Viking_Yearbook_91

••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ,- OSPIRG CE ANNIVERSAR ((The purpose of OSPIRG shall be to articulate and pursue through the courts, the media, the institutions of government and other legal means, the con– cerns of the students of the state of Oregon on is– sues of general public interest, in such areas as en– vironmental preservations, and consumer protec– tions," read the petition and resolution by stu– dents of the Oregon State System of Higher Edu– cation to create OSPIRG, submitted 20 years ago in 1971. Since then OSPIRG has become a strong ad– vocacy group. The agenda is set by students typi– cally falling in the areas of environmental protec– tion, hunger and homelessness, consumer protec– tion and good government. The student branch of the organization cur– rently has chapters at four campuses in Oregon, including Portland State. "I have got a social conscious and I am politi– cally active. OSPIRG is definitely the best outlet for that. It is a pragmatic approach to student groups as far as getting things done on a statewide basis even on a nation-wide basis," said Morris Hoos, member of the PSU OSPIRG chapter. Chapter Chair Jessica Norie agreed,"You can see things actually happen, you are actually able to accomplish things. What happens in the gen– eral public is that you graduate form college and you are idealistic but you have never seen any– thing get done. OSPIRG gives people that chance." PSU's project groups included Alternative En– ergy, Legislative Watch, Recycling, Voter Regis– tration Toy Safety, and Hunger and Homeless– ness. Alternative Energy, created out of concern for depleted natural resources and looming war in the Mid East, has focused on education students. They held an energy fair and an energy fair which brought experts in solar energy and other alterna– tive uses to campus. In Portland, the eighth annual Hunger Clean Up, part of a national one day effort to raise mon– ey and volunteer at shelters, raised close to $2,000 and recruited 150 volunteers. "Every legislative session OSPIRG introduces legislation and students on campuses work to get that legislation passed. "We basically to provide targeted back up on targeted legislation and legislators," said Ivan Fr– ishberg, OSPIRG state board chair and leader of the Legislative Watch part of the year. OSPIRG worked on legislation including Sen– ate Bill 66, a recycling package, and a toxics in packaging reduction bill. The PSU voter registration group registered 500 students; 10,000 were registered state wide. The group also sponsored a Voter Registration Fair with representatives from all the ballot the measures, pro and con., and representatives from the campaigns. "When you see the people in OSPIRG, you can't call all the students apathetic. There are students that work extremely hard," said Norie. "I have learned more about what is going on, that I can change things and that I can be a part of it. I think that I will take it with me. I have learned things that you can't learn in a classroom. "I think the biggest thing is seeing students change. To see students, who everyone else calls apathetic, working hard for something they be– lieve in," she added. • • • Deborah Hallick