What's your plan?
That's what CU-Boulder
Colorado Public Interest Research Group (COPIRG) members were asking
their peers Thursday during its first “What's Your Plan Campaign.”
The
campaign, which is being launched with CoPIRG chapters nationwide, is
meant to bring students and presidential candidates together.
“It's
an effort to convince the presidential candidates to pay attention to
talk to young people about the issues they care about,” said CU junior
Lisa Mercadante, during an on-campus campaign Thursday outside the UMC.
As
part of the campaign, students are asked to speak during a video and
photo shoot that will be uploaded to Flickr, YouTube, and Facebook Web
sites and presented to presidential candidates during the Republican
YouTube debate on Nov. 28, and the Democratic debate on Nov. 15, in Las
Vegas, Nevada.
The campaign focuses on five issues CoPIRG
volunteers have targeted as relevant to the student population: global
warming, affordable health care, lower tuition costs, public education,
and financial security.
“These are the issues that students care
most about, and part of this campaign is to show the presidential
candidates that we are informed voters,” said Mercadante. “We feel that
by doing this we show that we care.”
Paul Chase, a CoPIRG intern
who focuses on campus policy for the CU energy conservation initiative,
said Thursday's campaign is important because it gets the students
involved.
“You need to engage the students if you want them to be involved,” said Chase.
According to Mercadante, the campus campaign was well-received by students.
“It's
been really good so far, and I'm surprised,” said Mercadante. “At first
it seemed as though most students weren't aware of what [this five
issues], but the minute you explain it to them, they're interested.”
Mercadante
said that although the Boulder campus appears to be more involved in
issues addressed by CoPIRG than many other college campuses, she
believes CU's students could be more aware of the issues at hand.
“There's work to be done, but that's why we're here,” said Mercadante.
Part
of that outreach includes informing students about CU's involvement in
the Campus Climate Challenge, added Mercadante, a project brings
together more than 30 youth organizations throughout the U.S. and
Canada to develop clean energy policies at high school and college
campuses.
“The second thing we are doing today is [talking
about] the Campus Climate Challenge, and to get students to sign thank
you notes to the Chancellor for allowing us to participate,” said
Mercadante.
The goal is to have 500 thank-you notes, she added.
By 1 p.m. Thursday, Mercadante said they were close to that goal, with
approximately 450 signed notes.
CoPIRG is a non-partisan,
student-driven organization that works to solve public interest
problems related to the environment, consumer protection and government
reform.
