Affordable Housing and Homelessness // Students at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities realize the importance of ending homelessness and increasing the availability of affordable housing. They are working to address these issues in Minnesota by educating students through panels and speakers discussing the causes of and solutions to homelessness. Students are engaging in service work through community volunteering and hosting regular gatherings to knit hats and scarves and to make fleece blankets, which are then donated to local shelters. Last semester students raised almost $1,000 in cash to donate to local relief organizations. To have a larger impact on the issue, students have been educating their peers on the Housing Solutions Act and sending postcards to state legislators. They will meet with legislators throughout the 2008 session to encourage them to support the HSA and other legislation targeted at ending homelessness in Minnesota.

Campus Sustainability // Victory! The Campus Sustainability Task Force recently brought influential faculty, administrators and student leaders together and had University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks sign the President's Climate Commitment. The students are working on the best way to implement the Commitment at the University. The annual Campus Wars event has wrapped up and students are preparing for an exciting legislative session. They will be lobbying to pass a Clean Cars bill, Cap and Trade legislation and legislation increasing the use of biofuels. The Task Force is organizing a Forum around energy issues with Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Arctic Explorer Will Steger and hundreds of students from across the state.

Clean Energy Lobby Day: U of M – Twin Cities freshman Ryan Kennedy discusses pending clean cars legislation with hometown Senator Jocy Peppin on March 3, 2008.

Democracy // This semester a few students have begun laying the ground work for the upcoming 2008 elections. MPIRG will be registering students to vote, helping students locate their polling place and educating them on the candidates. Currently the students are in the process of organizing a US Senate debate to be hosted on campus, bringing youth vote organizations together and developing questions for the Student Voter Guide.

Detox Minnesota! // The Northfield City Councils have passed resolutions supporting statewide legislation calling for a phase-out of two toxic chemicals, phthalates and bisphenol-A from children’s products. Both of these toxins are linked to a variety of health problems including learning disabilities in children, various cancers, and reproductive disorders. A similar ban on phthalates was passed in San Francisco last year and recently California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed this ban into state law. Minnesota has a great opportunity to be the next state to institute protective policies regarding toxic chemicals in everyday products. While the information is great, the next step is to take action. MPIRG will be working on campus to educate and engage the campus community about toxins in their everyday products and then working for real policy change at the city and state level.

Fair Trade // The Fair Trade Task Force is in its third year as an MPIRG project. In the past, we have worked on several educational events on campus including forums with local fair trade experts, fair trade bazaars, and fair trade coffee giveaways. This year we kicked off our “Make the U Fair” campaign with the Duluth and Morris chapters. As a part of this campaign we are working to require the University of Minnesota to serve only fair trade coffee on its campuses by gathering grassroots support from students, faculty and other student groups. We are also working to get the University to sign on the to Designated Supplier’s Program, ensuring that all University of Minnesota clothing is sweatshop-free. So far we have gathered more than 3,000 petition signatures and have passed our resolution through both the Student Senate and the Social Concerns Committee of the Faculty Senate.

Lead Campus Organizer
Jamison Tessneer, extension 302, jamison@mpirg.org

www1.umn.edu/twincities