the most of which is credit card debt) for the first time. Today outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. stands at about one trillion dollars, with no end in sight. The trend over the last few years especially has been for increased borrowing - and a higher number of loans slipping in to default.

     Before navigating away from the page if you think this has nothing to do with you, please think again and read the brief excerpt below. If the system continues on its current trajectory, there is no telling what it might mean for students, their families and even this country. The excerpt below is from the "Conclusion" section of the book.

     This story, the story of www.dorothyswebsite.org, has been two separate tales wrapped up in one. The first, a very specific one, is about the site itself. The second, a more general one, is about student loans and the student loan system in this country. Both have clear starting points and ending points which are undefined. While conclusions may be drawn about the site, it is possible for me only to raise questions about the student loan system.

     It was said in the introduction that the telling of this story may bring about the end of the site, and maybe it will. If it does, then the site will have been one small blip in the history of a medium which has come to play an important part of most people's lives. The site that began as a computer exercise grew over ten years in tandem with the more widespread use of the internet.

     It is possible to point to anything which has been accomplished through the site, any value which has been created? In a small way, yes. For those who enjoy music, the site has grown to be a steady source of information for concert listings and to a lesser extent for other free products, services or events. Finding that information has given visitors access to everything from family-friendly activities to free birthday meals. Whether indirectly or directly, the site also has helped create jobs for musicians, support various aspects of the arts, provide information on a variety of science and technology topics in a manner which (hopefully) was easy to understand, and give others, particularly musicians and artists, the chance to let people know more about themselves and their work . . .

     . . . The website may have grown to be something far bigger than originally intended, but has the student loan system as well? In the site's initial 2003 essay on student loans, the student loan program's origin in the Higher Education Act of 1965 was discussed. As outlined in the Act, the "Guaranteed Reduced Interest Loans to Students" program, of the Guaranteed Student Loan Program (as it has come to be known), began as a way to offer students the fullest possible educational opportunity, and perhaps more importantly, as A FINAL LINE OF FINANCIAL DEFENSE for students and their families. As a final line of financial defense, it would be reasonable to expect that a certain percentage of students would need to make use of the loans. That percentage has changed dramatically, however, especially from 2004 - 2012 (almost the same period in which the site has been in existence). During that period outstanding student debt tripled, from about $340 billion in 2004 to $966 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012 [footnote for figures included in book text]. At the same time there has been a 70 percent increase in the number of borrowers and a 70 percent increase in the average balance per person. In other words, the trend has been for college students to increasingly borrow more to finance their education, and when they do borrow, to borrow greater amounts. One recent white paper on the debt says of student loans that they "have become a fact of life" - probably much more than what they were originally intended to be when the program was established in 1965 . . .

www.dorothyswebsite.org © 2003 - 2013 Dorothy A. Birsic. All rights reserved. Comments? Questions? Send an e-mail to: information@dorothyswebsite.org