As one of MPIRG’s original campuses, MacPIRG has been going strong since 1971 teaching students the skills they need to effect positive change in their communities.

Economic Justice // In the past, Macalester's Economic Justice Taskforce has focused more exclusively on hunger and homelessness issues, but beginning last year, they started working on exciting new labor and workers' rights issues on a local and global scale. In the Spring of 2011, they partnered with Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL) to bring workers to campus and participated in an awesome direct action at a nearby Cub Foods! Their most exciting accomplishment this semester has been securing sweatshop-free Alta Gracia Apparel to be sold on campus starting in Spring 2012. This year they've also worked with Minnesotans for a Fair Economy and the OccupyMN movement to get students involved in rallies around issues that directly affect them. They're working on bringing the conversation about the wealth divide back to campus in the form of a comprehensive panel with a variety of speakers and activities. In addition, they've continued to remember the importance of homelessness by having a clothing drive throughout the month of November.

MacPIRG students at the Hunger Banquet which was done in partnership with the Empty Bowls Project. Students raised over $1,000 for The Family Place.

Democracy // During the 2010 school year, the Democracy task force led a voter registration campaign that registered 300 students and helped provide non-partisan information about candidates and the voting process. During the 2011 Spring semester the Democracy task force focused on campaign finance reform. They got over 200 students to sign postcards to Governor Dayton asking him to pass an executive order prohibiting companies from both donating to campaigns and applying for government state contracts, a campaign they are completing this semester. This year they are also focusing on increasing political awareness and involvement on campus. They ran a voter registration drive, hosted "the Democracy Game", and will be screening the movie "Swing Vote". This campaign will culminate next semester with a panel of key political figures, discussing the current state of democracy in Minnesota. They are also planning a campaign to fight the Voter ID bill and keep the right of vote avalible to college students.

MacPIRG students host a candidate debate between State Representative candidates Erin Murphy and Meg Ferber at Macalester College.

Environment // The Macalester MPIRG Environmental Taskforce participated in both the Detox Minnesota Campaign and the Clean Cars Campaign.  In the spring they attended the Clean Car Lobby Day at the Minnesota state capitol and partnered with area businesses to host a Clean Car show for the local community.  MPIRG students also helped collect over 200 postcards asking their representatives to support the phase-out of Bisphenol-A (BPA) from children’s products.  The Environment Taskforce also participated in several service projects including a River Clean-up along the banks of the Mississippi.

Affordable Higher Education // After forming a coalition with the student government, various academic departments, the library, and the Macalester bookstore, MPIRG students hosted educational forums about the costs of higher education, developed a plan for a more effective library-reserve program, and petitioned several publishing companies to stop selling bundled books. 

MacPIRG student leadership getting ready for the year.

Gender & Sexuality // The Gender & Sexuality task force has been newly reformed for the 2011-12 year. They have been working on human trafficking awareness, including showing the documentary, "Cargo: Innocence Lost", followed by a Q/A session and discussion faciliated by the Not For Sale campaign. We had nearly 50 people in attendance! Policy work regarding human trafficking is also in the works. By the end of the semester, our task force will have completed our semester-long project of making an It Gets Better video (http://www.itgetsbetter.org/). This video is a compilation of interviews from Macalester students and faculty. We hope to use this video to raise awareness about the struggles of queer youth as a preliminary step in fighting the gay marriage ban in 2012. 

What’s Next? // This coming year, Macalester MPIRG students will be working on issues such as health care, gender & sexuality initiatives, the environment, economic justice, and democracy.   

To get involved, contact the MacPIRG student leaders at
Tom Fendt - tfendt@macalester.edu
Lauren Silberman - lsilberm@macalester.edu
MacPIRG - mpirg@macalester.edu

Meetings
Skills Training: Tuesday, 9:30 - 10 p.m., Campus Center 215
Chapter Meeting: Tuesday, 10 p.m., Campus Center 215

St. Paul Campus Organizer
Tom Raley, extension 305, tom@mpirg.org

www.Macalester.edu