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One
thousand professors
from over 300 colleges in all 50 states released a statement declaring their preference for high-quality,
affordable textbooks, including open textbooks, over expensive commercial
textbooks. Open textbooks are high quality open-access textbooks reviewed and written by academics that can be used online at no cost and printed for a small cost. Open textbooks are already used at some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions, like Harvard, Caltech and Yale. Textbooks cost students an average of $900 per year, which is a quarter of tuition at an average four-year public university and nearly three-quarters of tuition at a community college, according to the GAO. Research conducted by The Student PIRGs identifies publisher tactics as the primary cause of escalating prices. Bundling textbooks with unnecessary supplements forces students to purchase items they do not need; unnecessary new editions undermine the used book market; and withholding critical price information keeps faculty in the dark. “As faculty members, our top priority is to choose the textbook that is best for our students. We share concerns about affordability, and face similar frustrations with publisher practices,” said Sandra Schroeder, Chair of the American Federation of Teachers Higher Education Program and Policy Council. “Open textbooks and other affordable options, when appropriate for a course, are a win-win for everyone.” Here are some examples of open textbooks: Introduction to Economic Analysis A First Course in Linear Algebra Introduction to Physical Oceanography Check out a great front-page article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |
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MASSPIRG chapters across the state released the "Campus Credit Card Trap" report,
which outlined the unfair marketing practices of the credit industry.
Students overwhelmingly support limits on campus credit card marketing,
according to the results of the nationwide USPIRG survey of more than
1500 students at 40 colleges in 14 states. Learn more at: truthaboutcredit.org |
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MASSPIRG PRESS RELEASE
Immediate Release Contact: April 8, 2008 Eric Bourassa, 617-747-4314
Transportation Bond Bill Passes Legislature Includes $700 million to fund public transportation related projectsBoston—The state legislature passed transportation bond legislation on Tuesday, including $700 million dedicated to public transportation improvements and expansions. The lion’s share of the public transit funding is for the Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford, incase the project does not qualify for federal New Starts grants which would cover over half of the cost. “This is a great move forward in seeing more public transportation in Massachusetts, especially in advancing the Green Line into one of the most densely populated communities in New England,” said MASSPIRG Advocate Eric Bourassa. Bourassa noted that public transportation has immense benefits, not only for transit riders, but also for achieving oil dependence, addressing global warming, and clearing traffic congestion. Last month MASSPIRG released a comprehensive study of public transportation systems nationally and in Massachusetts, entitled A Better Way to Go: Meeting America’s 21st Century Transportation Challenges with Modern Public Transit. The report’s key findings were that existing transit in Massachusetts saved 154 million gallons of oil in 2006, which translated into $403 million in savings for the economy. And transit saved 21 million hours of traffic delay for commuters and reduced carbon emissions by 1.2 million metric tons in 2006, the equivalent of taking 225,000 cars off the road. Other funding in the bond legislation will be for additional stops on the Fairmont Commuter rail line, more parking at transit hubs, and a study to link the MBTA Blue and Red lines. |
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On Thursday in the city building lobby the MASSPIRG chapter at MCC released the "credit trap" report done by U.S. PIRG which outlines the unfair marketing practices of the credit industry. The average student receives nearly 5 credit card offers a month and is graduating with an average of 4,000 in credit card debt. Credit cards are marketed to students using free gifts, introductory teaser rates - and some schools are even selling the information of its students to these companies. Many students are using credit cards to buy books, food and even pay for tuition. Over 55 students and faculty signed on to the "Principles of Fair Credit Card Marketing" and the chapter handed out over 40 "consumer's guide to credit cards" in their efforts to educate the student body and address the issues of student debt. Sign the principles and learn more at: Truthaboutcredit.org
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On February 28th MASSPIRG students at MassBay Community College gave away 8 gallons of ice cream in 2 hours to raise awareness about global warming. MASSPIRG students gave away the ice cream as quickly as they could as an example of how urgent it is that students take action now to help stop global warming "before the ice cream glacier melts." Along with getting a scoop of ice cream over 150 MassBay students signed petitions to their state senators thanking them for supporting the Global Warming Solutions Act, and learned about 10 easy ways that they could help stop global warming. |
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Mass Art students in Smith Hall this week took time out of their hectic mid-term week to register to vote. 20% of the students registered to vote this week. Even though the 2008 presidental election is months away, students wanted to make sure they were all ready to go when November rolls around. |
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Middlesex Community College students designed, collected and created over 120 clean energy valentines to give to Senator Panagiotakos on Valentines day. They were hand delivered by lead students on Valentines day to the senators office where they had a legislative meeting with the senators aid about the "Global Warming Solutions Act" S534.
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On Valentine's Day North Shore Community College MASSPIRG volunteers collected money for their Hunger and Homelessness campaign, raffling off a $25 UNO's giftcard to one lucky contributor! The money will go to buy supplies for My Brother's Table, a local service providing hot, nutritious meals to all who need them. |
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On Valentine's Day Mass Art students created and signed 80 "green" valentines, which were hand delivered to state senators Steven Tolman and Marian Wash. The valentines encouraged the senators in their support for the Global Warming Solutions Act. |
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On Valentine's Day Mass Bay students delivered six large, green valentines to their state senators, Cynthia Creem and Karen Spilka. The valentines had over 150 signatures, and thanked the senators for their support of the Global Warming Solutions Act. |
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On December 6th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a 21st Century energy bill that will harness American ingenuity and put us on a path to cleaner, smarter new energy future for America. |
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Students from MASSPIRG chapters in Western Massachusetts met with Senator Rosenberg to talk about the Global Warming Solutions Act (SB534). Senator Rosenberg stated his firm commitment to strong measures to reduce climate change and to addressing our energy needs. Students from Smith College and UMASS-Amherst came out of the meeting with a commitment to building their relationship with Senator Rosenberg in the future. |
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Caroline Henderson, a first year at Smith College, spoke at a press conference organized by Environment Massachusetts to release their report on changing weather patterns in Massachusetts. Winston Vaughan, a field organizer with Environment Massachusetts, spoke about the increasing frequency of severe storms in the region. State Senator Stan Rosenberg also spoke at the event. Henderson's statement discussed the role of students in fighting climate change, and highlighted accomplishments by Smith students and the recent success of Powershift. |
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On October 3rd, over 30 students and 1 pumpkin agreed to have their pictures taken with the statement,"Senator Hart, be a climate challenge hero, support SB534!" These were picture petitions taken to send to Sentaor Jack Hart to try and convince him to support the Global Warming Solutions Act, which will cut Global Warming emissions 80% by 2050! |
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MASSPIRG students at Worcester State College organized a "Get Naked for the Homeless" clothing drive last Thursday, collecting gently used garments to donate to local shelters. Volunteers set up tables around campus to raise awareness about the issue, and took pledges from students to bring in clothes later if they didn't have any at the time. The drive will continue through next week. |
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MASSPIRG, students, faculty and administrators packed a State House hearing room as the Joint Committee on Higher Education heard testimony about the high cost of college text books. Those testifying were calling in lawmakers to support the Act Relative to the Pricing and Production of College Textbooks or ‘the Affordable Textbooks Bill’ (HB1200), filed by Representative Steven Walsh of Lynn, which would make Massachusetts the leading state in protecting students against the unfair practices within the textbooks publishing industry which drive up book prices. “When we talk about affordable higher education, we tend to lose ourselves in discussions about escalating tuition and fees,” said Rep. Kevin J. Murphy of Lowell, House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Higher Education. We also have to work to ensure that we’re keeping textbooks affordable and that students are not charged by publishers for extra materials that they don’t need.” "We must do everything we can do make college more affordable for students - not less so. This bill is an important step in the right direction," said Patricia F. Plummer, Chancellor of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education. MASSPIRG, a statewide public interest group with student chapters at colleges across Massachusetts, released a report earlier this year highlighting the many problems within the publishing industry. The report, Exposing the Textbooks Industry, found that students are spending about $900 on books each year, and that the prices of textbooks have been rising at about four times the rate of inflation over the last decade. “Most faculty care about the high cost of textbooks for students” said Professor Steve Rudnick, an environmental science professor at UMass Boston. “But we can’t take price into account when publishers don’t disclose. This Bill will require that all publishers clearly disclose price information to faculty.” Another factor which increases costs highlighted by the MASSPIRG study is the trend to ‘bundle’ books with additional materials such as CD ROMS or workbooks, which faculty often do not want, and students don’t use. “Bundled books are fine if the professor plans to use the additional materials,” said Alex Kulenovic, Student Trustee at UMASS Boston. “But often they don’t, and they can’t get the book without the other additional material. This Bill will enable them to choose the book unbundled if they know they don’t need the extras, and save students some money.” Voices of support for more affordable textbooks were heard from across the higher education community – student leaders, student governments, faculty, librarians, student advocates, and college administrations all asked the Higher Education Committee to support the Bill. “Students today are investing so much in their education” said Chaz Beasley, a student at Harvard who attended the hearing today. “We’re hoping that the Committee will take action soon to pass this Bill from their committee which will help stop textbook publishers taking advantage of students, and make college that much more affordable.” |
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"How many Earths would it take to sustain a world full of people like me?" Nearly 200 students at UMass Dartmouth found that out recently at an event hosted by the Campus Climate Challenge team. Students were invited to come by a table in the Campus Center and take a quiz to find out their Eco-Footprint and get tips on how to fight global warming in their own daily lives. We also collected 160 signatures for the MA Global Warming Solutions Act! Want to get involved? Come to our campaign meetings--Thursdays at 5 o'clock in the Campus Center by the TVs or email katie@masspirgstudents.org! |
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On September 7th, 2007, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act by broad bipartisan votes of 79 to 12 and 292 to 97 respectively. The bill now goes to the President who has said he will sign the legislation into law. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act is the most meaningful higher education reform in more than 15 years. The bill addresses the financial challenges of access and affordability that face American college students. 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. The bill also trims excessive subsidies that benefit a handful of banks and directs them to millions of students and families who are working to pay for college. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act will:
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On July 11th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "College
Cost Reduction Act of 2007" (HR 2669) by a vote of 273-149. The bill
will substantially increase the purchasing power of the Pell Grant, the
nation's premiere need-based grant program which benefits millions of
low income students, increasing the maximum grant amount by $100 for
five years beginning in 2008-9. It will make student loan debt more
affordable by cutting the interest rate on student loans in half, to
3.4%, by 2012, and by capping loan repayment amounts to a reasonable
percentage of a graduate's income. HR 2669 goes a long way toward
solving the college affordability and access crisis in the country. |
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On Sunday, February 25th, UMass Dartmouth students stormed the dorms in an effort to raise money for Market Ministries, a local homeless shelter and soup kitchen. The results were amazing! In a two hour period $141.53 was raised in spare change alone. |
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From left to right: Kevin VanSlyke (Berkshire Community College), Stephanie Aines (UMass Amherst), Sanford Klanfer (Amherst College), Amy Dellea (Berkshire Community College Student Government), Sally Williams (Greenfield Community College), Lauren Vining (MASSPIRG Campus Organizer) and Congressman Olver. |
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The U.S. House of Representatives voted to increase the size of the maximum Pell Grant by $260, to $4,310. This is the first time the size of the Pell Grant has been increased since 2002. The Pell Grant is the federal government’s premier need-based grant aid program, providing aid to more than five million low-income students. Over the last five years, while students have paid more for college, the maximum Pell Grant has remained frozen. As a result students have had to make up the gap between tuition and aid with more work and larger loans. This increase will start to provide students with the aid they need to access an affordable college education. To fully restore the Pell Grant to its historic value, we’re continuing to call for the maximum to be increased to $5,100 in the coming budget cycle. |
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On
January 18th, by a vote of 264 to 163, the
U.S. House of Representatives passed the Clean Energy Act. The U.S.
PIRG-backed measure closes some tax loopholes for big oil companies, recovers
billions in lost royalties for drilling in public waters, and shifts more than
$14 billion to investments in clean energy. For more information, read http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7006189616. |
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On January 17th, by a vote of 356 to 71, the U.S. House passed, by an
overwhelming bipartisan majority, legislation to lower the interest rates on
student loans over the next five years. According to an analysis by the Student
PIRGs, the move would save the average low or middle-income borrower starting
school in 2007 $2,300 in debt. |
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In January, newly elected Governor Deval Patrick signed Massachusetts on to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which is a pact between the New England Governors to aggressively reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are causing global warming. This move came after years of tireless advocacy and activism on the part of students across the state. A commitment had initially been made by former Governor Romney who unfortunately backed the Commonwealth out of the agreement at the last minute. With this victory we can now put Massachusetts back on the path to solving global warming. |
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Bristol CC students held a three-day bake sale on campus to help a local veterans' shelter in conjunction with National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week and Veterans' Day. The event raised over $110 to be presented to director Dennis Allen on Wednesday, November 29 at a panel discussion on homelessness in Southeastern Mass. In addition to the baked goods, a large display with photos and statistics on raised campus awareness to the issue. |
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MASSPIRG at UMass Amherst hosted a panel
discussion on the genocide in Darfur during Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week. Two local Sudanese activists, Magda Ahmed
and her husband Mohamed Elgadi, as well as Professor of Resource Economics,
Julie Caswell spoke at the event. See a video of the event. |
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MASSPIRG intern Nikolai Blinow, editor of the Salem Log Benjamin Navon, and Student Government Senator Andrea Kilroe attended a hearing in Washington DC last week to ask the federal government to alleviate the increasing burden of student debt. All three travelled to the capital to speak at a hearing organized by the Department of Education, asking the agency to commit to making loan repayment programs more manageable, especially for student going into lower-income careers. Read about it in local news, in the "MASSPIRG in the news" section of this webpage! |
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The rising cost of higher education is a serious problem in the United States, and highly visible at UMass Dartmouth. Many students work full time in addition to attending classes, doing homework and getting involved in their community. Student debt can be a serious burden while in school, and an even more serious hindrance upon graduation – when student loan payments begin. Student Debt Alert intern Kerrin Forgette organized an event in September to gather student comments about debt and was upset with her findings. Many students she interviewed have debt levels higher than the national average of $7,500 upon graduation, which is no small amount itself. In an effort to make the US Department of Higher Education pay attention to the lack of sufficient student loan assistance, Forgette and Student Senate member Brandon Lozeau traveled from North Dartmouth to Washington, D.C., to testify before the Board on Wednesday, November 8. Forgette and Lozeau shared their stories and asked the US Department of Education to support college graduates by easing up on the financial strain of student loan repayment. As Lozeau looks to graduate school abroad in 2007, he is seriously concerned about his accumulating debt that may limit his options. Forgette hopes that her work to sound the alarm about student debt will mean relief for her, and future students at UMass Dartmouth. Both students greatly enjoyed their whirlwind tour of the nation’s capitol and remarked on how impressed the US Department of Education was with their visit from Massachusetts. “One Board member sought us out after the hearing to shake our hands and thank us personally for journeying down to express our concern,” said Lozeau. |
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On November 8, students, staff and faculty gathered in the Kittredge Center’s PeoplesBank conference room to hear a first-hand account of what it means to be homeless. Speaking to the crowd were Francine and John, who shared their stories about living on the streets, and Mike O’Neil from the Washington-based National Coalition for the Homeless. |
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Students from MASSPIRG chapters and student governments met with Congressman John Olver to discuss making college more affordable through this year's reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.