MASSPIRG at UMASS Dartmouth

Vote YES for MASSPIRG Here  

Have questions about MASSPIRG? Go here to view MASSPIRG FAQ 

UMass Dartmouth is gearing up for an exciting new semester.  Students will be working on a variety of social issues ranging from global warming, to hunger and homelessness, textbooks and higher education affordability and AIDS awareness.   Join the good fight and get involved!

Weekly Meetings:

• Hunger & Homelessness/ AIDS Awareness: Tuesdays at 5:00
  

• Campus Climate Challenge (global warming) Campaign: Wednesdays at 5

  Both meetings are held in the MASSPIRG Office - Auditorium 205 

Spring 2008 Upcoming Events

Crude Impact, March 5: Come to a viewing of Crude Impact an award-winning documentary film that explores the interconnection between human domination of the planet, and the discovery and use of oil. Library Browsing Area, 6:00pm

Hoops for Hunger, March 25 & 26: Come ball up & fight hunger in our community by entering MASSPIRG's 3-on-3 basketball tournament.  Its only $10 to enter & winners will receive a plaque and gift basket.  Teams can be co-ed.  Come sign up at our table Thursday, February 28th from 10am-2pm in the Campus Center or for more info email Tho at tpham@umassd.edu.  Deadline to register is March 14th.  Games will take place in the Outdoor Courts at 3:30pm, finals will be Wednesday same place same time.

Hunger Clean Up, April 5th:  The Hunger Cleanup is a one-day service a-thon, where students volunteer in the community and get friends and family to sponsor them. Volunteers help local agencies meet their urgent needs, while also raising money to help them keep operating. Register now to volunteer with your local Hunger Cleanup.  Look for the MASSPIRG team at UMass Dartmouth and help us meet our goal of raising $5000! 

Massachusetts Power Shift, Aprill 11-14: Thousands of citizens from across Massachusetts and beyond are coming to Boston to demand action from their elected representatives and learn effective tools and strategies to utilize in their communities. Citizens will engage in a weekend full of activities, including workshops on climate organizing, city/town break-out sessions around Green Jobs, and Soul Purpose Live: an afternoon rally on the Boston Common complete with music, activism, and leadership. The weekend will culminate on Monday with a lobbying push at the State House to pass the Global Warming Solutions Act which would reduce Massachusetts' Greenhouse Gas Emissions 80% below 1990 levels by the year 2050, and 20% below 1990 levels by 2020. 

Past Successes:

GLOBAL WARMING SOLUTIONS ACT:  With the bill nearing a vote in the Senate, the Campus Climate Challenge group swung into action and collected over 300 petition signatures.  Students Taelor Conrad, Jonathan King and Andrew Jacobs went and hand-delivered over 700 signatures to Senator Montigny's office urging him to vote YES for the GWSA.

SPARE CHANGE DORM STORMS:  The Hunger & Homelessness team hit the freshmen dorms and raised almost $100.

FOCUS THE NATION: UMass Dartmouth joined over 1500 schools on this day for global warming discussion.  Focus the Nation was one of the largest teach-ins in history.  Over 10,00 students were educated in Massachusetts alone.  Here at UMass Dartmouth students heard from Representative Cabral and former Mayor of New Bedford John Bullard about local climate change and action, discussed the Chancellors Climate Commitment and attended an interactive symposium by the Panchamama Alliance. 

TOY DRIVE: The Hunger & Homelessness group collected over 50 toys to donate the Conway House for the Holidays!  

GLOBAL WARMING SOLUTIONS ACT: Students collected over 400 petition signatures to deliver to Senator Montigny to urge him to pass an act that would make Massachusetts a front runner in fighting global warming.  

Campaign Info

Hunger and Homelessness: This semester we will focus on providing service and raising money for agencies working to serve the hungry and homeless, while we help build better state policies for the future.  Specifically, students can help raise money for local and national agencies, volunteer at local shelters and soup kitchens, raise awareness on campus and/or join homelessness organizations from around the state to support increased funding for emergency assistance for families at risk of homelessness.

Campus Climate Challenge:  This campaign is designed to set students up to lead the way in solving global warming.  This semester students can help educate fellow students about global warming, help UMass Dartmouth become a greener campus and convince legislators to take action. 

Affordable Textbooks:  Students on average are spending $900 a year on textbooks!  That is too much.  Students working on this campaign will work on decreasing the price of textbooks on campus through asking professors to use open textbooks (found online and are free!), spreading the word about UMass Dartmouth's online bookswap and working to pass a state bill to decrease the cost of textbooks.

New Voters Project:  Young people tend not vote, but the tide is starting to turn.  Iowa and New Hampshire saw large youth voter turnouts because organizations like PIRG were working to get out the vote!  We can start making a difference here in Massachusetts by doing a big Get Out the Vote Drive on campus, registering voters and working to institutionalize registration on campus.