Syracuse students have their share of representatives. They're hard at work in the Mayor's office downtown. They're hard at work in the state senators' offices on Washington Street and in the assembly members' offices on Washington Street and Genesee Street.
These representatives are NYPIRG. They're all students, hard at work in an office above their unsuspecting peers on Marshall Street.
Who They Are
Heading the Syracuse office is project coordinator Dana Hill, the prime liaison between NYPIRG headquarters and the Syracuse chapter. In addition to running the internship programs and holding weekly workshops, Hill is in charge of imparting to students the necessary skills to carry out their respective projects.
Although Hill may coordinate the entire chapter, it is in fact the student board of directors that is in charge of hiring the staff. Syracuse is allotted three spots on the statewide board of directors. Directors are elected by those they are representing - in this case, students at SU and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
"The board of directors is the governing body of the entire NYPIRG group," said Chad Brooker, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences and a current member of the board. "We decide who gets hired, who gets fired, what we're going to lobby for and what we're going to take a stance on."
Brooker will be returning next year for a second term on the board. He will be joined by veteran Tom Hackman, a senior studying in Washington, D.C., this semester, as well as newcomer Lynnette Agostini, a sophomore at SUNY-ESF and a current project leader for the organization.
In addition to a full-time project coordinator and three board members, the Syracuse chapter of NYPIRG receives several student interns each year, as well as dozens of volunteers. Eight Syracuse and SUNY-ESF students, who are in charge of holding weekly meetings with their student volunteers and implementing their respective projects, held internships at NYPIRG this year.
What They Do
Just this year, students involved in NYPIRG have lobbied in Albany, encouraged students to register to vote, organized a bottle collection day and played a role in the Earth Day celebration two weeks ago in Thornden Park.
NYPIRG's various research and issue advocacy projects fall under the broad headings of five overarching campaigns: environmental preservation, good government and voter rights, consumer protection, higher education, and hunger and homelessness.
Environmental preservation, the organization's most renowned campaign, is currently pushing for the passage of the Bigger Better Bottle Bill. The much-publicized bill, which would expand the five-cent deposits on bottles to noncarbonated beverages, failed to be included in the state budget released earlier this month.
Students are also pressuring representatives to implement changes in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a project among northeast states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"We had people write letters in support of it, but at the same time to close the loopholes," said Caroline Massa about the initiative. Massa is a SUNY-ESF student and an environmental project leader for NYPIRG.
Besides its usual task of monitoring local government officials, the good government and voter rights campaign conducts a yearly voter registration drive, registering roughly 1,000 people each fall.
"We organized a shuttle last year to transport people to the polls," Hill said. "We also have plans to bring local politicians to campus."
Hill identifies the higher education campaign as having particular significance for the student body. It remains the mission of the campaign to keep higher education affordable for students. Currently, NYPIRG is working to make the Tuition Assistance Program more responsive to unforeseen changes in family income by allowing students to file for adjustments to the aid they receive during the year.
"A lot of the issues we push for will affect students at both ESF and SU," Brooker said.
What They Are
The New York Public Interest Research Group is New York state's largest student-directed research and advocacy organization. Founded in 1973 on the heels of the civil rights, consumer and student movements, the not-for-profit group aims to empower students and initiate legislative and social reform.
The Syracuse office is just one of NYPIRG's 21 chapters on college campuses across New York state. Each chapter consists of a staff of organizers, as well as student directors, interns and volunteers.
Students work with a full-time staff of lobbyists, lawyers and experts on both statewide and local projects. NYPIRG's current campaigns focus on environmental preservation, good government, consumer protection, higher education, hunger and homelessness.
"NYPIRG helps to enrich the campus environment," said Hill, project coordinator of the Syracuse chapter. "It gives students hands-on experience they normally wouldn't get in lobbying, researching consumer issues, holding press conferences and event organizing."
In addition to its 21 campus chapters across the state, NYPIRG includes a legislative office in Albany and a headquarters in New York City. NYPIRG headquarters, which houses the organization's executive director and president of the board of directors, works in conjunction with the Albany office to coordinate statewide campaigns and work with government officials.
Opportunities for Student Involvement
Student involvement in NYPIRG spans several levels, Hill said. Opportunities range from volunteering or attending chapter meetings to interning at the Syracuse office or the legislative office in Albany.
"Some come every week and are involved in every event, and some come for specific things that interest them," Hill said.
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