Jerry Hardee on December 7th, 2001

This section is compiled by Frank M. Painter, D.C.
Send all comments or additions to:    Frankp@chiro.org

Dr. Jerry Hardee, Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic

DR. HARDEE: Commissioners, thank you so much for allowing this dialogue regarding loan forgiveness for chiropractic students. Much of what I have to say will echo most of a remark by Dr. Mancini.

The chiropractic profession is based on the premise that it exists to nurture and advance a simple and powerful idea. We recognize that the body possesses the inborn capacity and striving to maintain itself in a state of optimum health. All of our activities concentrate on exploring, evaluating, and advancing the concept that the body is a self-regulating system that continuously adapts to its ever-changing internal and external environments to ensure its survival and health.

The nervous system is the communication network that directs this self-healing and self-maintaining capacity and is the focus of the straight chiropractic profession.

Sherman College educates its students and the community that the human body is an intelligent, functioning system that interacts dynamically with its environment by constantly adapting to internal and external changes. We understand that the body is best able to carry out that adaptation when there is no interference to the channels of communication that share information between the brain and all the organs and systems of the body. The dedicated men and women who choose to serve humanity as doctors of chiropractic have been educated at world-class levels to take this message to communities where they will establish their practices and improve the quality of the lives of the people they serve.

Today we ask that you honor their commitment and celebrate their outstanding achievements and anticipated contributions to our society by offering them the opportunity to enter the profession knowing that they will have a chance to serve their communities in lieu of full loan repayment. In other words, loan forgiveness. With the 16 chiropractic colleges across the country graduating several thousand doctors of chiropractic each year whose educational debt load is substantial, we would very much appreciate your intentional effort to allow them to begin the professional phase of their lives less burdened by loan repayment in return for their professional services.

I submit to you today a petition from Sherman College with over 100 names of students who have agreed that if given the opportunity in some form of loan forgiveness they would be willing to serve in MUA areas.

I ask that you today consider the heavy load that they have when they graduate, knowing full well that for up to 10 years many of them will be repaying loans. Thank you for joining with our academic community in recognizing a need for these students to have this opportunity.

And I have saved a few minutes just to say that with what I have gone through to get here today since 4 a.m. this morning, I plead with you to take this opportunity to discern seriously the burden that these students face when they graduate. They deserve the opportunity to have some form of loan forgiveness. Thank you.

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