By: Jesse Gray
Posted: 2/5/09
The LCC Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group, fresh from its
successful Winter term kick-off, is planning several major events for
the rest of the school year. Some events include a homeless food drive,
the continuation of a campaign to address global warming and a campaign
to lower the cost of textbooks.
Part of the textbook campaign took place in the first few weeks of
Winter and Fall term, when OSPIRG encouraged students to sign cardboard
placards stating how much money they paid for textbooks. "It's a good
way to see the totally ridiculous amount students pay for books," LCC
OSPIRG Chapter Chair Charles Denson said.
OSPIRG's textbook campaign encourages instructors to use open source
textbooks in their classes, which can be downloaded for free online or
bought for a lower price than regular textbooks. Many of the campaign's
events focus on raising awareness of the high price of textbooks.
OSPIRG is funded by student incidental fees, and tackles a number of
issues related to students and the community, such as hunger,
homelessness, global warming and environmental issues, textbooks
prices, and lobbying in the legislature for more state funding for
higher education.
While the exact number of volunteers varies depending on the event,
OSPIRG members report that they have been in contact with over 2,000
LCC students and 700 have expressed interest in helping out.
LCC OSPIRG Chapter Coordinator Ben Ramsden-Stein attributed this term's
higher degree of interest primarily on higher enrollment. "Part of it
is increasing enrollment," he said. "We also stayed on top of class
raps [this term]. There was just a lot of interest. It was great."
Ramsden-Stein and other interns and volunteers tabled in the cafeteria
and outside the LCC Bookstore several days a week in Fall and Winter
terms. They also hosted the OSPIRG winter kick-off, which was the
biggest one in three years. "It wasn't Lane's record," Ramsden-Stein
said, citing the record at 100 attendees, but he was still excited at
the 52-individual turnout.
As for campaigns, OSPIRG encouraged instructors to participate in the
global "teach-in" on Feb. 5 to raise awareness of global warming by
infusing their lesson plans with global warming themes. While he wasn't
sure of the exact number of participating instructors, Denson said he's
expecting "a pretty good turnout."
There will also be a panel comprised of teachers and experts from the
fields of health, environmental science and economics to discuss how
global warming applies to their respective fields.
Other campaigns include an ongoing food drive for the homeless that has
already raised 250 pounds of food, and a campaign to work with
legislators and teachers to lower the cost of college textbooks.
OSPIRG is always looking for more people to help out with a number of
projects and campaigns. It is planning a trip to Salem, Ore., in March
to speak with legislature regarding a number of issues. Any questions
or comments can be answered at the OSPIRG office, located in the
basement of the Center Building.
© Copyright 2009 The Torch
