I have been involved with MassPIRG at UMass Boston since my second semester three years ago. For the 2 years, I have been the chairman. I am really proud of the work that UMass students have done and of the dedication of our volunteers and interns.

Our hunger and homelessness campaign has had some really great events. Last year students went “trick-or-tinning” for Halloween. We went door to door in Savin Hill and collected canned food. As the collection car started to fill up, students’ enthusiasm increased. After two hours of collections, we had filled an entire car.

Another big accomplishment for the hunger and homelessness campaign has been their clothing drives. Last semester, UMass Boston students filled a Uhaul truck full of clothes and canned food. The next big event for the Hunger and Homelessness campaign is the National Hunger Cleanup on Saturday, April 3rd. This is a national day of service. We will be sending people to local shelters to help serve food, clean and help in any way that the shelters need us to.

Massachusetts Community Water Watch is another major MassPIRG campaign. For the past two years, Water Watch has organized beach cleanups on Thompson Island as part of the Earth Week events. This past weekend we had a cleanup at the Pope John Paul II Park in Dorchester. We had about thirty people there and we picked up over 15 bags of trash.

All of MassPIRG’s work would not be possible without the continued support of the UMass Boston community. We are funded by the waivable fee on your tuition bills. This fee enables us to hire lobbyists, advocates and other professionals to work with students and train them how to be effective activists. Every two years, students have to vote to continue having a MassPIRG chapter on our campus. The elections will be held from April 13 through April 15. Voting will take place online. There will be computers set up in the lobbies of the McCormack and Wheatley buildings. Please continue your support of MassPIRG by voting to continue having the waivable fee. I encourage more people to get involved with MassPIRG, whether it is by helping to plan an event or by coming to an event as a volunteer. Thank you again to the students of UMass Boston for your support over the years.

Rebecca H. SmallChairman, UMass Boston MassPIRG chapter