Why you shouldn’t hate NJPIRG

The group convinced President Barchi to put $12,000 in grants towards free online textbooks

If you’ve walked outside your dorm anytime in the last couple weeks, you’ve definitely been approached by an NJPIRG (New Jersey Public Interest Research Group) poll worker.

You know, those people that keep asking you the same grueling question: “Have you voted yet?”

It may seem annoying to be stopped so often for the same reason, but let’s be real — half of you don’t actually stop anyway. Some immediately scramble to find their earphones, some say yes when the reality is no and others just straight up ignore them.

But there are a few reasons you should actually stop, listen and take the time to vote.

First of all, most of the poll workers aren’t actually part of NJPIRG. They’re just broke college students trying to make some money.

But what we really want to know is what Arielle Mizrahi, state board chair on the board of directors for NJPIRG, so kindly explained. Why should we care?

As it turns out, NJPIRG actually cares about us.

NJPIRG is the largest student run and student funded non-profit in New Jersey. We’ve been at Rutgers since 1972…working to fight for and represent the public interest locally and nationwide. Every semester, we run a variety of student directed campaigns ranging from college and textbook affordability to environmental issues, such as our save the bees campaign, to public health issues and hunger and homelessness,” Mizrahi said.

As a matter of fact, most recently the group convinced President Barchi to put $12,000 in grants towards free online textbooks, which Rutgers libraries are currently working to implement. With how often we complain about book costs, students should really take a moment to think about how considerate that is.

NJPIRG has the best interest of Rutgers students at heart — working to help students save more money while only asking for a (waivable) $11.20 fee through term bills.

“The fact is, students, at the end of the day, aren’t deciding the budget of Rutgers University. We, as students, should be controlling the bus system, the lack of parking, and the WIFI Access, but we don’t. Students are a powerful decision-making body; we should have control over the cost of our textbooks and what goes into our food. NJPIRG comes into play here because students should be able to assess themselves a fee to decide what groups they want to fund on campus. Without this, we wouldn’t have a voice,” Mizrahi said.

But surely, some of you are still wondering how the $11 fee is spent. Well, a big chunk of it results from that NJPIRG takes the initiative of hiring professional organizers to help amplify their voice on campus. Scientists, researchers, advocates — many professionals are pulled in to help the cause.

“20 percent is spent on normal business things, like clipboards, renting a location, pens, those sorts of basic materials,” Mizrahi noted. “80 percent of our funds are spent on staff, as we are able to pool statewide money to pay for folks to advocate on behalf of us.”

However, if the group fails to win a division of one of Rutgers schools, fewer funds would go towards hiring these professionals and running such successful campaigns.

“The referendum is only being conducted at Rutgers University [New Brunswick, Camden, and Newark campuses] this year, though we do hope to expand to represent students at other colleges and universities in New Jersey in the future,” said Mizrahi.

By supporting NJPIRG we are supporting fellow Rutgers students. Get out there and vote — don’t hate.

Check out more about the free textbooks initiative here.

More
Rutgers University