New Voters Project – MI Student Vote Summit
We helped prepare students to vote all across Michigan! One of our favorite events was the Michigan Student Vote Summit hosted by Campus Vote Project at Western Michigan University. Student leaders Jade from Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Lucas from Michigan State University, along with their Campus Organizer Jeana, represented the Student PIRGs at this summit. They heard from and connected with local legislators, learned new ways to educate and engage young voters on their campuses, met our friends at Campus Vote Project, and built relationships with new student leaders on other campuses. During the summit, there was a mock election for our summit president. Both Jade and Lucas were selected by their peers to represent their party and Lucas was elected “summit president”! The summit would not have been complete without a group picture in front of the infamous Student PIRGs Vote Goat.
New Voters Project – GRCC Votes Democratic Engagement Drive
We also had a successful week preparing the students at Grand Rapids Community College for the midterm election. Student PIRGs partnered with GRCC Votes to run a 4-day long voter registration and education drive. Student volunteers Dave, Ella, Pablo, Michaela, and Natalie tabled every day across campus to encourage their peers to register to vote as well as pledge to turnout to the primary and presidential elections. They also educated students on where to vote, how to see who is on your ballot, how to request an absentee ballot, and more. One of their favorite events was their Civic Engagement Lunch Hour, where they catered food and encouraged students in the dining hall to register to vote and learn more about the upcoming elections. Over the course of 4 days, they registered 105 new people to vote and collected 91 pledges!
Hunger and Homelessness
PIRGIM Students at Wayne State University ran a food, hygiene, and clothing drive to wrap up the semester. Student leaders Varunnika, Manaal, and Beyonce worked hard to get the word out and find other student groups to collaborate with including the Pre-Pharmacy Club and Student Senate. They kicked off the drive by tabling in the student center. They educated their peers about hunger and homelessness in their community, on college campuses, and across the country and then encouraged them to bring donations throughout the week. After 10 days, we were all able to drop off boxes and bags of food and hygiene products to Gleaners Community Food Bank for residents of Detroit as well as bags of clothes to The W Pantry and Thrift Shop open for students. The drive was successful and they can’t wait to run another one next semester!
Save Money, Save the Environment
PIRGIM Students also spent all semester advocating for clean energy! Leaders and Volunteers at Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University worked hard to gain public support and push their federal leaders to support clean energy initiatives. They collected petition signatures, took photo petitions, educated community members on how they could benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act, and wrote letters to the editor and personal testimonials. In celebration of Earth Day, students showed up at the Michigan Capitol Building to rally support for saving our environment! They were even paid a visit by Michigan House Representative Julie Brixie!
Trip to Washington DC
In February, the National Environmental Youth Advisory Council for the Environmental Protection Agency held a meeting open to the public. Michigan Campus Organizer, Jeana, met up with our partners at Climate Action Campaign to attend the meeting! She gave public comment urging NEYAC and the EPA for bold climate solutions.
We had a great time this year making social change are looking forward to running more successful campaigns in the coming year. Want to get involved? Apply for an internship now!