NJPIRG commencement welcomes new members

The University’s chapter of the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group launched its first event of the semester Wednesday with nearly 150 people in attendance.
Interns from each of NJPIRG’s initiatives disseminated information about projects planned for this semester. Speakers represented a variety of issues, including global warming solutions, Energy Service Corps, water watch, higher education and health care.
“We are here for obvious reasons. If you are here tonight, you are no longer oblivious … it is amazing what NJPIRG does,” said College Avenue Campus Dean Matt Matsuda, whose band, The Deans of Love, opened the event.
This semester, the University’s chapter collected more than 1,200 interest cards and added nearly 100 interns to its various initiatives, said Sarah Clader, University NJPIRG campaign coordinator.
NJPIRG plans to take on many large-scale projects this semester, such as a Green Expo to show what can be done everyday to alleviate global warming and to showcase the work of local green businesses, students, professors and politicians.
“We have the solutions — we need to make sure that we are actually using the solutions,” said School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Kate Hubschmitt, who has worked with NJPIRG for four semesters.
Other projects include lobbying lawmakers to encourage Pell Grant funding, informing students of problems in the current health care system, holding clean-up days and reaching out to New Brunswick’s Latino community as part of the Hunger and Homelessness Initiative, School of Arts and Sciences first-year student Tania Tabora said.
She first became interested in NJPIRG because the organization allowed her to go door to door and let people know about the services available in the area.
Some students attended the kickoff because they wanted to give back to the community and thought NJPIRG would be the best organization to provide this opportunity. Others, such as Livingston College senior Alan Gibson, came with a specific cause in mind.
“We came for the Haiti relief section because we have an event that we are working on that [NJPIRG] will hopefully help us out with,” said Gibson, a member of the Haiti Association of Rutgers University.
School of Arts and Sciences sophomore David Lynch came because he was interested in issues related to health care.
“It’s immediately relevant to students, who are going to be off of their parents’ health plans in a few years,” he said. “It is an issue of national importance as well. Clearly, our health care system isn’t functioning to the extent that it should be.”
Some at the kickoff said they expected more students to show up.
The goal was to have 400 people attend, said Mansi Patel, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore.
Annabel Pollioni, an intern for NJPIRG’s Energy Corps, said the event was a success.
“Now we have students who are willing and ready to volunteer with us … and then they can network and make more friends and bring them to us,” she said. “It just is an awesome way to see students getting involved.”

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