In
the last few weeks hundreds of students have submitted "I support clean
energy because..." letters to their Senators, and they make one thing
clear: there are countless reasons why it's time to bring clean energy
to America.
Join thousands of students who are calling our Senators this week to let them know we support clean energy: http://studentpirgs.org/72hours
We're running out of time to get our Senators to pass a national clean energy plan - but we're in it to win it.
By
launching a 21st century energy plan for America, we can create
millions of green jobs, jump start the economy, and begin to solve
global warming.
We've teamed up with dozens of organizations
across the country to host this 72 hour phone blitz to our Senators
because the more calls we make, the more they'll pay attention to us.
We all have our own reasons for supporting clean energy. And our Senators need to hear them all.
Until
today, it was perfectly legal for credit card companies to profit by
tricking people into paying late and then tripling the interest rate on
their balances.
Not anymore.
The Credit CARD Act
goes into effect today and includes this and other protections from
abusive practices the banks have used to rip us off. It also offers
college students additional special protections. Click here to read what's in it for you.
Students
have an average of almost $3,000 in credit card debt when they graduate
college. We use credit cards to pay for textbooks, transportation, and
even tuition. Banks have used aggressive marketing tactics and abusive
terms and conditions to trap us into deep credit card debt. According
to Inside Higher Ed,
the new law "Includes a set of changes aimed at protecting young
consumers -- and in some cases college students specifically -- from
excessive credit card debt." U.S. News and World Report explains that young consumers are "coveted" by banks and credit card companies.
It
was the outcry of students like you that passed this law, and the banks
aren't happy about it - this is the first time in 40 years any law
opposed by credit card companies has passed!
Having
high-speed rail connecting all the major cities throughout the country
would help our economy by providing thousands of sustainable jobs,
reduce carbon emissions that cause global warming, clear up highway
congestion, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and improve our
quality of life.
It's
going to take a long-term commitment from our local and national
leaders to plan and fund a national rail system. As we rebuild our
transportation system, let's make sure we do it right.
Haiti
just experienced a massive earthquake. We don't yet know the full
ramifications of this disaster, but the people of Haiti will need help
from around the world to meet both their immediate needs and the long
term effort to rebuild homes, schools, hospitals and cities.
Our
Hunger and Homelessness campaign will be holding fundraisers on
campuses in the months ahead to make sure organizations on the ground
have the resources to get food, medicine and supplies to the people
that need them.
Sign up to volunteer and help fundraise on your campus here.
It's easy to organize a fundraiser on campus. Learn how by downloading our Response Kit.
Donations
are urgently needed - right now, we're recommending people direct
donations to our friends at Oxfam through their website http://oxfamamerica.org. Oxfam has four offices in Haiti and over 200 highly-experienced aid workers.
Please contact the staff of the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness with questions at Natalie@studentsagainsthunger.org.
A
handful of PIRG students attended last Wednesday's forum at the White
House on global warming and clean energy. The forum gave young people a
chance to speak directly to administration officials, including Ken
Salazar (Secretary of the Interior), Hilda Solis (Secretary of Labor),
Steven
Chu (Secretary of Energy), Lisa Jackson (EPA Administrator), and Nancy
Sutley
(chair of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality).
In his State of the Union
Speech last night, President Obama recommitted to an increased
investment in higher education, reaffirming that investment in higher
education is essential to our country’s recovery and long-term
strength.
Obama urged Congress to increase Pell grants by passing the
Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), help students better
manage their crushing debt loads, and create a $10,000 education tax
credit.
The passage of SAFRA will increase the Pell grant
(the government’s need-based financial aid program) by at least $40
billion dollars by eliminating wasteful, unwarranted subsidies to banks
and lenders, and redirecting the money to students.
President
Obama also called for an expansion of the federal Income Based
Repayment program to help students manage their rapidly increasing
debt. His proposal would cap students' monthly federal loan repayments
at 10% of their discretionary income and forgive their federal debt
after 20 years or repayment.
Increased tuition costs have
resulted in students and families over-relying on loans to pay for
college. In 2008 students graduated with an average of a $23,200 in
student loan debt. Too many students can't go to college because of the
costs, don't graduate because their debt gets so high they have to drop
out, or after graduation have to put off marriage, children, and home
purchase because of their crushing debt. On campuses across
the country, Student PIRGs' student interns and volunteers are working
to raise the alarm on student debt and calling on their elected
official to support President Obama's plan increase financial aid for
students.
The Obama administration last Thursday called a "time-out" on new road-building in nearly 50 million acres of our national forests. Despite President Obama's promise to protect these forests and restore the 2001 Roadless Rule, Bush-era officials still working at the U.S. Forest Service had been moving to allow the timber, mining and oil industries access to roadless areas within the system. On May 28, the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, ordered that these forests be protected from road building. Now we're pushing for permanent protection of these places through full restoration of the Roadless Rule.
President Obama recently signed into law strong legislation, called the “Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act”, that will halt the most egregious abuses by the credit card industry. This is a big victory for students and all consumers.
This is a big victory for students and all consumers! We've been
working on this issue for a while now – working on campus to educate
students and others about bad credit card practices, plus the report we
issued last year, The Credit Card Trap.
For too long, owning a credit card company has been a license to
steal. Over the last few years, the banks increased their use of
abusive tactics, such as changing due dates so they could trick
consumers into paying late. Worse, they charged a double whammy for
paying late - a high late fee first and then tripled interest rates of
36% APR or more. They also started charging good customers higher rates
because they supposedly paid some other creditor late (this is called
"universal default"). And when that wasn’t enough, they started raising
the rates of good customers for no reason at all.
These rip-offs have finally caught up with them. Gouging everyone,
even good customers who paid on time, caused thousands and thousands of
people who just want a fair deal to contact Congress and the Federal
Reserve.
The CARD bill doesn't fix everything, but it does eliminate a lot of unfair practices, including:
Credit card issuers could not extend
credit to consumers under the age of 21 unless the person has an
independent means to repay the loan, or has a cosigner with such
ability. That’s the same way other adults are treated. Consumers under
the age of 21 could choose whether to receive credit card
solicitations.
Restricts credit card companies from
giving away free gifts on or near campus and requires disclosure of
credit card company exclusive marketing arrangements with colleges.
Unjustified and retroactive interest
charges. Card companies could not hike interest rates retroactively on
balances accrued before a rate increase takes effect (with minor
exceptions) unless the cardholder is more than 60 days late in paying a
bill. If such interest rate increases occur, they must lower the rate
after six months of on-time payments. Card companies would not be able
to raise interest rates in the first year after a card account is
opened.
Universal default on existing balances.
Credit card issuers could not increase a cardholder's interest rate on
existing balances based on negative information about other bills
unrelated to their credit card.
Excessive and growing penalty fees.
Penalty fees would have to be reasonable and proportional to the late
or over-limit violation. Card issuers could not charge over-limit fees
unless the cardholder has agreed to allow over-limit transactions.
Unfair billing practices. Card companies could not charge interest on any portion of a balance that is paid by the due date.
Pay-to-Pay. Card companies could not
charge customers a fee to pay their bill, except for expedited service
provided by a service representative.
The new law also reins in the deceptive
marketing of freecreditreport.com—those commercials may be funny, but
the credit reports aren’t free.
Passage of this historic credit card reform legislation will stop
big credit card companies - many of which are benefiting from TARP
funds - from cheating Americans out of their hard-earned money.
The
American Recovery & Reinvestment Act recently signed into law by
President Obama contains plenty for students to applaud.
Higher Education: The final recovery bill included a $17 billion
increase in the Pell grant program for
college students. The increase means more grant money, as well as more
work-study aid and bigger tax credits for low-income students and their
families. Rep. George Miller, the key House leader on education, sought
input on the plan from the Student PIRGs' Rich Williams. http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_12284.shtml
Public Transportation: The bill added $8 billion for high-speed rail, a move strongly
supported by the Student PIRGs.
Another $8 billion in the bill is designated for other public
transportation uses. The New York Times quoted U.S. PIRG's John
Krieger: “After decades of looking on with envy at efficient bullet
trains overseas, American high-speed rail is finally leaving the
station.” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/us/politics/13stimulus.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=John%20Krieger&st=cse
Clean Energy:
The bill includes
more
than
$78 billion for clean energy and green infrastructure, including $33
billion for clean energy, $27 billion for energy efficiency, and $19
billion for green transportation.
A series about the surge in consumer debt and the lenders who made it possible.
Colleges Profit as Banks Market Credit Cards to Students
Bank of America employees on the campus of Michigan State University in
East Lansing, Mich., offered give-aways like water bottles, backpacks,
games and other items, trying to persuade students to sign up for
credit cards and other banking services.
EAST LANSING, Mich. — When Ryan T. Muneio was tailgating with his parents at a Michigan State football game this fall, he noticed a big tent emblazoned with a Bank of America
logo. Inside, bank representatives were offering free T-shirts and
other merchandise to those who applied for credit cards and other
banking products.
Fabrizio Costantini for The New York Times
Bank of America employees on the Michigan State campus offered
giveaways like water bottles, backpacks and games to persuade students
to apply for credit cards and other bank services.
“They did a good job,” Mr. Muneio, 21 and a junior at Michigan State, said of the tactic. “It was good advertising.”
Bank of America’s relationship with the university extends well beyond
marketing at sports events. The bank has an $8.4 million, seven-year
contract with Michigan State giving it access to students’ names and
addresses and use of the university’s logo. The more students who take
the banks’ credit cards, the more money the university gets. Under
certain circumstances, Michigan State even stands to receive more money
if students carry a balance on these cards.
Hundreds of colleges
have contracts with lenders. But at a time of rising concern about
student debt — and overall consumer debt — the arrangements have
sounded alarm bells, and some student groups are starting to push back.
The relationships are reminiscent of those uncovered two years ago between student loan companies and universities. In those, some lenders offered universities an incentive to steer potential borrowers their way.
Here at Michigan State, the editors of the student newspaper wrote
this fall that “it doesn’t take a giant leap for someone to ask why the
university should encourage responsible spending when it receives a cut
of every purchase.”
At Arizona State University,
students set up a table on campus last spring to warn of the danger of
debt and urge students to support limits on on-campus marketing.
The
contracts, whose terms vary but usually involve payments to colleges or
alumni associations that agree to provide lists of students’ names,
have come under harsh criticism in Washington.
“That is absolutely outrageous, the sharing of students’ information with the banks,” Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Democrat of New York, who oversaw a June hearing on campus credit card marketing, said in a recent interview. “That should be outlawed.”
Fabrizio Costantini for The New York Times
A Fifth Third Bank display offered bottles of water, tuition raffles
and a bicycle as an inducement to get incoming freshmen at Michigan
State University to open credit card and other accounts.
College
campuses are one place that young Americans are introduced to credit
and the possibility of spending beyond their means, a problem now
confronting the nation as a whole. For banks, the relationships are a
golden marketing opportunity. For colleges, they are a revenue source
at a time of declining public funding. And for students, they help pay
the bills and allow more shopping.
But debt incurred in college becomes a serious burden at graduation, especially in a recession in which jobs are scarce. A survey of more than 1,500 college students by US PIRG
in Washington found that two-thirds had at least one credit card.
Seniors with balances had an average debt of $2,623 on their cards.
University officials say that their agreements with card issuers comply with the law and bring in valuable revenue.
“It
provides money for scholarships and other programs,” said Terry R.
Livermore, manager of licensing programs at Michigan State. He said
that the program was aimed primarily at alumni and the university would
not include sharing student information in future credit card
contracts. “The students are such a minuscule portion of this program.”
Jennifer
Holsman, executive director of the alumni association at Arizona State,
said the association tried to teach students about responsible uses of
credit. “We work closely with Bank of America to provide educational
seminars to students in terms of being able to get information about
how to pay off credit cards, how not to keep balances,” she said.
Credit card issuers say that they try to educate students to use cards
responsibly and that the cards they offer on campus have more
restrictive terms than cards offered to alumni.
“The available
credit for undergraduates is capped at $2,500,” said Betty Riess, a
spokeswoman for Bank of America. “We want to take a fair and
responsible approach to lending because we want to build the foundation
for a longer-term banking relationship.”
Ms. Riess said the bank
had agreements with about 700 colleges and alumni associations, making
it one of the biggest, if not the biggest, card issuer on campuses. She
said that only 2 percent of the open accounts under those agreements
belonged to students, but also said it was not possible to determine
what percentage of program revenue resulted from fees and charges on
those student cards.
Stephanie Jacobson, a spokeswoman for JPMorgan Chase,
wrote in an e-mail message that the bank had fewer than 25 contracts
with colleges or alumni associations and that while some of the
contracts gave it the right to ask for and use lists of student names
and addresses, the bank had not done so since 2007.
That may be
because football games present a marketing opportunity that requires no
address information. Abigail D. Molina, a second-year law student at
the University of Oregon, applied in 2007 for a Chase Visa offered at a tent outside a football game. In exchange, she received a blanket.
I mostly wanted the blanket,” Ms. Molina said. She added that this
was her second university credit card. In 1994, when she was an
undergraduate at the university, she applied for a card at a booth on
campus and then accumulated about $30,000 in debt, almost all of it on
the card. In 2001 she filed for bankruptcy. Looking back, she said it
was “shockingly easy” to get the card, even as a first-year student.
Mr. Muneio, the Michigan
State student, said he did not apply for a Bank of America card because
he already had two Visa cards. “The last thing I need is another
account to keep track of.”
Many students are unaware of the
contracts that universities have with credit card issuers and do not
question the presence of marketers on campus or applications in their
mailboxes, despite recent protests on a few campuses.
Sometimes,
the contracts have confidentiality provisions. Universities may try to
distance themselves, stating that the contracts are only between alumni
associations and banks. But the universities provide alumni groups with
lists of current students’ names, addresses and telephone numbers,
which the groups pass on to banks.
The New York Times obtained
information about and, in some cases, copies of contracts between
lenders, public colleges and their alumni associations using open
records requests. Because private colleges are not subject to open
records laws, they are not included.
While most universities contacted for this article did not provide detailed financial information on the contracts — the University of Pittsburgh, for example, confirmed only that it had an agreement — two did share numbers.
The alumni association of the University of Michigan
is guaranteed $25.5 million over the term of its 11-year agreement with
Bank of America. Under the agreement, the association agreed to provide
lists of names and addresses of students, alumni, faculty, staff,
donors and holders of season tickets to athletic events.
Much
of the money goes toward scholarships, said Jerry Sigler, vice
president and chief financial officer of the alumni association. He was
unsure what students were told about the program.
“Students are
generally told how they can opt out of having their information
publicly displayed in directories or provided in response to requests
like this,” Mr. Sigler added. “But it’s not to my knowledge specific to
the credit card program.”
Michigan State University gets $1.2
million a year but is guaranteed at least $8.4 million over seven
years, according to its agreement. The contract calls for a $1 royalty
to the university for every new card account that remains open for at
least 90 days, $3 for every card whose holder pays an annual fee, and a
payment of a half percent of the amount of all retail purchases using
the cards.
For cards that do not have an annual fee, the bank
pays $3 if the holder has a balance at the end of the 12th month after
opening an account, a provision that appears to give the university an
incentive to get cardholders into debt.
A few schools have adopted policies that prohibit sharing student contact information.
Ball
State University’s alumni association, which has a contract with
JPMorgan Chase, does not provide information on students, said Ed
Shipley, executive director of the association. “Who we market to is
our alumni because that’s our purpose,” he said. However, the bank is
permitted to set up marketing tables at athletic events.
The
University of Oregon, whose alumni association also has a marketing
agreement with Chase, stopped providing student addresses as concern
grew about student debt, according to Julie Brown, a university
spokeswoman. The university still permits marketing booths at athletic
events.
Some research suggests that students may be using credit
cards less frequently, in favor of debit cards linked to their bank
accounts. A survey last spring by Student Monitor, a Ridgewood, N.J.,
company that tracks trends on campus, found that 59 percent of
undergraduate students had debit cards, up from 51 percent in 2000.
But
universities have arrangements with banks that offer debit cards too,
perhaps raising some of the same issues that the credit card deals do.
At New Mexico State University, for example, students are given the option of opening a bank account with Wells Fargo if they want to convert their campus identification into a debit card.
The
accounts are not mandatory, said Angela Throneberry, assistant vice
president for auxiliary services at the university. But, she said,
“There’s some revenue sharing that happens as part of this.”
A version of this article appeared in print on January 1, 2009, on page B1 of the New York edition.
Add this to
the list of the country's financial woes: Credit card companies are aggressively
targeting college students, many of whom are naïve about money matters and
vulnerable to predatory offers that can get them permanently mired in debt.
According to an eye-opening survey by the
United States Public Interest Research Group, or U.S. PIRG, which is an advocacy
organization, some students reported receiving hundreds of credit card offers in
a year. The report also described how companies lure cash-starved students with
gifts of clothing and free food. In one flagrant case in Ohio, students who showed
up for the food were required to fill out credit card applications before they
could eat.
A
half-dozen states have placed restrictions on how credit cards can be marketed
at public colleges. Congress is considering sensible bills that would restrict
the amount of credit and the number of cards that students could be offered.
Lawmakers should also focus on the lucrative and often secret deals that
universities and their alumni associations regularly cut with credit card
companies.
Those deals
— which resemble the now outlawed student loan kickback deals — often grant
companies the exclusive right to market to a college’s students. In some cases,
the colleges get a cut of what the students spend, which makes the school a
partner in the plundering of young peoples’ meager assets.
Congress
must insist that these deals be made public and universities and alumni groups
must insist that students be given fair deals from credit card companies.
With
financing from the Ford Foundation, U.S. PIRG has begun a national campaign
urging schools to adopt some common-sense principles that would help shield
students from credit card marketers and financial ruin.
The group
calls on universities to stop selling the names and contact information of
currently enrolled students to credit card marketers. It also says that schools
should ban marketers from using gifts to entice students to sign up for credit
cards, and it urges schools to do more to educate students on managing debt
responsibly.
Most
importantly, the group calls on schools that still decide to cut deals to only
do business with credit card companies that steer clear of commonly used but
unscrupulous credit card terms that take advantage of students. That means an
end to hidden fees or unreasonable penalties, including universal default, under
which interest rates go up when the customer fails to pay a bill not related to
the credit card account.
Schools
need to reform their credit card practices. If they don’t move quickly,
lawmakers must do it for them.
On October 22, Water Watch organizers, volunteers, and community water stewards organized water cleanups across the state for Make A Difference Day. Well over 300 people, dozens of local elected officials, and members of the media around the Commonwealth removed trash, debris, and invasive species that were endangering their local waterways. As part of the Make A Difference Day events, Water Watch organizers joined in with thousands of other AmeriCorps members participating in service projects in local communities across the country.
Now that we have caught the attention of the politicians with the amount of
students we registered to vote, it is time to use that to our advantage by
getting policies passed to help us win the fight against global warming.
We are working with UI facilities management, UISG, Environment Coalition
and Engineers for a Sustainable World to educate the students here at Iowa.
We are going to be working towards a goal of general education,
targeting the residence halls, and getting students directly involved in making
a difference with their environmental future!
On December 6th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a 21st Century energy bill that will harness American ingenuity and put us on a path to cleaner, smarter new energy future for America.
This bill is a breakthrough on energy policy and sets the country firmly on a path to increasing clean energy, lowering energy demand, and reducing U.S. dependence on oil.
We're now calling on the Senate to pass this bill quickly and for President Bush to sign it into law.
Highlights of the bill include:
Promote Clean Energy - by following the lead of half the states to establish a national renewable electricity standard, requiring utilities to produce 15% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. The bill also extends renewable energy production tax credits for four years and investment tax credits for 8 years.
A national renewable electricity standard will substantially reduce global warming pollution while sparking a clean energy boom across the U.S. According to a recent analysis by Environment America, renewable energy development in states with RES policies is already boosting local economies by luring new manufacturing and other skilled jobs. It's projected that the standard would save consumers at least $13 billion and cut 126 million metric tons of global warming pollution per year by 2020 (equal to taking more than 20 million cars off the road).
Reduce U.S. Dependence on Oil - by increasing fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks to 35 mpg by 2020. This would be the first meaningful increase in fuel economy standards in more than 15 years. The provision replaces the current standards with an attribute-based system that gives the auto industry tremendous compliance flexibility by allowing for different mileage requirements per vehicle size. The standards in the Senate bill would save 1.2 million barrels of oil a day in 2020, save consumers $25 billion at the gas pumps, and substantially reduce global warming pollution. With oil prices continuing to set new records above $80 a barrel, Americans want new standards and more efficient vehicles now.
Save Energy - by adopting strong energy-efficiency incentives and standards. Both the House and Senate bills contain legislation that would help Americans save energy in their homes and businesses. These policies include appliance and lighting efficiency standards, tax incentives, and building codes.
One
thousand professors
from over 300 colleges in all 50 states released a statement declaring their preference for high-quality,
affordable textbooks, including open textbooks, over expensive commercial
textbooks.
Open
textbooks are high
quality open-access textbooks reviewed
and written by academics that can be used online at no cost and printed for a
small cost. Open textbooks are already used at some of the
nation’s most prestigious institutions, like Harvard, Caltech and Yale.
Textbooks cost students an average of $900 per year, which is a quarter of tuition
at an average four-year public university and nearly three-quarters of tuition
at a community college, according to the GAO. Research conducted by The Student PIRGs
identifies publisher tactics as the primary cause of escalating prices.
Bundling textbooks with unnecessary supplements forces students to purchase
items they do not need; unnecessary new editions undermine the used book
market; and withholding critical price information keeps faculty in the dark.
“As faculty members, our top priority is to choose the
textbook that is best for our students. We share concerns about
affordability, and face similar frustrations with publisher practices,” said
Sandra Schroeder, Chair of the American Federation of Teachers Higher Education
Program and Policy Council. “Open textbooks and other affordable options,
when appropriate for a course, are a win-win for everyone.”
In a relaxed open forum and debate, the two local state senatorial candidates agreed on the need to allocate more money to Iowa's state universities but differed on where the source for the funds lie.
While munching on veggies and sipping on punch, UI students in I-Envision and Public Interest Research Group also asked Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, and UI Professor Jay Christensen-Szalanski about tuition increases, renewable energy, and the future of Iowa's entrepreneurial students Tuesday at the Bedell Entrepreneurship Learning Laboratory.
The professor of management and organizations said the state governments needs to be more active in funding for the three state Board of Regents' institutions, saying that 80 percent of state financial aid goes to students at private universities. Bolkcom, the eight-year incumbent, said he wants more federal assistance, citing gubernatorial candidate Jim Nussle's support of the $12 million cut in federal need-based funding.
"I think government works best when the city does not tell the state how to run itself and when the state does not tell the federal government how to do its job," Christensen-Szalanski said. "Before we blame Washington, we need to take a strong look at what the state is doing."
Meanwhile, Bolkcom said he supports "strong" state appropriations for university funding.
"But the state can't do it all," he said.
Christensen-Szalanski also touted his Iowa Advantage Fund, which will give employers tax credits to help employees with debt from school, a move he believes will keep Iowa competitive with larger job markets.
Bolkcom said creating an entertaining environment in Iowa is essential to enticing young people to come and stay.
Renewable energy was another topic on students' minds. The lawmakers discussed what they would do to help with global warming and put Iowa in the market for alternative energy sources.
"I think we ought to tell the university to be a leader in energy efficiency," Bolkcom said. "We ought to encourage them to do more."
Touting investing in privately owned wind farms and increased energy efficiency, Bolkcom said the state isn't doing enough to combat global warming and said "Iowa is a pretty wasteful state when it comes to energy consumption."
Adding to Bolkcom's argument on energy consumption, Christensen-Szalanski thinks biomass - energy from agricultural waste - is the future of Iowa's contribution to renewable energy.
"I'm reluctant to tell the university how to run itself," he said. "But at the same time, the UI has a strong interest in dealing with global climate. The state has a rich potential with biomass from corn stalks."
Tuesday's event was sponsored by I-Envision and Public Interest Research Group, in an effort to get 2,000 people registered to vote before the Nov. 7 elections.
"If you haven't [registered] yet, get out there, and do it," I-Envision President Joe Rodemeyer said. "Don't make me break your legs."
E-mail DI reporter Mike Mendenhall at:
michael-mendenhall@uiowa.edu
Contacts: Kim Delangag, Midwest Campaign Coordinator, Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project, 612-723-2356, Sujatha Jahagirdar, Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project Program Director, 323-309-6120, sujatha@studentpirgs.org
New Report Predicts Global Warming Disastrous for National Parks Youth on the Campaign Trail to Ask Presidential Candidates: What’s Your Plan?
On the heels of a new report that predicts disastrous consequences for the country’s national parks as a result of global warming, young people in Chicago and throughout the country are bringing their concerns about global warming directly to all of the Presidential candidates.
“Global warming will have a huge impact on the world that I inherit,” said Kim Delangag, mid-west regional What’s Your Plan? campaign coordinator. “It is very important to me to know what all of the candidates’ plans are to deal with this problem.”
This weekend young people will be hot on the trail of Mitt Romney as he attends events in Forest City, Clear Lake and Ionia, Iowa to ask him “What’s Your Plan? To stop global warming?. Students will also trail Barack Obama in Chicago and all the candidates at the debate in Charleston, South Carolina.
The question that students will pose to candidates this weekend is part of a new national campaign called What’s Your Plan? that calls upon all the Presidential hopefuls to pay attention to young people and address key youth issues such as global warming, college affordability, health care, and financial security.
Since the campaign launch, young people have spoken to almost all of the Presidential candidates including: Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Duncan Hunter, John Cox, Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd, John McCain, Tommy Thompson, Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Clinton, Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee and Joe Biden. See photo gallery
The new report, released by the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association, highlights the possibility of more wildfires in Yosemite, flooding in the Everglades, and disrupted ecosystems in the Smoky Mountains as a result of global warming. “With more floods, drought, and air pollution, global warming will have enormous consequences for the word young people will inherit,” stated Sujatha Jahagirdar, the Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project Program Director. ”Young people are very aware of this fact and are more interested than ever in how the candidates plan to tackle this problem.”
According to a recent poll published by the New York Times, 58 percent of young people say that they are paying attention to the 2008 elections, compared to just 35 percent at this point in 2004.
The Student PIRGs predict that youth voter turnout will continue to increase in 2008 – and if the candidates offer up detailed policies on youth-specific issues and communicate them directly to young people, young people will vote even more.
# # #
What’s Your Plan? is a project of Iowa PIRG's New Voters Project and allied youth organizations. Since 2003, the project registered more than 600,000 young voters and made more than 650,000 personalized Get Out the Vote contacts leading up to Election Day to turn out young voters. www.whats-your-plan.org
Despite the winter
break caucus date, cold temperatures, long lines and delays due to high
turnout, young people flocked to the caucuses and made their voices heard.
According to CNN entrance polls, youth will account for nearly 22 percent of
the Democratic caucus turnout, a five percent increase over 2004. Fifty-seven
percent of youth voted for projected Democratic winner Barack Obama, while 40
percent voted for projected Republican winner Mike Huckabee.
“Young people are incredibly engaged and they turned out in force today,” said
Ellynne Bannon, Director of Iowa PIRG’s New Voters Project. “Two-hundred and fifty Iowa PIRG college
volunteers made five thousand personalized, peer to peer voter turnout contacts
to get young people to turn out to the caucuses tonight and it worked."
Expert analysis shows that peer-to-peer, get out the vote efforts are the most
effective youth turnout methods.
Young voters across the state reported rooms filled with energized and excited
young voters, eager to participate in the caucuses for the first time.
Young people at Iowa City Precinct 3, reported overflowing rooms filled with
young voters, a shortage of seating and delays of more than 40 minutes due to unanticipated
youth turnout.
“Today’s results show that while it might be winter break, the youth vote is
working overtime,” said Stacey Wilson, a freshman at Drake University
and student leader with Iowa PIRG’s Rock
the Caucus campaign. Wilson
was one of 250 student ‘Caucus Rock Star’ leaders who visited classrooms,
stormed dorms and stopped students on the way to class to mobilize young people
to turnout to the caucuses.
The increase in youth turnout comes despite a winter-break caucus date that made
it tougher for students to participate.
“The take home message of tonight is that when young people are engaged, they
will show up on Election Day,” concluded Bannon.
# # #
Iowa PIRG is a student organization that
works to solve public interest problems related to the environment, consumer
protection, and government reform. www.iowapirgstudents.org
Iowa PIRG’s New Voters Project
is the state’s premier non-partisan youth voter mobilization program. Since
2004, Iowa PIRG’s New Voters Project has used time tested and academically
reviewed methods to register nearly 54,000 18-30 year olds to vote and made
95,000 personalized voter turnout contacts via phone or face to face to
encourage young people to vote. Due in large part to our work in 2004
voter turnout among 18-29 year old Iowans increased by 8 percent, to 59%, over
2000 turnout. More information on Iowa
PIRG’s New Voters Project.
Rock the Caucus is a joint campaign of Iowa
PIRG, Rock the Vote, and Iowa Secretary of State Michael A. Mauro to mobilize
thousands of young Iowans to take part in the Iowa caucuses.
As part of the Campus Climate Challenge, Smith students ran the Million Monitor Drive. As part of this competition between Smith and several neighboring college, they challenged every student on campus to change their computer settings to save more energy. By the end of the semester, the Smith chapter had collected over 400 pledges from students who had committed to changing their computer settings. In addition, they had all of the dorm environmental representatives helping their dorm mates change their energy settings. The drive generated a ton of local media stories, including coverage in the school newspaper and the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
On
January 18th, by a vote of 264 to 163, the
U.S. House of Representatives passed the Clean Energy Act. The U.S.
PIRG-backed measure closes some tax loopholes for big oil companies, recovers
billions in lost royalties for drilling in public waters, and shifts more than
$14 billion to investments in clean energy.
By harnessing renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and clean biofuels, we
can secure our economy and create jobs. By promoting technologies to save
energy, we can dramatically reduce our dependence on oil and save consumers
money. More than ever, America
needs a new direction on energy policy. With the passage of the CLEAN Energy
Act of 2007, Congress would send a clear message that they are ready to start
solving our energy problems.
In response to a column posted
today by the Des Moines Register
and statements recently issued by several presidential candidates, we as Iowa
student leaders are urging all of the presidential candidates to encourage
youth turnout, instead of discouraging youth participation in the Iowa
caucuses. The full statement is below.
Statement in Support of Full Voting Rights for Iowa Youth
It is has recently come to our attention that some
presidential candidates are suggesting that students in Iowa should not caucus. We're shocked that
any national figure would advocate for youth disenfranchisement. This goes
against the very grain of our democracy and the core values of our
nation. We live here in Iowa
for the majority of the year and make our homes here; we are active
participants in our communities- volunteering, giving back and contributing
intellectual and financial resources to the state. To say that students who
didn’t grow up in Iowa,
but who now live here, shouldn’t have the choice to participate in the caucuses
is blatant voter disenfranchisement.
We have been working hard to encourage our peers to be
active participants in their democracy because college students and young
people should be more involved in politics. The Secretary of State’s office is
clear that college students have the choice and the right to vote and caucus in
Iowa. We all
know that more young people
need to get involved in the political process and we are asking you to take the
following steps to ensure that this happens:
First, make it clear through your actions and issue a
statement that you support all young Iowans – including students – right to
vote and caucus in Iowa whether we are from Iowa or attend college in Iowa. Second, come in to our communities and
actively seek us out and engage us on the issues we care about.
Sincerely,
Barrett Anderson, Student Government President, University of Iowa
Alan
Cosby, Student Government Chief of Staff, University
of Iowa
Alejandro Alonso, Student Senator, University
of Iowa
Harrison Wheeler, Student Government Publicity Chair, University of Iowa
Brian Phillips, Student Body President, Iowa
State University
Dan Sadowski, Student Government President, Drake
University
Julian Vandervelde, Right Guard for Hawkeyes football team, University of Iowa
Frederick Warren, Co-President Drake Environmental Action League, Drake University
Kaitlyn
Golden, Student Leader, Drake University
Jessica Fischer, Student Leader, Drake
University
Megan Bailey, Student Leader, Drake University
Rachel Haase, Student leader, Drake University
Kate Preston, Student leader, Drake University
Megan Stephenson, Iowa PIRG coordinator, University
of Iowa
Colleen Delahanty, Iowa PIRG coordinator, University
of Iowa
Stacey Wilson, Iowa PIRG
Chair, Drake University
Devin Hartman, Iowa PIRG
Chair, Iowa State University
Eleanor Kahn, Iowa PIRG
Chair, Iowa State University Iowa State
Ryan Crane, Iowa PIRG Chair,
University of Northern Iowa
Kristen
Paeth, Iowa PIRG Co-Chair, University of Northern Iowa
Samuel
Charnetski, President of Inter-Fraternity Council, University of Northern
Iowa
Kristin Langner, President of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and
Transgender Club, University
of Northern Iowa Alex Cahill, Vice President, St. Ambrose University Student Government
Congratulations to the chapter at University
of Iowa! We
accomplished all of our goals and exceeded a few as well. The chapter registered 1275 students, beating our goal by 75 students!
For our Get Out The Vote efforts we talked with students to
remind them to vote, explain the process and direct them to their specific precincts.
We actually spoke with 1960 students!
Des Moines – Today Iowa Secretary of State Michael A. Mauro, Rock the Vote,
and Iowa PIRG's New
Voters Project announced a joint nonpartisan effort, Rock the Caucus, to encourage young
voter participation in the 2008 Iowa
presidential caucuses. Endorsed by both the Iowa Democratic and Republican parties, the
program will use an educational curriculum, volunteer leaders, and peer-to-peer
outreach to mobilize high school and college students to the January caucuses.
"Rock
the Caucus will mobilize a new generation of caucus-goers in Iowa," stated Iowa Secretary Michael A.
Mauro. "Through this exciting new partnership – which pairs high
schools and college campuses with non-profits and the state – we can set our
youngest citizens on a lifelong path of political engagement."
Rock
the Caucus will secure pledges from high school seniors and college students to
caucus and bring their friends to the caucuses. In high schools, Rock the Vote,
the Iowa Secretary of State, and participating teachers and administrators will
participate in a Mock Caucus and implement the Rock the Caucus curriculum to
teach new potential caucus-goers how the process works and encourage them to
bring their friends along; on college campuses, Iowa PIRG will recruit hundreds
of "Caucus Rock Stars," student leaders who will get 20 of their
peers to pledge to caucus and help to turn them out to the caucuses in their
hometowns or near their college campus.
"Across
the nation, young voters turned out in large numbers in the 2004 and 2006
general elections – the first step to continuing that momentum in 2008 is
mobilizing young voters in Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucus," said
Heather Smith, Executive Director of Rock the Vote. "We're thrilled
to work with Iowa Secretary of State Michael A. Mauro and Iowa PIRG to tap the
voting power of young adults in Iowa
and continue the recent trend of growing young voter participation."
"Young
people will vote if they are asked to," said Sujatha Jahagirdar, Iowa PIRG
New Voters Project Program Director. "It's up to the candidates to
sit up, take notice, and reach out to young voters."
Polling
from Rock the Vote finds young adults are engaged in the 2008 elections, but
need to hear from candidates on top issues, including education and college
affordability, jobs and the economy, health care, and Iraq. "Young voters
need to hear real answers and concrete plans this election. By hitting
the pavement in Iowa,
we'll ensure that this demand is heard loudly and clearly at Caucus time,"
concluded Jahagirdar.
About the Secretary of State:
Among many duties, the Secretary of States office is
the state commissioner of elections and supervises Iowa 's 99 county auditors in the
administration of our election laws and administrative rules. To find out
more about the 2008 Iowa
Student Caucus go to: http://www.sos.state.ia.us
About Rock the Vote:
Rock the Vote, founded nearly twenty years ago in response to a
wave of attacks on freedom of speech and artistic expression, coordinates voter
registration drives, get out the vote events, and voter education efforts --
all with the intention of building political power for our nation's youth. In
the 2004 election cycle, Rock the Vote registered over 800,000 people to vote,
the largest nonpartisan youth voter registration drive in the country. Building
on that success, in 2008 Rock the Vote will register two million 18-29 year
olds to vote and help continue the recent momentum of growing young voter
turnout. www.rockthevote.com
About Iowa
PIRG's New Voters Project:
Launched in 2003, Iowa PIRG (Public
Interest Research Group) and the Student PIRGs' New Voters Project is the
largest national non-profit, nonpartisan youth voter mobilization effort. Since
2003, the project registered more than 600,000 young voters and made more than
650,000 personalized Get Out the Vote contacts leading up to Election Day to
turn out young voters. A recent analysis
found that in
Iowa , young people contacted by the Student PIRGs' New Voters Project turned
out at a rate 13 percentage points higher than a group of
demographically similar individuals. www.newvotersproject.org
Student PIRG chapters across the country released the "Campus Credit Card Trap" report,
which outlined the unfair marketing practices of the credit industry.
Students overwhelmingly support limits on campus credit card marketing,
according to the results of the nationwide USPIRG survey of more than
1500 students at 40 colleges in 14 states.
The average student
receives nearly 5 credit card offers a month and nearly two in three
students reported that they had at least one credit card. Fifty-five
percent of cardholding students said they used their card for
day-to-day expenses. Reflecting escalating college costs, 55 percent
said they charge their books and nearly one-quarter said they pay their
tuition with a card. On average, freshmen had a balance of $1,301 and
seniors had more than twice that, $2,623.
Credit cards are
marketed to students using free gifts and introductory teaser rates.
The use of aggressive marketing techniques obscures students' ability
to be scrutinizing consumers when considering a credit card contract.
Seventy six percent of students reported stopping at tables on campus
to apply for credit cards, and nearly one-third were offered a free
gift to sign up.
This week we concentrated and targeted the residence halls here at the University of Iowa and we were awesome! Abrianna Gross, abrianna-gross@uoiwa.edu, coordinated the week and it was amazing! We had stations at Burge, Hillcrest and Mayflower and we ended up with a weekly total of nearly 400 registrations! We had 12 new volunteers help and they are all returning to help out with the campus blitz next week!
The campus blitz, coordinated by Brant Miller, brant-miller@uiowa.edu, is being sponsored by 5 other student groups including Iowa PIRG. We are set to register 1000 people in just one week and exceed our goal of 2000! Way to go!
Just a few more weeks to go- 19 days until Election Day!
On July 11th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "College
Cost Reduction Act of 2007" (HR 2669) by a vote of 273-149. The bill
will substantially increase the purchasing power of the Pell Grant, the
nation's premiere need-based grant program which benefits millions of
low income students, increasing the maximum grant amount by $100 for
five years beginning in 2008-9. It will make student loan debt more
affordable by cutting the interest rate on student loans in half, to
3.4%, by 2012, and by capping loan repayment amounts to a reasonable
percentage of a graduate's income. HR 2669 goes a long way toward
solving the college affordability and access crisis in the country.
College Students Pack the Iowa Memorial Union in Iowa City
The night begins with our caucus
leader directing all of the participants to the front of the room and all of the
observers to the back of the room. All of the 200 or so chairs are
filled and there are a good number of observers. The leader gives
a short speech about the night’s events and instructions. After
that, the leader then “passes the hat” to collect donations for the Democratic
party of Johnson county. Unfortunately, the majority of people in
this room are young college students, with little cash to spare.
Next, the floor opens for nominations to elect the officers for the
night. This is a very casual process, and there is no dispute over
the elected leaders.
It is up to the chair to decide
whether or not to allow time for the candidate leaders to speak about their
candidates. This was allowed, so each candidate leader spoke for a
minute or two about why their candidate is the best. Most told
personal stories. The precinct captain for Barrack Obama received
significantly more applause than the others. After figuring the
number of people caucusing in the room, it was determined that the magic number
was 32 to make a candidate viable. We are getting ready to break
out into our support groups now so we will see who is viable and who is not.
Caucus night started early, with
many people showing up at 6 or before to register or to check in.
After registering myself, I ran into media from my home state that drove
all the way from Milwaukee Wisconsin to cover the caucus—college students from
Marquette. After discovering a common friend and answering some
interview questions, it was time to go into the lecture hall. Olin
Hall’s lecture hall was close to capacity as our Caucus Chair was forced to kick
the media out of seats so everyone could sit.
The lecture hall was full of
democratic candidates supporters, complete with posters for each
candidates. The Chair worked to keep the mood light by cracking
jokes. Laughter came quickly and easily and the mood was energetic and full of
excitement.
After taking care of some
administrative tasks, we moved on to reading letters from different Iowa
Politicians, thanking Iowans taking the time to caucus, then from any candidate
who submitted a letter. Candidates who submitted letters included;
Bidden, Clinton, Dodd, Edwards, Gravel, Obama and
Richardson.
Precinct 45 had a similar number of
people in 2004. The secretary of the caucus was very impressed at
the number of students that turned out, despite the fact school was not in
session.
Students heavily favored Obama with
74 people starting in the group (not including the undecided) of 176 people at
the caucus. A candidate needs 27 people to be considered
viable. Edwards seemed to have the second most people. Richardson
and Clinton had similar numbers.
I just drove for 5 hours to caucus. I have no idea what to expect and no idea
what is going to happen next, but it’s so cool to see other people my age that
are excited to vote and actually care about choosing the president.
I don’t care who the multitude of young people are here to caucus for, but just
the fact that they are here to caucus gives me hope and fills me with a sense of
pride for my generation.
I think it’s really important to be here at the caucus. We have a
privilege to live in Iowa, where each voter can really make a difference early
in the electoral process. It’s a very exciting event, and I am
really thankful to be part of it.
Growing up in Illinois, I didn’t really understand the impact that Iowa voters
could have on the Presidential election. I feel very fortunate to be able to be
involved in the race at the caucus level. It is great to be part of such an
integral process in this important election.
This is the first presidential election that I’ve been able to be involved in
and I’m really glad that I’m in Iowa to experience the caucuses.
There has been so much excitement in the past few weeks over the Iowa
caucuses and it’s amazing to be here and get to be a part of it.
U of I students organized a forum to educate the campus and Fall River community about Hess's plans to build a liquid natural gas (LNG) import terminal. The mayor of Fall River, a state Representative, an environmental consultant, and a member of the Chamber of Commerce all came out to the forum to speak about the various adverse impacts the LNG project would have on Fall River and the surrounding communities.
On January 17th, by a vote of 356 to 71, the U.S. House passed, by an
overwhelming bipartisan majority, legislation to lower the interest rates on
student loans over the next five years. According to an analysis by the Student
PIRGs, the move would save the average low or middle-income borrower starting
school in 2007 $2,300 in debt.
“H.R. 5 pays for better benefits for
students by cutting excessive federal subsidies to private lenders,” explained
U.S. PIRG Higher Education Advocate Luke Swarthout. “The bill saves millions of
students thousands of dollars over the life of their loans by eliminating
wasteful subsidies.
The
bill, H.R. 5, will lower interest rates on subsidized Stafford student loans, which are used overwhelmingly by
students from low- and middle-income families. The Senate will likely take up the issue of lower
interest rates as a part of a larger package of higher education policies in the
next several months.
Des Moines – Today Iowa Secretary of State Michael A. Mauro,