This month marks the thirtieth anniversary for MassPIRG–the organization for which you happily paid the $6 fee on your tuition bill–and we at The Mass Media would like to say congratulations and keep up the good work.

Known as the state’s largest public interest watchdog, Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MassPIRG), has been working with dedicated students and a professional staff all over the state cleaning up rivers, lobbying for consumer protection laws, registering new voters, and the list of benevolent endeavors goes on and on.

MassPIRG began in 1972 when UMass Amherst students voted to start the first PIRG chapter in Massachusetts; the organization quickly began its long list of accomplishments in this state fighting big business polluters and foes of Massachusetts consumers.

Massachusetts renters have had an easier time of getting into apartments since 1978 when MassPIRG helped pass a law limiting security deposits to one month’s rent, and requiring landlords to place those deposits in interest-bearing escrow accounts.

The Bottle Bill, which provides a five-cent refund as incentive to recycle used bottles and passed in 1981, was a nine year battle for MassPIRG. The bill has proven to be a sustainable method of capturing beverage bottles and cans for recycling, despite the national beverage industry’s $1.4 million attempt to repeal the bill before it took effect.

The list doesn’t stop; there’s at least one major MassPIRG success every year. In 1990 the MassPIRG-backed Clean Air law is adopted by the legislature, mandating the Northeast’s toughest anti-smog actions.

More recently, MassPIRG helped pass the nation’s strongest power plant clean up requirements, including the first in the nation to regulate mercury and carbon dioxide from dirty power plants, also known as the Filthy Five.

And on campus, the dual mission of promoting a public interest agenda combined with promoting civic involvement and active citizenship continues. Just last semester, the campus chapter here had several accomplishments:

– As part of a citywide Youth Vote campaign, they registered 750 students to vote.

– They gathered 250 signatures to then gubernatorial candidate Mitt Romney, helping to persuade him to pledge to protect the state’s parks and forests.

– To address problems of Hunger and Homelessness, four students attended a National Conference on Anti-Poverty advocacy. These students organized a Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week to educate the campus about local problems and solutions.

MassPIRG has been working hard for thirty years and The Mass Media proudly recognizes their efforts. We also encourage students not to waive the fees attached to their tuition and to volunteer or intern on one MassPIRG’s many campaigns; there are still many issues they need your help to address.

Happy Birthday to MassPIRG, and here’s to another thirty years!