Detox Minnesota! // MPIRG students worked successfully with students from across the state to help pass the first statewide phase-out of bisphenol-a from children’s products.  Bisphenol-a, commonly known as BPA, is a dangerous chemical found in plastics.  Carleton students held several educational campus events, encouraged their peers to make their own cleaning products, and met with Rep. David Bly and Sen. Kevin Dahle to encourage them to support the BPA phase-out legislation.

Carleton Chapter with Minnesota State Representative David Bly (25B), 2009

Ben Hellerstein, CarlPIRG chapter Co-Chair, works with a Carleton student to call Governor Pawlenty in support of a ban on BPA.

Environment // Working in coalition with several major environmental organizations in Minnesota, Carleton students actively advocated for the Clean Car Standards.  Students held a Clean Car Forum with experts from the Sierra Club, Carleton College, and MPIRG to explore the benefits of this legislation.  Carleton MPIRG students also attended the Clean Car Lobby Day in the spring at the Minnesota state capitol to meet with their elected officials and generate visibility around the issue. 

CarlPIRG educational forum on Clean Cars legislation and the benefits for Minnesota.

Affordable Higher Education // The prices of textbooks and higher education have been spiraling higher and higher in recent years.  To combat rising prices, Carleton MPIRG students advocated for Opportunity Minnesota at the Minnesota state legislature.  Opportunity Minnesota, modeled after a program in Maine called Opportunity Maine, would provide students wishing to stay in the state of Minnesota after graduation a feasible way to manage their student debt.  In addition to advocating for Opportunity Minnesota, MPIRG students formed a coalition with professors and the bookstore to address rising textbook prices.  A photo petition was submitted to McGraw-Hill, one of the largest publishers, asking them to consider the cost of textbooks in their marketing strategies. 

Jeff Blodgett, the Executive Director of Wellstone Action and a former MPIRG Board Member from 1981, gives a presentation on the history of organizing social and political movements.

Democracy // This fall, Carleton MPIRG students participated in the Get Out the Youth Vote campaign.  For the campaign, MPIRG students registered over 150 of their peers in one day.  In addition to helping register young people to vote, MPIRG students helped get out the youth vote on election day, ran poll-line monitoring to discourage voter intimidation and helped keep waiting voters warm with hot chocolate. 

What’s Next? // This coming year, Carleton MPIRG students will continue advocating for the public interest.  Focus areas include health care, local foods initiatives, gender & sexuality initiatives, and the environment. 

Student Contacts
Christa Owens, owensc@carleton.edu
Ben Hellerstein, hellersb@carleton.edu
Michelle Hesterberg, hesterbm@carleton.edu
Sarah Berlin, berlins@carleton.edu

Campus Organizer
Jamison Tessneer, ext. 303, jamison@mpirg.org

www.Carleton.edu