MassPIRG's Histroy

Ralph Nader is in many ways singularly responsible for the create of the Student Public Interest Research Groups. As chronicled in the Proposal to establish the Western Mass Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst1, Nader held a series of lectures around the Oregon colleges in 1971. In these speeches, Nader argued for the creation of a “a student-financed, student-controlled staff of full-time professionals which would work to solve the problems existing in society today” (par 1).

A few months after Nader's speaking tour, Oregon adopted the first PRIG when seven of Oregon State's campuses held votes to petition the Oregon State Board of Higher Education to establish a waivable fee funding system. Minnesota's seventeen campus followed in suit with similar votes, then Vermont. Despite Mr. Nader's clear influence, there is a clear priority in ensuring that there is no confusion between his inspiration and the actual governance of the PIRGs. “Mr. Nader has exercised no control over the development of any PIRG,” the WMPIRG founder's write, “and will exercise no control in the future” (par 4). The creation of WMPIRG, which would eventually become known as MassPIRG, was similar. From the founding charter:

“In early October [of 1971] with the encouragement of Mr. Donald Ross, a lawyer form Nader's Washington office, and the support of the Connecticut Valley Committee, a five-college are[a] recipient of a Rockefeller foundation grant, students from twenty colleges in Western Massachusetts met to begin organizational work for the establishment of a Western Massachusetts Public Interest Group (WMPIRG). This group of students decided to conduct a petition referendum to demonstrate student support for WMPIRG” (par 5)

By March of 1972, a “majority of students of the University of Massachusetts (54%) had signed the WMPIRG petition. Several faculty members as well as Chancellor Bromery have voiced their approval and support of the WMPIRG concept and funding procedure” (par 10). WMPIRG's status then became official on May 26th, 1972 when the Board of Trustees voted to approve both the organization and it's funding mechanism, a $2 waivable fee.

Now that we have a better grasp of the historical factors that created MassPIRG, as well as the intellectual heritage that underlies it, we can now turn to the the technical aspects of organizing of how they play into the organization's recruitment model.