Viking_Yearbook_90

Sixty-four students attended the fall general-interest meeting and a record 91 attended the winter meeting. "A lot of people are excited about the organization. Our visibility, par– ticipation and quality of our activities are all at high levels," said Messenger. Much of OSPIRG's push over the year was toward Earth Day 1990. "We hope that Earth Day 1990 will be a catalyst for greater leaps forward with the environmental agenda of the 90's," Messenger said. Twenty years ago the first Earth Day was the beginning of much of the environmental legislation we have today, such as the Clean Air Act, and the creation of the Environmental Pro– tection Agency, Messenger said. An OSPIRG-sponsored debate with key note speaker Rep. Ron Wyden kicked off the Earth Day cele– bration. One hundred people were given the opportunity to ask questions and hear opinions on each side of the environmental issue. Each of four panelists: Gary Conkling, lobbyist for Techtronics, Ralph Saperstein, Vice President of Western Forest Industries Association, Andy Kerr, Director of Conservation and Education for Ore– gon Natural Resources Council, and Joel Ario, executive director for OS– PIRG, were asked to express an opin– ion on the foremost environmental issues affecting Oregon. "It was great an opportunity for students to hear opinions from indus– try experts- people who are making the policies and the news. It is not just chance to hear opinions but to hold them (industry leaders) accountable, ask questions, and put on them on the spot," Messenger said. To raise awareness about Earth Day 50 and about the environment, during the winter recruitment drive OSPIRG col– lected over 900 pledges from PSU students to live more environmentally conscious lives . During the fall term OSPIRG com– piled a report on the effectiveness of PSU's recycling program and then put together a cost benefit analysis of recycling during winter term, both of which earned the support of the ad– ministration. April 7 marked the fourth an– nual Hunger Clean Up. The goals were to raise the awareness level of the PSU community and the community at large towards the problems of hunger and homelessness, to physically im– pact the city, and to raise money to work on the problem. During the Hunger Clean Up volunteers were sponsored for hours worked in shel– ters, soup kitchens and other places around the city. During the year, OSPIRG sent 600 post cards and 30 letters to Oregon senators and representatives urging them to support a strengthened Clean Air Act. One OSPIRG project group par– ticipated in a study to pinpoint dan– gerous toys and then released the in– formation in the fourth annual"Dan– gerous Dozen" report which received national press coverage. Much of OSPIRG' s success in or– ganizing this year is credited to Tim Glynn, a full-time professional staff person, who acts as a resource for PSU OSPIRG students. "Tim is always there, always avail– able, and always readily accessible. He provides us with the means to get to our ends without spoon feeding us. It is not always easy to see the amount of