CALPIRG at UC Santa Barbara

Visit us on the 3rd floor of the UCEN, Room 3185!
Campus Organizer: Kat Lockwood

CALPIRG is a statewide non-partisan student-directed and funded organization that works on issues like environmental protection and service, affordable education, and fighting poverty. We train students in grassroots and political organizing skills so they can run campaigns that make a huge impact. For example in 2009 we convinced President Obama to increase federal financial aid for college students by $36 billion. This past year we worked on a campaign to ban plastic bags in Santa Barbara to protect the ocean, and have already banned bags in 54 cities in California. And last quarter we registered over 40,000 students to vote statewide, including 2,000 here at UCSB. We offer volunteer opportunities, as well as internships for course credit. Interns can learn skills in grassroots organizing, media outreach, lobbying and advocacy, and event planning.

Latest News

Our state and country have got some big problems - global warming, the economy, and the rising cost of college, to name a few.  But we can make a difference on these issues... More ›
Student groups at UCSB including the Associated Students Coastal Fund, Environmental Affairs Board, Isla Vista Surfrider Foundation and CalPirg, have banded together with... More ›
Students across the state from San Diego to Davis have been working hard to address the problem of plastic pollution in the Pacific. A great pacific garbage patch twice the... More ›