Fighting Hunger On Campus
Poverty isn’t exclusive to any one community. Even college campuses are not immune. Our latest research suggests that one in five students may currently experience hunger. ConnPIRG Students are working to help end food insecurity with our Hunger Free Campus Initiative that would address this issue by funding eligible institutions that provide resources to students and community members to end food insecurity in Hartford and at Trinity College.
We held a fundraiser to give back to our community – just this fall, we raised $480 for the Trinity Homelessness Project to create survival backpacks for middle and high school students. Six Trinity students in collaboration with students Andrew Moran, Alexander Nadelberg, Jackson Weisman, Joshua Kinsella in AEPI and Pike brothers hosted a Pie a Pi event where they encouraged students to “pie” a fraternity brother to support ending food insecurity in Hartford. We plan on hosting another fundraiser in the Spring so be on the lookout for some fun announcements!
Building a 100% Renewable Energy Future
Building off of Connecticut’s renewable energy commitment, students at Trinity College are asking President Berger-Sweeney to commit Trinity to 100% renewable energy by 2045. Climate change is an important issue for young people, and Trinity College is no exception. In a partnered event with the Trinity Environmental and Climate Justice Club, over 10% of students signed our 100% renewable energy commitment petition with the help of our volunteers Izzy Duane, Helena Hickambottom, Winifred Burckle, Astrid Mayer and Zey Oğuzer. If you see the whale in Mather Hall this spring semester, stop to meet our volunteers and sign on in support of commiting Trinity College to 100% renewable energy so that we can move away from fossil fuels!
You can support Trinity’s commitment to renewable energy by signing on to the petition HERE!
Making Textbooks More Affordable
It’s no secret that textbook prices are a rip-off. We’ve been exposing the textbook publishing industry and calling for solutions like open education resources (OER) for decades. This year, we released our 21st report on textbook affordability, titled “Open Textbooks: The Billion Dollar Solution” to call for more free open textbooks in classrooms.
The EPA’s National Environmental Youth Advisory Council
In addition to our state level advocacy, we also sent Zey Oğuzer and several student leaders from across the country to Washington DC for a national leadership training at the launch of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s convening of youth environmental organizations. Students got training from our Political Director Dan Xie and our network’s Vice President and DC legislative director Lisa Frank, attended the youth convening to learn about federal opportunities, network with other groups, and promote our environmental platform, and then co-hosted a reception for our partners at Relist Wolves and the League of Conservation Voters. They also attended a climate rally at the Capitol with our partners from the Climate Action Campaign.
All Made Possible by the $5 ConnPIRG Fee
All of this campaign work is made possible because of the students across the state who pay their ConnPIRG fee. Every few years, we ask students at Trinity College to reaffirm their support of our work by funding our ConnPIRG chapter with the $5 per-student per-semester mandatory charge within the student activity fee. Students pool their resources together to hire staff, such as advocates, lobbyists, and organizers, to work with students on issues that they care about and represent students where decisions are made—in Hartford and Washington D.C.
This year, we are asking students to reaffirm their support for their ConnPIRG chapter and “Vote YES for ConnPIRG” so that we may continue our work protecting the environment, ending food insecurity, and making college more affordable!
The problems that ConnPIRG tackles are large, statewide, and often national in scope. Our goals are not simply for students to “make their voices heard” on these issues, but to win concrete reforms that improve people’s lives. In order to make real, substantial change, we combine student enthusiasm with professional staff to run our effective statewide organization.
In addition, we could not run strategic local campaigns without strong partnerships with campus leaders and community members, or without advice and support from folks like you. So thank you for your ongoing support!
P.S. If you’re interested in a spring internship with ConnPIRG on your campus, please submit an application on our website here!
Best,
Zey Oğuzer
State Board and Chapter Chair
ConnPIRG Students
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