OSPIRG Kickoff Meeting! January 22nd, 5:30

Want to tackle climate change, keep antibiotics effective, and alleviate hunger and housing insecurity? Then you should come to OSPIRG’s winter 2020 kickoff meeting in the SU Gallery from 5:30-6:30, January 22nd! We’ll give overviews of our campaigns for the term, talk about the work we’ll do to win, and get ready to get started right away.

If you want to learn how to make real change on the issues you care about, OSPIRG is the group for you. Not only will you be making a difference on the issues we’re currently working on, you’ll also learn valuable skills that it takes to be an effective activist and organizer. We know that student activism is a powerful force and that we all have to do the work to create a greener, healthier, more meaningful future we all want. These are the campaigns OSPIRG is working on this term:

This term we’re working to tackle climate change by getting RVTD to commit to a 100% electric bus fleet. All around us, we’re seeing the effects of climate change on our environment and our quality of life. Record-setting storms, raging wildfires and extreme drought are affecting our communities across the country and the world. We need to shift to 100% renewable energy as quickly as possible to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. Transportation is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in the state. Electrifying our buses helps us cut carbon and paves the way for our campus, city, and state to move to 100% renewable energy.

Another campaign this term is convincing Wendy's fast food to stop buying meat raised on routine antibiotics. Regular antibiotics can breed dangerous superbugs like E Coli that make people sick. Since fast food chains are the largest buyers of meat, their spending habits define the market. Our goal is to show Wendy’s that young people care about this issue and whether or not they make the change will impact their revenue. Other fast food chains such as McDonald’s, Subway, and KFC have already made similar commitments because of the push from student PIRGS.

We are also continuing our work on tackling hunger and houselesses. We work in coalition with the Jackson county fuel committee to help weatherize homes in the Rouge Valley and chop firewood for the cold season. We also host food and hygiene drives to help the SOU food pantry.

To help make a difference, join us in the SU Gallery (SU 323) from 5:30-6:30, January 22nd (Wednesday of week 3)! See you there!