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By Juliette Berger, Justice and Legal Thought College Park Scholar
This campaign was an important first step in creating a more equitable educational environment at the University of Maryland. Textbook prices should not be a burden to students and can negatively impact those who are low-income.
I interned with MaryPIRG, a non-partisan advocacy organization run by students. The mission of the organization is to protect the environment, fight poverty, and promote democracy. My internship was extremely valuable to my learning within the Justice and Legal Thought program, but also to various communities within Maryland. The “Affordable Textbooks” campaign promoted open educational resources, with a focus on the Economics department, at UMD and worked with other organizations and leaders on campus to create more transparency with textbook prices. This campaign was an important first step in creating a more equitable educational environment at the University of Maryland. Textbook prices should not be a burden to students and can negatively impact those who are low-income. Large movements often start at the grassroots level. It is important to work with and partner with other organizations at UMD to demonstrate wide-spread support for this movement. We partnered with the Dean’s Student Advisory Council for BSOS to ask for larger change. In addition, I also worked with the MaryPIRG Student Climate Action Coalition to promote climate legislation at the state level. Although it did not pass during this term, it has taught me how important it is to conduct outreach and garner grassroots support in order to demonstrate public support to elected representatives. Through this internship, I’ve learned about the importance of outreach, how to create meaningful campaign goals, and why it is important to celebrate wins at any level (both large and small). It is important to dream big so that smaller compromises are still substantive.
Hi Juliette! I was drawn to your poster because I think that grassroots movements can be one of the most effective ways to bring about change. It is great that you were able to use your internship to have a direct impact on UMD students. I did not know much about MaryPIRG, but your poster taught me a lot about some of the work they do. How much of a time commitment was the internship? Would you recommend it to someone else?
Hi Juliette! Your poster caught my eye because it seemed as though it focused a lot on what students can do to inspire change and I think it is very interesting and important to let students know they the ways in which they had the ability to make a change. I learned a lot from your poster, specifically the ban on foam cups in 2019 to save the environment and helping students vote in the election. Do you think this organization can do more to help students get involved in politics at times that are not the presidential election?
I was initially drawn to this poster because grassroots organizing is something that I strongly believe in. I didn't know that MaryPirg was so involved, I might need to join it next year! Do you think that MaryPirg is a good way to get involved with organizing, and what is the best piece of advice that you gained from the program?
Hi Juliette,
I was initially drawn to the title of your poster because I work in an environmental justice lab on campus that deals a lot with grassroots activism, so I was curious to see how students here were doing the same. It was interesting to read about your internship and how students can actually work to impact legislation. How do you think you were able to promote the Affordable Textbook campaign in an online environment? Do you think you were still able to reach the target audience?
Hi Juliette! What drew me to your poster was the title about students inspiring change. I think organizations that allow for kids our age to volunteer and help are very important and beneficial to our growth. What I learned from this poster was how large of an impact small student organizations can have, such as banning foam cups for an entire state. How is the textbook initiative currently going and do you feel you have made any headway as an organization during your time participating?