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Show upkg Sf's time tfor you to gjetf involved As Ralph Nader put it, "You have the town Drunk, the town Fool and the town Citizen." While vested interests still embrace that philosophy, the phrase is fast becoming an anachronism on college campuses. Students, it is acknowledged, share a widespread desire to involve themselves in the decisive processes shaping their physical, social and psychological environments. Given the complexity of society today, the hurdles facing the individual citizen concerned about public interest problems are mammoth. Solutions require great amounts of time, money and manpower. The institutions capable of initiating research, analysis, public education and litigation, however, are failing to serve the common good. Corporations produce reports that support their own positions, and government too often wallows in its own bureaucracy. There is a desperate need for community-based organizations to coordinate the massive pool of talent, resources and enthusiasm of the citizentry. UPIRG proposes to be such an organization. immr- A c ii( u STUDENT COMMUNITY UPIRG stands for Utah Public Interest Research I Group. It will be a student- recoimendations funded organization. Elected J, j. J, student boards will direct a I I I I I I I , mr, c , i cr i , , ... LOCAL STUDENT BOARDS professional staff to conduct J research into public interest problems upon recommen- n. dation of the student com- n. munity (see chart.) The total . . concept envisions large-scale state ..... , 7 , . STUDENT participation by students B0ARD throughout the state. But in order to operate, UPIRG re- 1 " ,. . quires the willingness of stu- ' directives dents to volunteer $1 per i 1 quarter in student fees to- PR0FESSI0NAL STAFF ward its operation. The fee increase will be voluntary, , W since any student may re- i flESEARCH JECTS claim his assessment without I 1 , , ,. , . STUDENT COMMUNITY hassle after the beginning of each term. This procedure will insure the strongest possible grass-roots control of UPIRG. To initiate the fee increase UPIRG will U begin a petition drive next week. It's aim is to collect signatures of over 50 percent of the students in the I 5 I state. Similar drives in Oregon, Minnesota and West Virginia cleared over 60 percent support in less than "S 5 ? two weeks. vv 5 Problems dealt with the UPIRG will be those which affect broad segments of society in the state of Utah. g The actual process of researching problems and implementing solutions promises unparalleled applied 3 3 : omdl StUdy 3nd the Ch3nCe f0r the illdividual stlldent citize t0 produce action in addition to rhetoric g S xZTtT t0,UPIn?r r beginning peratin in at least three states- Support has been educaZn no 1 s f Ut"h heritage of self-determinism, community strength and universal " gjl SoJcnnm Urge 6Very Student t0 become familiar with the gals and organizational structure of UPIRG and then sign the petitions. I-Si i |