Rutgers — New Brunswick - NJPIRG Students

Organizing Director: Caleb Haddad, [email protected]
Campus Organizer: Leann Ngo, [email protected]

NJPIRG Office: 104 Bayard St. Suite 102, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901

Current Campaigns:

Take it out of Takeout

Every day, Americans use 70 million foam cups, 500 million straws, things that we use for just a few minutes then throw away. This garbage ends up in our oceans, where it injures and kills marine life like sea turtles.

We need to stop our dependence on these unnecessary single use plastics by eliminating them altogether. We’ve worked to get Rutgers New Brunswick and Rutgers Newark to eliminate plastic bags and water bottles, and now we’re working to get rid of the rest of the plastic used in dining halls. We’re building coalitions with SGA, environmental groups, and multicultural groups, hosting big events like river cleanups with VIPs, and collecting support from the whole student body to win this campaign.

Climate Action

From the intense thunderstorms and hurricanes on the East Coast this summer to the fires on the West Coast, we are reeling from many natural disasters caused by global warming. We know we need to transition away from burning fossil fuels and toward a world powered by 100% Clean Renewable Energy. In Fall 2021, Rutgers released the Climate Action Plan, committing to carbon neutrality by 2040. We’re working with administrators to implement this plan, establish sustainability ambassadors to institutionalize a culture of sustainability, and host Climate Town Halls to gather feedback on the Climate Action Plan.

Affordable Textbooks

The cost of college is incredibly high, and yet, according to the College Board, students also have to pay around $1000 a year on textbooks. Textbook prices have increased at over four times the rate of inflation because of the price-hiking tactics of the publishing industry. Open textbooks provide an immediate solution. These textbooks are published under an open license so they are FREE! In 2015, we worked with Rutgers to start the Open and Affordable Textbooks Project, which has since saved students over $6 million. Now we’re working to expand the project and increase savings to students to contribute to their success in college.

Chapter Leadership:

Khushi Vora // Chapter Chair

Hi! I’m Khushi, a freshman finance major at Rutgers New Brunswick where I am the NJPIRG chapter chair and the campaign coordinator for the Climate Action campaign. In addition, I am also the NJPIRG State Board Chair! I joined NJPIRG by chance when I saw a petitioning event outside Livi Dining Commons. It’s been an amazing, fun and heartwarming experience as we help bring out change in our community and reach so many people while we’re at it! Apart from giving back to my community, I love spending time with my friends and family, baking, driving and sketching/painting.

Yukta Nyati // Campaign Coordaintor

Hi! My name is Yukta Nyati. I am a first year student at Rutgers, New Brunswick studying Finance and Sustainability. I am the campaign coordinator of the Take it Out of Take Out – Plastics Ban Campaign in an effort to eliminate the use of plastics in the take out section of the dining halls on campus. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, dancing, and reading about environmental activism.

Get Involved!