My name is Hannah Dolling, and I am a member of USAS Local 99 at the University of Washington and am on the USAS National Coordinating Committee. USAS fights back against exploiting workers for the benefit of wealthy corporations. We envision a world where people are valued as human beings rather than used in the quest for productivity and profits.
Banco Santander is advancing neo-colonial practices on our campuses.
Did you know that Santander is using our universities to target working class students and communities of color?
Over 40 universities in the United States, including New York University, Yale, Harvard, Brown and more partner with Santander on campus. Oftentimes these partnerships look like hosting finance round tables, sponsoring fellowships and using platforms to market and sell products to student consumers. Universities often do not disclose their “General Marketing Agreements” with banks like Santander which allow them to market banking products to students. Often these products come with secret fees, punitive overdraft charges and higher interest rates than local banks, spurring lawmakers to take action against big banks . Santander’s “Student Value” account has over 5 kinds of overdraft fees starting at $35 along with 30 other hidden fees. Santander is infamous for producing and marketing “All in One” student I.D. cards which gather interest over time, especially hurting students with no credit history or from working class backgrounds.
Our generation is facing the worst student debt in history, and Santander is leading the charge.
Santander Bank is the prime criminal in bad banks. Santander disproportionately targets communities of color in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, worsening poverty levels, limiting access to credit and maintaining centuries of inequality.Santander is responsible for using Puerto Rico’s government bank to reap profits helping drive the island into one of the worst debt crises in history.
The university community must address this crisis on our campuses. Every university with a Santander partnership is complicit in racist targeting of students and our communities.
Here are things you can today.
Sign the Petition: Tell Santander to Stop their Racist Lending Practices!
Learn more about Ban Santander here and here!
Publish a piece in your school newspaper. Contact staff@usas.org for an example thinkpiece.
In solidarity,
Hannah Dolling
USAS Local 99
University of Washington- Seattle