Update the Bottle Bill
· We all know that recycling is important. Reduce, reuse, RECYCLE! It's forever ingrained in our minds. By reducing the amount of trash we bury in landfills and burn in incinerators, recycling is good for the environment, good for public health and saves us money and natural resources.
· So, this semester we’re working to increase recycling by expanding the Bottle Bill. We’ll do that by showing the legislature the overwhelming support all across the state for improved recycling. We will be asking Representative Keenan to help pass the updated Bottle Bill and collect endorsements from the Salem City Council.
We need your help to collect hand-written letters, city council endorsements, and educate our community about the benefits of an updated Bottle Bill!
Global Warming Solutions
· This spring, we’re also working to stop global warming.
· We all know global warming is a big problem that seems overwhelming to solve. And as we speak, Congress and international leaders are bogged down figuring out exactly how to do that.
· But we’re not going to wait around for the United Nations to come up with the perfect solution to global warming. The fact is we DO have some solutions that we can implement right now.
· So this semester, we’re going to convince Governor Patrick to make Massachusetts a leader in the fight against global warming by cutting our state’s global warming pollution 25% in the next 10 years.
Hunger and Homelessness
· The United States is the richest country in the world but a record 49 million Americans are going hungry this winter. And with the bad economy, many in our community will continue to suffer.
· This semester, we’ll be joining students all across the country for the 25thannual National Hunger Clean Up. The Hunger Clean Up is a huge one day service-a-thon, where volunteers get sponsored to do service work – helping fight poverty through both direct service and fundraising.
Here at Salem State we will be raising over $2,000 for the Salem Mission and organizing more than 4 service events in one day. We need your help to create a team, start fundraising and brainstorming fun and creative ideas to serve our community and fight poverty.
Public Transit
· It’s time we had more and better transportation choices here in Massachusetts and all across the country. Not only will better transportation make it easier for us to get around, but it will cut global warming pollution, reduce our dependence on oil, and save us time and money.
· Unfortunately, for too long the auto and road building industry has convinced our government to spend billions on new highways, while our existing public transportation projects – like the T or Commuter Rail struggle year after year to find enough funding and new transportation projects never get off the ground.
At Salem State we will continue to call for more and better public transit options for students and community members around the North Shore.
Student Health Care
· We’re also working to reform student health insurance in Massachusetts.
· Massachusetts leads the country in providing quality, affordable health insurance for everyone in the state – everyone, that is, except students. If you are not insured by your parents or through your job, you have to purchase a student health insurance plan.
· We’re working to convince Governor Patrick to ensure a fair deal for students. If we can show the Governor how these plans are affecting students, we can win real reforms this year.
If you're interested in learning more about a particular campaign, feel free to stop by a meeting in the Groups and Clubs Room (located in the basement of the Campus Center) and start getting involved!
Times and locations for all of the project group meetings each week will be updated soon.
