Thu 4 Mar 2004
David La 01′ sent in this history about MassPIRG at Williams:
I was just reading on your Monday post about MassPIRG, and I thought I’d mention that the student fee-bill issue came up during my freshman year in 97-98. In addition to the usual campus-wide elections that year, the student body was asked whether they wanted to continue funding the campus MassPIRG chapter via an additional levy on their tuition bills. Despite a good effort from MassPIRG members, MassPIRG was effectively shut down after students rejected the fee. I vaguely remember the discussions that went on about the fee, but I do know some people wondered why the MassPIRG fee had to be levied on every student via their tuition bill. I knew some students who had been pretty involved with MassPIRG, and they obviously felt very passionate about the group. Nonetheless, it’s interesting to see that the MassPIRG issue is coming up again.
What goes around, comes around.
One Response to “La on PIRG”
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That is interesting since that was during my time at Williams. I never paid too much attention to MassPIRG, but I remember around that time it was all over the place in the paper. My recollection of it goes as:
1) I saw that it was automatically added and one had to opt out - that, in my mind, was a scam. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I had no money, so I opted out.
2) During “First Days” we had a million people come around and talk to us about a variety of different things. Usually diversity sessions, letting us know that even though everyone at Williams looks like clones out of the J. Crew catalog, we should realize that there are actually other people in the world. They also showed us how to put condoms on fruit - which was a real life saver for me. I can honestly say that I never got any STDs from a banana my entire time at Williams.
But far and away the weirdest and least coherent people to come through were the MassPIRG people. I never understood what they did other than take our money and it tended to attract the people on campus that showered less than I did.
I honestly don’t even recall if they came to “First Days” when I was a JA. I do know that the banana/condom people showed up though.
3) Sometime during my time there - very likely what La is talking about here - there was a ton of discussion on campus about MassPIRG, and I was too busy with other things to pay it much attention at the time.
I mainly recall something about a cult.
So anytime I see it mentioned, the only three things I think of are “scam”, “cult”, and “Birkenstocks”.
I find it amusing that it has lasted as long as it has.