By: Ellen Cormier
Smith's chapter of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group has
noticeably increased its visibility since students returned to campus
at the end of August. In the last week alone, the group has kicked off
a week-long can drive, blended smoothies using energy generated by
pedaling a bike and created a visual representation of student debt in
the Campus Center. All this is not surprising considering it will soon
be time for Smith students to vote to reaffirm MassPIRG's presence on
campus.
Unlike other student organizations, MassPIRG is not funded through the
Student Activities Fee. Rather, they receive funding through a
non-mandatory annual fee of $18. Every two years, Smith students must
vote on whether or not to keep the chapter on campus.
"I don't think people always connect what we do on campus as being
worth their money," said Katie Drumm, the campus organizer for Smith's
MassPIRG chapter. She pointed out that MassPIRG is a network of
chapters. The money collected at Smith is pooled with the contributions
of other Massachusetts chapters and is used to hire lobbyists and
lawyers to push for legislation. The group also hires scientists to
perform independent research.
"We connect students' passion, interest and enthusiasm with
professionals that can direct that energy into real change," said
Drumm.
Emily Mailloux '11, Smith's chapter chair, agreed. "Funding is really
important because it helps us hire professional staff. Without them, it
would be hard to get legislation passed," she said. She noted that,
last year, MassPIRG as a whole secured $80 billion dollars to support
Congress's clean energy bill. The group also registered 10,000 voters
before the 2009 presidential elections.
Mailloux pointed out that, given Smith's $50,000 tuition, $18 is a
small price for MassPIRG to remain a part of the Smith community.
According to Drumm, approximately 70 percent of Smith students chose to
pay the $18 over the last two years. Drumm speculated that this number
is related to the number of students in the organization. "The more
people we have in our organization, the more people know about our
funding system," she said.
Mailloux stated that students could expect to see a lot from MassPIRG
this semester. "We're doing a lot of big events," she said. "There's a
lot of legislation going on." She cited the proposed Bottle Bill
expansion, which would make bottled water, juice and sports drink
containers redeemable for deposit in Massachusetts, and the American
Clean Energy and Security (ACES) act, a comprehensive clean energy
bill.
These pieces of legislation fit in with this year's four main MassPIRG
campaigns - Global Warming Solutions, Zero Waste, Hunger and
Homelessness and Student Debt. This year, Drumm said that MassPIRG
plans to increase their community involvement, both at Smith and in the
general Northampton area.
"We have a lot of students interested in getting the houses involved,"
she said, adding that they would also like to collaborate with other
campus groups such as the Engineers for a Sustainable World. According
to Drumm, some community-based projects might include weatherizing
homes and handing out CFL light bulbs.
"Hunger and Homelessness isn't our only community campaign," Drumm said.
Several Northampton-based projects are also on the agenda. For
instance, the Zero Waste Campaign will be looking into Northampton's
plans in increase the town landfill.
"It's great to work on legislation, but people like to see [their work]
tie in with things going on in their own community," she continued.
Of course, Smith's MassPIRG chapter will also participate in more
national initiatives as well. Yesterday's Wall of Debt, for instance,
was a nationwide event that raised awareness for California
Representative George Miller's work on college tuition legislation.
Then, next month, a number of members will head to Washington to lobby
for the Bottle Bill.
A date has not yet been set for the MassPIRG reaffirmation vote.
© Copyright 2009 The Sophian
