PIRG Campus Action is hiring Campus Organizers

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PIRG Campus Action works to organize, amplify, and empower students as we tackle the issues that shape our future, and we are hiring for full-time positions as Campus Organizers. We will be on-campus on November 1st and 2nd conducting information sessions about our career opportunities, we will also be holding a table from 12-2PM in the Campus Center on 11/1.

Click here to see more about the job!

We need to save the planet, defend the public interest, and protect consumers. To achieve that, we need to imagine what society should look like in the future, and we need to overcome opposition by special interests in the present to get there. The future belongs to young people. It’s up to them to dream it up, and their idealism, energy, and vision will build the people power to make it a reality.

We know college students have the power to make a difference. From the Freedom Riders of the ‘60s to the voter registration drives of today … from the anti-apartheid movement of the ‘80s to the drive for fossil fuel divestment now — students are always pushing our communities, our country and our world forward.

With PIRG Campus Action, you’ll work with students who, like you, believe it’s our right, and responsibility to shape the future we all want. You’ll work with students to decide the strategies and tactics they’ll use to run campaigns that promote clean energy, public health, a stronger democracy and more.

As a Campus Organizer, you’ll:

  • Engage and mobilize hundreds of students on issues ranging from tackling climate change and getting big money out of politics to organizing voter registration drives and increasing recycling on campus.
  • Recruit and train students to plan and run effective campaigns on and off campus, using skills like organizing news conferences, building strong coalitions, generating grassroots support and direct advocacy.
  • Build a strong, sustainable student funded, student run organization on campus
  • Build relationships with other student groups, faculty and administrators
  • During the summer, each organizer runs a citizen outreach office. You’ll recruit and lead a team of canvassers to fundraise for important issues.

We’re hiring for positions in California, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey, North Carolina and a few other states.

Click here to apply today

To the Moon: Learning about co-ops and the meaning of life.

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The United Nations declared 2012 the International Year of Cooperatives.
A group of students from Amherst, Massachusetts decided to claim it.

In 2012, a group of Hampshire College students brought to fruition an idea to raise awareness across the United States about the importance and contributions of cooperative enterprises.  Their objective was to travel across the country by bicycle, from San Francisco to Amherst, working with co-ops along the way to educate the public, inviting others to join them on the ride, and filming the whole thing. The result of their efforts is the documentary ‘To the Moon’, which is a beautifully filmed and inspiring look at the entire grueling journey.

Before setting off, Emma Thatcher, the director of To the Moon, said: “It will be a film that reaffirms the voice of this country’s youth as a beacon for change. Instead of voices onscreen presenting a problem, these voices will present a solution.” Find out more at tothemoonfilm.com and if you want to revitalize the co-op movement in your area, you can host a screening for a wider audience!

If this story inspires you, but you’re not sure if it translates into career opportunities, you may want to read about where some of these students ended up going after graduation. And you should definitely check out The Field Guide to a Regenerative Economy, which is an AMAZING website sponsored by the Capital Institute, a non-partisan think tank exploring the economic transition to a more just, regenerative, and thus sustainable way of living on this earth through the transformation of finance.

Graduating soon? Want to start your career by helping in the fight against poverty? Go to this info session!

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If you are an Economics major who will be graduating soon and you are interested in working with international researchers who are informing public policy to fight poverty, this information session is for you!

J-PAL Info Session
Friday, November 10
4:00 PM
ILC N211

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global network of researchers who use randomized evaluations to answer critical policy questions in the fight against poverty. The 145 affiliated professors in our network are based at 49 top universities around the world. We have more than 300 dedicated research, policy, education, and training staff across research centers at academic institutions in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2013, J-PAL North America has a full-time staff of over 30 researchers, policy experts, and administrative professionals and works across a range of sectors including health care, housing, criminal justice, education, and labor markets. J-PAL is currently recruiting for both international and domestic positions.  They are looking particularly for students with an economics background.

 

The Washington Center hosts info sessions on October 26

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Are you interested in spending a semester in Washington DC and doing a full-time internship while also taking a class, engaging in professional development opportunities, participating in community service and getting credit? Since 1975, The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars has helped more than 50,000 students from around the world gain valuable experience, and set them on a course of achievement, leadership and engagement in their communities. UMass has a special arrangement with TWC to help make this opportunity affordable and achievable to most UMass students.

This opportunity is open to all majors, and offers specialized professional tracks in:

  • Advocacy, Service & Arts
  • Business & Global Trade
  • International Affairs
  • Law & Criminal Justice
  • Media & Communications
  • Politics & Public Policy
  • Science, Technology & Society (summer only)

Come and meet with a representative from The Washington Center Thursday October 26th at either 12:00 or 3:00 in Goodell room 419.  If you have questions or would like more information, you can contact Sheila Brennan, your UMASS Liaison to The Washington Center at sbrennan@umass.edu.

How to enroll in a UMass Amherst winter or summer course

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If you need to get caught up on requirements, you might want to take a winter or summer course. Enrollment for Winter 2018 started October 18, so there’s no need to wait any longer!  Here’s how:

  • In SPIRE, go to: Main Menu>Enrollment>Summer/Wtr/Non-deg Enroll Appt
  • From the Term dropdown, select the term you need (e.g. Winter 2018)
  • Click the REQUEST CPE ENROLLMENT APPOINTMENT button.
  • Now go back to your enrollment add tab and you will see the term you selected.
  • Select the term and click Continue.
  • Add classes as you would during a normal semester.

*****IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU ENROLL *****

  • The winter session fits a fourteen week class into just four weeks, so you must be prepared to work very hard!
  • All winter/summer classes at UMass are offered through Continuing & Professional Education (CPE) and are subject to CPE registration fees and tuition rates.
  • Tuition for CPE classes can range from $390/credit to $525/credit, so be sure to open the class page in SPIRE and check the notes so you know what you’ll be paying.
  • Current per-credit rates are $390 for most SBS courses, $482 for math or stats, and $525 for some Isenberg courses,  and all include a $47 registration fee, so a CPE course could cost anywhere from $1,217 to $1,622 before adding in the cost of books.
  • Most CPE classes are online, but some are in-person.  Check carefully to see if your class is in-person and make sure you are willing to travel to that location during the winter or summer.
  • For complete information on CPE courses, go to umass.edu/cpe/.

The Cooperative Enterprises Certificate: Restoring faith in humanity, one student at a time.

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In these trying times (especially when you watch the news), do you ever find yourself feeling disappointed in our species because we haven’t evolved a little further than we have? Do you feel like withdrawing from humanity because it’s just too hard to find positive people? Are you worried about getting a job after graduation because you cannot find a summer internship? Do you know that a lot of other people feel the same way? Do you think this is enough questions for one paragraph?

If you said yes to any or all of the above questions, have we got an opportunity for YOU! We recommend that you consider pursuing the Certificate in Applied Economic Research on Cooperative Enterprises, (lovingly known by people who have an aversion to long credential names as the Co-op Certificate). This certificate requires 15 credits of course work and 6 credits of an approved field-based research internship arranged through the Neighboring Food Co-op Association and the Valley Alliance for Worker Cooperatives.

Working shoulder-to-shoulder with members of a co-op can really boost your morale and open your mind to other career possibilities. According to the Cooperative Development Institute (CDI), surveys of co-op members indicate that the reason people love them is that co-ops promote community, ownership, shared values, and democratic participation. So if you want to be part of the bigger picture instead of feeling like just another cog in the machine, it’s time to get involved in the co-op movement!

Advising Tips: MYTHBUSTERS EDITION!

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Academic advisors often hear from students about advice that ‘someone’ or ‘a friend’ gave them that turns out to be either slightly off base or wildly untrue, sometimes with catastrophic results. We strongly encourage all students to double check with an advisor when someone who is not an advisor gives them academic advice. Just as with sex education, you should not get your academic advice from your friends.  A lot can go wrong if you follow the wrong advice! Below are a few of the most common misconceptions we hear from students.

  • MYTH: If you change a class to pass/fail and fail it, the F will not affect your GPA. FALSE! An F ALWAYS counts as an F, so if you get an F for a pass/fail class, your GPA will always go down.
  • MYTH: If you complete all the required courses for a minor, it will automatically appear in SPIRE. FALSE! In EVERY case, you must contact the department that offers the minor to declare it officially. Each department may have a different process, so be sure to check their website to find out how to declare your minor.
  • MYTH: The Global Diversity requirement is the same thing as Global Ed. FALSE! Global Diversity is the one-class “G” Gen Ed requirement, while Global Ed is the SBS 15-credit global language and culture requirement that all BA majors in SBS have to complete.Although you can double count a class toward both of these, they are definitely not the same thing, and you should definitely learn how to read your ARR.
  • MYTH: You can always retake a class to get a better grade. FALSE! You can only retake a class to replace a grade if you received a C- or lower in it the first time. If you retake a class with a C or higher, it is considered an illegal repeat and neither the grade nor the credits will count.
  • MYTH: If you retake a class in the hope of getting a better grade, but you fail, the original grade will still count. FALSE! If you retake a class and you fail it, this grade stands as your new final grade. If you want to take the class for a third time, you have to petition the Academic Dean for a second repeat. This is why it is better sometimes to just keep the original grade unless you are absolutely certain you can bring up the original grade by at least a full letter grade.
  • MYTH: You must satisfy both Option A and Option B for the Economics major. FALSE! You only have to complete one of the two. Meet with your advisor to find out which is your best option.
  • MYTH: You can use Global Ed to satisfy Option B for the Economics major. FALSE (usually)! You cannot satisfy Global Ed with 6 credits of a language and 9 credits of culture. BUT, if you use a language minor or a certificate to satisfy Global Ed, that credential can also be used to satisfy Option B for the Econ major.
We could go on all day with these, but instead we’ll just suggest that you MAKE AN APPOINTMENT with your advisor!

Back to the Future*: the UN promotes co-ops to kick poverty’s A$$!

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If you’ve been struggling to stay positive in the face of all the bad news in the world, this is the post you’ve been waiting for. This post is about determined efforts and positive outcomes! This post about the power of cooperative enterprises to battle poverty and create sustainable systems worldwide. So read it, act on it, and feel good about it.  That’s an order.

Back in July 14, The Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) celebrated the International Day of Cooperatives at the United Nations in New York during the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which addressed progress toward the UN member states’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The consensus of those in attendance was that cooperative enterprises are the most effective vehicle available to transform lives and eliminate deep poverty throughout the world. Check out the links below to be inspired!

–The head of the International Co-operative Alliance discussed the economic and social power of the global cooperative movement and the commitment to the SDGs, as demonstrated in Co-ops for 2030.

–The United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) presented their 2016 impact video that emphasizes their ongoing mission to promote the economic well-being of women and youth around the world as part of the effort to eliminate poverty by the year 2030.

—COPAC closed the event by sharing their video titled “Cooperatives ensure no one is left behind“. If this video doesn’t get you fired up about supporting or joining the cooperative movement, I don’t know what will.

*Why is ‘Back to the Future’ in the title of this post, you ask? Since International Co-op day took place a few months ago, but the emphasis is on how co-ops can improve our future, we felt justified in calling it a ‘Back to the Future’ post. Also, it got you to click the link, didn’t it?

 

 

FCC internships available to Econ majors with econometrics and data analysis skills

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Are you a serious Econ major with a strong interest in econometrics and data analysis? If so, we’ve got a unique opportunity for you!

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) International Bureau, Telecommunications and Analysis Division, is seeking Economics undergraduates with some experience in econometrics and data analysis for internships at the FCC during the summer of 2018. The International Bureau administers international telecommunications and satellite programs and policies, including licensing and regulatory functions. The bureau also promotes pro-competitive policies abroad, coordinates global spectrum activities and advocates U.S. interests in international communications and competition.

The positions are unpaid and the work will be done in FCC offices in Washington D.C. Although the positions are unpaid and students must find their own housing, there are scholarships available from the Department of Economics and from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences for unpaid internships, so if money is an issue, be sure to explore these scholarship opportunities!

There is no official posting at this time, so if you are interested in learning more about these opportunities, contact Peter Alexander (’90, PhD, Economics) directly.

ISSR offers STATA for Beginners Workshop

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Thursday, October 12, 2017 – 2:00pm to 4:00pm
E20 Machmer Hall | UMass Amherst
Sponsor: Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR)

Instructor: Rodrigo Domínguez Villegas
Registration Required

STATA for Beginners is an introductory workshop to familiarize participants with the STATA 12 interface and some basic STATA commands. It is targeted to university students and researchers who have little or no prior experience with STATA but are interested in learning the software for use in data analysis, data management, and graphical data visualization. Participants who already have Stata installed on their computers are encouraged to bring them to use during the workshop; a limited number of ISSR laptops will be available for use during the session.

Please note that the course will use STATA for PC but Mac users are welcome.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Be familiar with the STATA interface
  • Create STATA files
  • Read Data in STATA
  • Explore Data
  • Obtain basic descriptive statistics

Next workshop, Nov 9: Data Management with STATA