Our Fans
Over the course of 30 years, a great contribution has been made and should be sustained. A campus that has a Public Interest Research Group on it, and that supports it, and that gets involved in it, is a campus that has its priorities in the right place. -Stephen Lewis
I first encountered PIRGs about twenty years ago after Ralph Nader had
made a swing through Ontario. Over the years since, I have from time to
time encountered PIRG groups on different campuses. They have always
been most impressive, staffed by hardworking people who are well
informed and deeply committed to important social, economic and
environmental issues. I do not have any hesitation in saying that PIRGs
are outstanding examples of how students can get involved in dealing
with important issues of our time.
-- David Suzuki , Dec-2004
Over the course of 30 years, a great contribution has been made
and should be sustained. A campus that has a Public Interest
Research Group on it, and that supports it, and that gets involved
in it, is a campus that has its priorities in the right place.
--
Stephen Lewis , Nov-2003
WPIRG, like the other PIRGs across North America,
have been the backbone of a progressive student movement. To lose the
WPIRG at this crucial time in history would be a tragedy. In the name
of democracy, academic freedom and intellectual challenge, support your
WPIRG now!
--
Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians , Dec-2004
WPIRG has been an advocate for social justice in our
community and Canada for the past thirty years. As one of the people
responsible for starting WPIRG, I consider it as one of the highlights
of my term as president of the Federation of Students from 1973-1975.
The voluntary fee paid by students is critical for the survival of this
organization. At a time of increasing corporate and media
concentration, it is important that we have organizations such as WPIRG
to advocate on behalf of the public good.
--
Andrew Telegdi, Member of Parliament, Jan-2005
WPIRG is a University of Waterloo institution. Every couple of years it comes under attack by conservatively-minded students with an ideological axe to grind. These students are out of touch with UW students who benefit both directly and indirectly from WPIRG's many services. WPIRG serves all students as an information centre, a gathering place, and an organizational network. Unlike its opponents, it imposes no ideology on UW students. It is hard to imagine a more student-centred and student-driven organization. I have often worked with WPIRG to present lectures and other educational events to students and members of the UW community. So I know that WPIRG works -- and it works for students! -- David Seljak, Director, St. Jerome's Centre for Catholic Experience, St. Jerome's University
For me WPIRG brought real issues to life in the
campus community through a diversity of events and action groups
(Action Theatre, KW Food Action, WPIRG Radio, Food not Bombs, Board of
Directors, Public Interest School) where I learned a lot about how to
work with others and come to group consensus decisions. Since 1999,
WPIRG has helped make me what i am today, an improved communicator,
facilitator and people person. The support provided by WPIRG for
student initiatives is unquestionable and it gave me the confidence to
create a traveling performance about water issues: the Cirque du Lake
Water Cycle Circus (www.cirquedulake.ca). I have just finished a 24
minute video about the performance tour and without the helpful support
of WPIRG I wouldn't have been able to receive a grant from the Great
Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund. WPIRG is a place of learning
and inspiration.
-- Alistair Neill Stewart, UW Environment & Resource Studies 2003
WPIRG and PIRGs in general are great campus
organizations that should be supported and maintained. WPIRG brings
awareness of important environmental and social justice issues that
would otherwise be largely ignored on campus. I also think that PIRGs,
unlike a lot of other campus clubs, brings a unique opportunity to
outreach to the community. I think that WPIRG enriches the campus
experience for a number of students. It works on critical issues that
are much greater than campus life that are critically important to our
world today. I think that the campus should continue to support this
organization.
-- Elizabeth Zajc, UW Environment & Resource Studies
WPIRG provides an excellent balance to my
often stressful engineering workload. It introduced me to issues and
opportunities outside of academics and my involvement has ranged from
delivering bread for Food Not Bombs to working with our neighbouring
Laurier students on anti-war initiatives.
-- Janet Yip, UW 2B Electrical Engineering
As fourth year Geography and Peace and Conflict
Studies student I have appreciated WPIRG's presence on campus. I have
participated in workshops they have put on dealing with issues of peace
and racism. I also enjoy have a social voice on our generally
conservative campus. WPIRG deserves the support of every student at UW,
even if they do not agree with their stance on some of the issues, they
should at least appreciate that issues are being raised around campus
because of WPIRG's continued presence. I totally support that students
should continue to pay a small, very small portion of their tuition
fees to raising awareness of global and local issues of poverty,
racism, peace and justice, and much more.
Thank for the opportunity to listen to many wonderful speakers,
attend some informative workshops and always being faced with a
new challenge.
-- Jonathan R. Schmidt, UW 4th year Geography, Peace
and Conflict Studie.
I understand that some at the University are
questioning WPIRG's value. As a local resident and one who's tax
dollars go to support every student at Ontario's many universities I
feel that WPIRG is one of the most valuable benefits of my tax dollars
at work. As far back as the late 1970's I was involved in projects
regarding the food industry and international issues where WPIRG helped
with its resources. Their value as a tool for knowledge and education
in the community has never dimmed. I use information from WPIRG to this
day to help me to understand the world around us and to help me make my
community a better place for all to live and work here.
A University must
contribute in a meaningful way to the community it serves. Support for
WPIRG from the "WPIRG fee" is a very special and important way that
those at the University of Waterloo can give back to the community.
Please continue to be generous to all of us through WPIRG. We will all
be better for it.
-- James Herman, Waterloo Citizen
In today's highly competitive job market, I am watching my friends with
master's degrees getting turned down for jobs. It is always a "catch
22" story where you can't get work without experience, but you can't
get experience without work. I went through UW's co-op program, but the
jobs available either did not really relate to my particular career
goals (you always find out what you DON'T want to do), or did not
provide enough responsibility to impress future employers. For me,
WPIRG provided a forum to get involved in the community and work on
issues that really mattered to me. Because WPIRG activities are
designed and run by students, it is the students who develop technical
knowledge, and organizational, planning, and communication skills, with
roles of responsibility for projects higher than they would achieve in
any entry-level job when leaving university.
WPIRG got me involved in the community where I was developing
partnerships with other organizations, making presentations to city
councils and chambers of commerce, and learning first hand about
provincial regulatory processes that are essential in my field of work
(urban planning and environmental assessment). All of these experiences
were key to getting and succeeding in my first "real" job, (working for
a national lobby group for municipal government). We are in an era of
decreasing faith in politicians to represent their constituents;
knowledge of public processes beyond the ballot box have empowered me
to continue being an active part of my community, supporting efforts
that I see as important, rather than being a community member simply by
default of where I live.
-- Jen Niece, UW ERS 2000
My experience with WPIRG has been fantastic. Its got a
friendly and supportive atmosphere, but also really effective with
helping you get things done. As part of the WPIRG Internet Collective,
I've been focusing on a project involving facilitating public
carpooling over the Internet. Being a WPIRG project, all sorts of doors
were opened to us. With WPIRG we've taken this from its start as a
concept, to a working prototype, and now to a successful permanent (and
free!) service. Thousands of commuters across Canada have already used
it to reduce pollution and save costs by simply sharing their ride.
WPIRG really helped me make the kind of impact I used to dream about.
The great thing about having WPIRG at UW is that it helps provide the
kind of continuity and networking you need to nurture longer term
public interest projects. Oh and if you want to try the site, it's at
carpooltool.com. You never know, it might be handy for commuting to
your co-op job.
-- Robin Chauhan, UW 3B Computer Engineering
Studying at university really opened my eyes to a
lot of social and environmental issues with which I was previously
unaware. But, while academic study is important, solely learning from
textbooks places students in the position of passive witnesses. With an
organization like WPIRG they are given the opportunity to put that
knowledge into action. My first exposure with WPIRG was through the
Iced in Black: Canadian Black Experiences on Film Festival, which gave
voice to black independent filmmakers and the black Canadian
experience. This festival later went on to premiere in 7 cities across
Canada.
-- Christine Clarke, UW Honours Arts, Rhetoric and
Professional Writing, 2004
CKMS, Radio Waterloo proudly endorses the work of the Waterloo Public
Interest Research Group (WPIRG). We believe the student
experience is enriched by the presence of this organization on the
University of Waterloo. It would be a great loss if this resource
were erased from campus life when the cost of its continued operations
is so small.
It is our understanding that WPIRG is open to all students taking an
interest in civic participation and responsibility. WPIRG is part of a
much larger network of people all over the province
who care deeply for their communities and desire to make the world a
better place to live in. Joining WPIRG and getting actively involved in
efforts to effect
positive social change, or benefitting from the public education
aspects of this organization, is part of the well-rounded
experience that we feel the University of Waterloo wishes their
students to benefit from.
CKMS has in the past, and intends to continue to provide broadcast time
for members of WPIRG to continue to educate students and the general
public about various topics that relate to all matter of issues of
public concern both on campus, in the wider community, and around the
world. WPIRG is one organization that builds bridges, encourages
critical
thinking, and brings diverse people together in positive ways which are
constructive and thought-provoking.
The question that should be asked in this upcoming referendum is not
whether students should vote to eliminate the WPIRG fee but rather 'Can
students afford not to have WPIRG on their campus?'!"
-- Heather Majaury, Station Manager,
CKMS (Radio Waterloo) , Nov-2004
WPIRG is a student-funded,
student-driven organization that UW has been fortunate enough to have
on campus since 1973. It's a testament to UW's social leadership - the
first PIRG was established just three years earlier in the United
States. Now with over 100 PIRGs in the US and 21 in Canada, there
exists a learning ground and network that far surpasses what one single
PIRG could hope to accomplish.
The benefits from hard-working WPIRG student volunteers reach far past
the UW student population. On-campus NGOs (like Alternatives Journal),
Kitchener and Waterloo community organizations and the greater Waterloo
Region have all benefited from the helping and learning hands of WPIRG
student volunteers. Alternatives has appreciated the long-time support
and resources from WPIRG - from co-organizing events to providing keen
and capable students who often volunteer or intern at the Alternatives
campus office.
University life tends to be insular and self-contained, and students
are often criticized for living within that privileged bubble that is
campus life. WPIRG takes students out of the bubble, and into the
world. WPIRG's office provides opportunities for students to research,
educate and take action on environmental and social justice issues.
This kind of community involvement cannot be taught in the classroom
alone - there is no replacement for learning by example and learning by
doing. WPIRG generates the biggest bang for the buck that supports it,
especially considering that the fee is only $4.75 per term per
full-time undergrad student.
-- Marcia Ruby, Production Coordinator, Alternatives
Journal, Nov-2004
For three years, Grand River IMPACT (Indymedia)
published a regular newspaper, Blind Spot, which highlighted issues of
social and environmental concern in Waterloo Region, and around the
world.
This probably wouldn't have been possible without WPIRG, who provided
financial and organizational support for producing our paper --
everything from scanning pictures , collecting community events and
articles with help from their web server, and coordinating distribution
of papers through their office. Their resource support made what looked
like an impossibly large project an achievable one..
-- Randy Ulch, Publisher, Blind Spot (Indymedia paper), Jan-2005
In my second year at U of W, some 20 years ago now, I
was broke, like hungry broke, and didn't understand what WPIRG did and
wanted a refund for that portion of my tuition. Then, a friend started
volunteering at WPIRG and I was amazed at what he said went on there.
Next thing I knew, I was volunteering there, and the friends that I
still have from University, I met at WPIRG. When I started working
after graduation, I was amazed to find that the skills I picked up at
WPIRG were the ones that got me the jobs I wanted, giving me the
competitive edge over others with similar educational backgrounds. Now
today, after 16 years working in the environmental field, I still use
the resources available at WPIRG. Including WPIRG in your tuition is
one way to make the working world a better place when you get there.
-- Susan Sauve, Sustainable Transporation Planner,
City of Peterborough
As an active and contributing member of the local community, I can say
with confidence that volunteers with WPIRG have made a positive and
lasting contribution to the quality of life in Waterloo Region.
The effects of this
good work are not always measureable, but rest assured the impacts are
felt in areas such as land use and transportation planning, anti-racism
work, health and health determinants, capacity building in
neighbourhoods, protection of migrant workers, and of course, a lot of
excellent research and education. WPIRG's ongoing contribution to
improve the quality of campus and community life has made UW and the
Region a recognized leader in Canada.
WPIRG is primarily
volunteer- and student-run -- this is the way it should be -- but it
would likely cease to exist without good staff support. WPIRG has been
a contributing member of the UW campus and KW community for decades,
and it is my hope that this good work will continue to be supported for
many years to come. The quality of life of all persons, irrespective of
political affiliation, depends on it.
-- Michael Parkinson, House of Friendship Food Hamper Program
The mandate of the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre is to break down
the barriers to full participation of new Canadians in the
Kitchener-Waterloo community and surrounding areas. Over the years, we
have partnered many times with WPIRG on projects that worked towards
our common goals.
Having student volunteers from WPIRG, involved in these projects has
ensured that our committees included the voices of students the needs
of students, and helped create bridges between the university and our
diverse population.
Everyone benefits when people are empowered to become active
participants in their community. We value WPIRG's role on campus
toward this end.
-- Lucia Harrison, Project Coordinator, Kitchener-Waterloo
Multicultural Centre
Over 22 years, The Working Centre and WPIRG have worked closely together,
often linking downtown Kitchener with the University of Waterloo
campus. Over the years the two organizations have cooperated on
numerous projects such as a community economic development conference,
the setting up of a local currency called Barterworks, establishing
Recycle Cycles as a self-sustaining community project, and initiatives
on the environment through the clean air committee.
Recycle Cycles, located at the Working Centre in downtown Kitchener, is
a project that was started and supported by WPIRG for its first seven
years. In 2000, Recycle Cycles moved into its present space in the
Working Centre’s 43 Queen location. Today, this community bike shop
accepts donations of used bicycles, which are then repaired by a team
of volunteers and sold at affordable prices. We also have public days
on which people can use the tools and space here to work on their own
bikes. We offer a Recycle Cycle Bike Camps while also using the shop to
focus on providing affordable transportation, and encouraging bike use
as an alternative to cars, and providing access to tools. This valuable
community resource was initiated by WPIRG students looking for a
concrete way to effect environmental change. It is an excellent example
of community and university student cooperation facilitated by WPIRG.
Barterworks, a community currency project has operated out of the
Working Centre for the past ten years. Much of the energy to start this
initiative came from WPIRG students who were looking for ways to help
people earn money when they did not have a job or when they wanted to
find local producers and products. WPIRG provided BarterWorks with
artistic and technical support as well as student enthusiasm. Today,
the 200 member bartering system thrives in downtown Kitchener.
WPIRG plays a special role at the University nurturing creative ideas
and linking them into the community. This is an important function that
helps make our community better. We look forward to many more years of
working together.
-- Joe Mancini, Executive Director, The Working Centre
The Waterloo Public Interest Research Group forms the foundation both in
terms of University & Community life as a critical think tank in
today's challenging life. Most importantly, it has set out a public
interest agenda that brings together important Charter & Human
Rights Values.
I believe WPIRG is an effective use of student resources in building a
university culture that supports tolerance, helps eliminate
discrimination and generates a healthy student community.
The Kitchener Downtown Business Association partnered with WPIRG in
establishing an Anti-Racism Conference and would welcome another
project in Kitchener Downtown. On behalf of the KDBA, we fully support
the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group and trust that this
upcoming referendum will support this important work.
-- Marty Schreiter, Manager, Kitchener Downtown Business Association
I had a very rich and active experience at UW that included an
international exchange, co-op, volunteering at the radio station,
working as a Don at St. Paul's and the Village and also volunteering
with WPIRG. Without question the place I grew the most and gained the
most personally was at WPIRG. Over the years volunteering with
WPIRG, I learned about addressing and challenging racism and other
forms of oppression. I volunteered with an action group that
looked at the issue of sweat shops and worked with upper administration
at UW to help move the issue forward to having sweat-free merchandise
at UW retail outlets.
I performed with an acting troupe called WPIRG Theatre and we wrote
plays for schools on protecting water, air quality and safe
cycling. I organized events like speaker series -- and was on the
Board in 1999 when we were nominated and awarded the YMCA Canada Peace
Medal for our speaker series entitled Waging Peace in the 21st
Century. I met and worked with people across the campus, the
community and sometimes the world.
As a Board member with WPIRG, I also learned a lot about the Ontario
Corporations Act, reading financial statements and how to function in a
consensus-style meeting. These skills have helped me now, as I
volunteer on numerous charitable boards in the community. WPIRG
has helped me be a productive and effective volunteer and an educated
citizen. Those are the ultimate goals of PIRGs -- to empower
people with the skills to make a difference.
-- Ryan Kennedy, Health Dept., Waterloo Region
(WPIRG Volunteer 1997-2001)
I still apply the training I received as a working group member at WPIRG
when I was a student in my work at Region of Waterloo Public Health
today. As a health promotion professional, I'm keenly aware that
citizens need to be empowered to take control of the issues that affect
their health, like adequate housing or safe streets. WPIRG's
training gave me the skills to build people's capacity to organize in
their communities to achieve better health for all. I refer to
WPIRG's resources in my work regularly: they're an excellent support
for citizens, not just students.
-- Marc Xuereb, Health Dept, Waterloo Region, and class of '93
I remember a few years ago, a man was going to come speak in Kitchener
about how violent Islam and Muslim people are. A lot of people
thought that a message like that should not go unchallenged in this
city, and WPIRG helped to bring people together, and provided space for
people to meet as we prepared to say that Kitchener/Waterloo doesn't
welcome a message of hatred.
A large group of people, both from the community and from campus, from
a variety of faith traditions including Muslim, Jewish, and Christian,
gathered peacefully outside the hotel where the speech was being given,
and conveyed our message. Thank you for being willing to respond,
WPIRG!
-- Joel Klassen, Christian Peacemaker Teams
REEP (Residential Energy Efficiency Project) and WPIRG have collaborated on
a number of projects in the past that we are co-sponsors of, such as
the Solar Public Forum and the CREW Speakers Series. We are now working
together as members of a community coalition that has made a successful
bid for the One Tonne Community Challenge, bringing federal money into
our community to spur action on reducing the greenhouse gases that
cause climate change. Hats off to Daryl Novak of WPIRG, who spearheaded
the bringing together of the coalition members, and wrote the
successful proposal. In doing so, WPIRG has managed to bring resources
to Waterloo Region that will unite efforts by the university's own
Sustainability Project and the WPIRG-developed CarpoolTool with those
of many other community and municipal government groups. This is
something various groups have tried to do in the past but were unable
to because of time and financial constraints.
WPIRG's efforts mean that Waterloo Region now has a dedicated
coordinator to bring together energy and water conservation
initiatives, addressing transportation, waste, residential and
commercial sectors. The result will be a cohesive "shopping basket" of
choices for citizens wishing to save money, improve their community's
health and sustainability, and reduce their own carbon emissions by one
tonne or more. WPIRG has thereby increased our community's capacity and
strengthened the ties between the University of Waterloo and the
community it serves. As an employer of over 50 UW co-op students over
the past 5 years, many of whom were active in WPIRG, REEP is proud to
partner with WPIRG on this initiative, and we look forward to more
partnerships in future.
-- Mary Jane Patterson, Residential Energy
Efficiency Project (REEP)
CREW is a local
citizens' group with the goal of making renewable energy more
accessible to all of us in Waterloo Region. We have a number of members
who are connected with the university as either students, faculty or
staff, and many more from the broader community. Our fledgling group
has benefited from WPIRG's support in several ways. Raj Gill of WPIRG
volunteered her time to CREW meetings for several weeks in a row to
help CREW members improve our skills in group facilitation and running
meetings. This has greatly improved our own capacity as an
organization. WPIRG has also supported our first ventures as a
citizens' group. We are currently partnered with the Kitchener Public
Library to present a series of public presentations on renewable
energy. Speakers and audience are a mixture of university
professors and students, as well as many people from the broader
public. We are grateful for WPIRG's sponsorship of this event, and for
WPIRG's support in the form of publicity through email and posters on
campus.
CREW was also a sponsor of our Solar Public Forum, held in conjunction
with the Solar Energy Society of Canada's annual conference at the
University of Waterloo in August of this year. WPIRG helped to
publicize the event, and provided support in putting it on. The end
result was a far greater audience that we could have hoped for, 275
people in all, who came to hear university professors explain the
science and future prospects of solar energy. It was a great example of
the university coming to the people, and the people wanting to hear.
It seems vitally important for all of us to forge these links between
the university and the broader community in which it exists, and
WPIRG's involvement in university-community linked undertakings such as
CREW help to do just that.
--Mary Jane Patterson, Community Renewable Energy Works (CREW)
The People’s Car Co-op (PCC) is a local non-profit car-sharing
organization, the first of its kind in Ontario. It was established in
1998, and since then car sharing organizations have been established in
many other Canadian cities.
PCC was founded by several former WPIRG volunteers. It was through
WPIRG volunteer and Board training that they gained some of the skills
and confidence necessary to undertake this project. Since then other
WPIRG volunteers and past volunteers have joined PCC. However, more
importantly, many community residents previously un-associated with
WPIRG have come to join PCC and benefit from the service that it
provides - currently PCC has over 100 community residents as members
and is continuing to expand.
Given that people who car share tend to drive less, and given the need
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, PCC has developed into a valuable
community resource here in K-W.
Since 1998, WPIRG volunteers have continued to provide PCC with
valuable computer, social marketing, and proposal writing skills in
order to assist PCC in its ongoing activities and future development.
PCC welcomes the involvement of WPIRG volunteers and looks forward to
continued support and partnership development with WPIRG.
-- Kate Busse, Manager, People's Car Co-op (Kitchener-Waterloo)
Over the past 3 years I have worked closely with WPIRG and their staff on
numerous environmental projects. In this partnership, we have
secured and administered approximately $200,000 for various
community-based social marketing campaigns and public education
initiatives.
These projects have involved multi-stakeholder partnerships with a wide
array of organizations from the commercial, governmental and non-profit
sector. Within these partnerships, WPIRG and their staff have
made an important contribution in achieving consensus and in community
capacity building. I have specifically appreciated their efforts
towards making these projects community-friendly in that an individual
from the general public can be empowered by their participation and
contribute towards the environmental and community development goals of
the projects. This is an invaluable contribution to Waterloo
Region as both community and environmental health can never be truly
successful and sustained as a top-down responsibility.
WPIRG has helped enable many citizens to have meaningful participation
in our projects. Their willingness to take on tasks and offer
time, energy and creativity has been laudable throughout this
partnership and has demonstrated to me that they are an exceptional
organizational and corporate citizen of our community. I
sincerely hope to be able to work with them in the near future as we
continue with this mutually beneficial partnership.
-- David Roewade, Public Health Planner (Environments),
Waterloo Region
When I was a student at UW, I used the facilities of WPIRG often for various
essays that I wrote. WPIRG not only had the materials, but staff
people there kept up with new publications that one would be unlikely
to find in libraries. I also have relied on WPIRG for information
on events that are taking place in the community. It is one of
the few places in K-W where once can find alternative voices that
challenge the mainstream media perspectives. I believe that most
students would support WPIRG if they knew what it was, and what
happened there.
-- Chris Buhler, Former Student
Since its founding in 1998, the Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Air Quality
for Waterloo Region (CACAQ) has benefited immensely from the
involvement of WPIRG volunteers. Whether helping with the initial
development of CACAQ’s mission statement, to launching community health
initiatives such as the Idling Reduction Education Campaign, to
partnering on community projects such as the Citizens’ Commitment to
Cleaner Air, WPIRG volunteers and staff have contributed their time as
well as research and computer skills to help us improve air quality in
Waterloo Region, a benefit that we can all share.
CACAQ is also working together with WPIRG - and a host of other
community groups and municipal representatives - to help promote the
local campaign of the One-Tonne Challenge. Through this, WPIRG
volunteers and staff are once again demonstrating their dedication to
improving the health and well-being of our community.
WPIRG provides a valuable opportunity for students to interact with the
local community, allowing them to put into action classroom learning
and to gain valuable volunteer experience and training. Given this, we
look forward to future participation of WPIRG volunteers.
-- Lori Strothard, Chair, Citizen's Advisory Committee on
Air Quality (Waterloo Region)
Before I ever joined any political party, I ran as a City/Regional Councillor
in Waterloo in '97. Early in the election, I was asked what I thought
of the proposed plans for the 'new highway 7' as well as bike lanes on
Columbia St. as it was being renovated by Michael Parkinson who was
with WPIRG. My answer to the latter was quick and simple, of course
there should be bike lanes on the street, including targeting the
perimeter major streets near the University (there weren't even bike
lanes on University!). The former question was more challenging as I
had little concrete info on the topic. WPIRG immediately offered me
access to the McCormick Rankin reports and proposals. The problem and
solutions were soon well understood by me and clear as a bell, improve
inter-city transit options and widening of the existing highway 7 to 5
lanes.
It soon became very
apparent that this was not going to be an easy exercise in democracy or
process. Together many of us banded together to form HALT7 (highway 7
Alternatives) and successfully launch an organized resistance that has
to this date not only helped to realign the
proposed roadway away from most of the wetlands, but has partially
derailed the process to the point that the southern connection route of
existing back roads south of highway 7 and north of highway24, now
seems to be taking on more momentum than the 4 lane controlled access
road that would also have flattened the Hindu temple in its path.
It has been an honour
and a privilege to work with the various people at WPIRG and the value
to both the students and the community cannot be short-changed. As an
Alumnus of U of W, it has been a a point of honour to know that U of W
was the first of the PIRGs to be set up and should always remain as a
learning tool and resource for the students there to learn how to
effect positive change and channel their talents.
Saving what is left of the Waterloo Moraine is the next great challenge.
-- Judy Greenwood-Speers, Class of '92, Co-founder of
HALT7 and 7 Generations Network