MASSPIRG at Boston University

Starting a MASSPIRG Chapter at BU.
Here at BU, we have huge potential to effect change on issues we care about- by working together we can make college affordable, protect the environment, and fight poverty. By establishing a MASSPIRG chapter here at BU, we can work with 100,000 students across the state fighting for solutions to these problems- and have our own professional organizers and lobbyists, too.

Thanks to everyone who helped us get up and running this year. Over 600 of you signed cards to volunteer and support us, hundreds more signed petitions to increase financial aid or made phone calls to stop global warming. And right now, over 80 students are pledging: they are giving small, monthly contributions so we can hire our own staff and have a chapter here at BU. Thank you all for your support!

Passing the largest student financial aid law in history.
In March, President Obama signed the largest student loan bill in history into law. The new law increases financial aid for students by $36 billion, and it won't cost taxpayers a dime because it's funded by cutting wasteful hand-outs to banks and loan companies like Sallie Mae and Citibank. Across the country 10,000 of you called, wrote, emailed, and tweeted your Congressmen asking them to take action. In addition, our DC staff worked tirelessly to bring your message to legislators and their staff.

Here at BU, we took a Swing at Sallie Mae, breaking a Sallie Mae piñata with Student Union President James Sappenfield. Over 300 students signed petitions, and our president Nicole Troelstrup even got to meet with Congressman Capuano’s office to represent BU students and encourage him to vote the right way. The next day he announced he would vote yes!
Check out the Daily Free Press coverage: http://www.dailyfreepress.com/students-rally-to-support-student-loan-bill-1.2192492

Stopping the worst unfair practices by credit companies.
In February the Credit CARD Act went into effect. This law protects students and ends some of the worst unfair practices of credit card companies, making it illegal for credit card companies to profit by tricking people into paying late. It was the outcry of students like you that passed this law, and the banks aren't happy about it - this is the first time in 40 years any law opposed by credit card companies has passed.

Reforming the health care system in order to make health care affordable.
Despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent by the insurance industry to stop reform, health insurance reform became law. Our priority has been to make health care affordable. This law takes unprecedented steps to lower costs for families and small businesses, and it prohibits insurers from using pre-existing conditions, errors on forms, and lifetime or yearly caps to drop your coverage or price it out of reach. It also helps young adults – a highly uninsured demographic - by allowing them to stay on their parents’ coverage until age 26.

Here in Massachusetts we are also working to make sure students are getting the coverage they need by bringing the minimum qualifications standard for people under 26 up to the same level as the rest of the population.

Building support for global warming solutions.
We're calling on the Senate to build a clean energy economy that will create jobs and enhance America’s national security while protecting the environment. Across the country, we mobilized over 30,000 students and community members to contact their Senators to call for clean, renewable energy and an end to our dependence on oil and coal.  We held events on campus and off to educate thousands of people, resulting in more than 100 news stories about our work.

At BU, 150 students called Senator Brown’s office to make sure he will represent his constituents and vote for clean energy. Across the state, the MASSPIRG Student Chapters generated over 1,000 phone calls in 3 days!

Helping rebuild Haiti, and fighting poverty here at home.
It's been a tough year for many American families, and the earthquake in Haiti has affected millions. In January BU MASSPIRG got the word out to students asking them to text in donations to the Red Cross and UNICEF to help Haiti relief efforts. Nationally, PIRG chapters across the country have raised over $70,000 for local agencies, Oxfam’s relief work in Haiti, and national efforts to combat poverty.

Our Turbine prop is on BU today!

Aliza Vaida (CFA’10)
Photo by Kalman Zabarsky