MASSPIRG at Massachusetts College of Art
Mass Art is working on some good stuff this semester. Students will be working on a variety of social issues ranging from
global warming, to hunger and homelessness, and higher
education affordability. Join the good fight and
get involved!
Weekly Meetings: MASSPIRG Office - Kennedy Basement LoungeThursdays @ 7pm
Spring 2008 Upcoming
Events
On March 28th from 7-9 pm MASSPIRG students are teaming up with MACA to
host an Open Mic Night Food Drive Kennedy Student Lounge on the second floor to awareness around issues of hunger
and homelessness in the community. Admission is 2-3 nonperishable
items, in particular rice and beans, which will benefit Casa Nueva
Vida, a homeless shelter in Jamaica Plain. 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 Mass Art and help us meet our goal of raising $500!
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. Register now at www.masspowershift.org or for more information contact sasha@masspirgstudents.org
Past Successes: Making College More Affordable: On September 7th, 2007, MASSPIRG students had a huge victory when the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed the College Cost Reduction and Access. This Act is the most meaningful higher education reform in more than 15 years. It provides billions of dollars a year in additional grant aid to low-income students through the Pell Grant program. It will also help students address the burden of rising student debt through lower interest rates and a new repayment system. Congressman George Miller, the Chairman of the Higher Education committee said this, after the vote passed: “I want to thank the students, PIRG, and USSA for their work on this issue.”
Passing the Global Warming Solutions Act! MASSPIRG students across the state mobilized this semester to help pass the Global Warming Solutions Act through the state senate. On Valentine’s Day, Mass Art students collected 80 “green” Valentines and sent them to State Senators Tolman and Walsh encouraging them to have a heart and stop global warming. We also ran a call-in day in the cafeteria, generating 30 phone calls to the senators’ offices urging them to support a strong global warming bill. Because of our hard work gathering petitions and generating calls on campus, and our staff lobbying on the hill, the bill passed out of the Senate! We are continuing to work to push the bill through the House, will be screening Who Killed The Electric Car? and recruiting students to go to Massachusetts Powershift, the largest youth global warming conference in the state.
Registering New Voters: Students this semester ran a non-partisan youth voter mobilization effort for the Massachusetts primary in January. As part of our effort to register and get out the vote, Mass Art chapter students Tessa Wilson and Lewis Morris were interviewed for WGHB Greater Boston on the issue of youth voter turnout. Getting a jumpstart on voter registration this fall, MASSPIRG registered 20% of Smith Hall students to vote in one day! We are continuing our work on this issue by organizing a coalition of groups on campus to run an extensive voter registration and voter mobilization effort in the fall of 2008.
Fighting Hunger & Homelessness: Students have begun fundraising for the 24th Annual National Hunger Clean-up on April 5th, when they will spend the day working for Casa Nueva Vida, a homeless shelter for Latina women and children in Jamaica Plain. This semester we have already raised over $150 for the shelter out of our goal of $300. On March 28th students will team up with MACA on campus and hold an Open Mic Night Food Drive to generate canned food donations for the shelter. Last semester, we also collected close to 100 petitions to Congress, asking them to allot more money to the food stamps program.
Improving Public Transit: Expanding public transportation is critical. More options for transit means decreased traffic congestion and air pollution, cutting our dependence on oil and addressing climate change. MASSPIRG is working to make sure the Governor and legislature prioritize public transportation in the state’s spending plan. Just last week MASSPIRG advocate Phineas Baxandall released a report that got front page coverage in the Metro, calling for the expansion and improvement of the green line.
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 Mass Art become a greener campus and
convince legislators to take action.
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.
For more information contact Tessa Wilson, the MASSPIRG chapter chair: beforeiflyaway@gmail.com Question or concerns? Call Sasha Rosen, MASSPIRG assistant organizing director (617) 747-4352 or email her at sasha@masspirgstudents.org
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