Inventory of
the North Carolina Public Interest Research Group records,
1970-1983
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Descriptive Summary
Title
North
Carolina Public Interest Research Group records,
1970-1983.
Creator
North Carolina
Public Interest Research Group.
Extent
5 Linear Feet,
5,000 Items
(3 boxes)
Repository
University Archives, Duke
University.
Abstract
Contains the records of the North Carolina
Public Interest Research Group, a social and environmental
action student group formed in 1972 at Duke University.
Types of materials include correspondence, minutes,
agendas, reports, notes, fliers, pamphlets, newsletters,
handbooks and financial materials. Major subjects include
Duke University, student political activity, student
movements, political campaigns, consumer advocacy, Durham,
N.C., lobbying, environmental protection in North Carolina,
and the North Carolina Public Interest Research Group.
Materials range in date from 1970 to 1983.
Language
English.
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Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
In off-site storage; 24 hours advance notice is
required for use.
Use Restrictions
Copyright for Official University records is
held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by
the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants,
as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], North Carolina Public
Interest Research Group records, University Archives, Duke
University.
Provenance
Transfer; 1984; 84-4
Transfer; 1975; 75-61
Processing Information
Processed by Emily Glenn
Completed April 2003
Encoded by Emily Glenn, April 2003
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Historical Note
Since the 1960s, college students in North
Carolina have worked on goals of justice, social equality,
and wise use of natural resources. Despite their
understanding and commitment to these ideals, students
often found their efforts frustrated by unresponsiveness in
government and by the constraints of their academic role.
The two major limitations that students faced were the lack
of expertise required to deal with increasingly complex
social problems, and the difficulty of maintaining
continuous involvement due to breaks in the academic year.
The North Carolina Public Interest Research Group
(NCPIRG) was created to facilitate activism on North
Carolina's campuses. NCPIRG was founded in fall of 1971 by
a group of students at Duke University, after hearing a
speech by consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Duke University
acted as the first headquarters for NCPIRG. Organizing
efforts at nearby University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill and University of North Carolina at Greensboro were
turned down by administrators and trustees. In spring of
1972, students from St. Andrews College successfully
organized and joined NCPIRG. By 1976, Davidson College and
Wake Forest University had also formed chapters.
NCPIRG was funded and controlled by member
schools. Students contributed a portion of their student
fees to support NCPIRG as a campus group. NCPIRGs used the
fee collection system as a stable means of guaranteed
support. But, since NCPIRG viewed mandatory fees by
themselves as an unacceptable means of support, they chose
to offer a refund period to students. The refund provides
students with a choice and makes NCPIRG directly
accountable to students. This refund system was at times
exploited by anti-PIRG groups on campuses.
The State Board of Directors was the major
decision-making body for NCPIRG. The State Board was
responsible for hiring professional staff, allocating
funds, and setting research and project priorities for the
year. School delegates reported their activities and
exchanged ideas with each other at State Board meetings.
The State Board provided continuity in staffing and support
from experienced professionals.
NCPIRGs focused on environmental, social and
political concerns. Some of the campaign topics of early
NCPIRGs were high utility rates, nuclear weapons and
defense spending, the draft, pollution, fair renting
policies, and recycling. Because all PIRG members were
students, PIRGs also focused on student rights, such as
voting while living on campus, earning a full refund for
rent deposit, student financial aid, campus-area grocery
prices, and banking interest rates. Some of the most
notable projects of NCPIRGs were land use pattern
investigations in the North Carolina mountains, lobbying
for changes in a local expressway, and organizing citizen
testimony before the North Carolina Utilities Commission.
They also assisted in the formation of the Brown Lung
Association and sponsored the Generic Drug Substitution Act
in 1979.
The Duke University PIRG, the most active of the
NCPIRG chapters during the 1970s and early 1980s, organized
the following workshops and events: Labor and Medical
Center Employee Unions (1979), Truth in Testing (1979),
Free University (1979-1980), and supported the Duke Draft
Coalition.
As of 2003, NCPIRG is active and headquartered in
Chapel Hill, N.C. NCPIRG does not currently have
student-body sponsored chapters at North Carolina colleges
or universities.
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Collection Overview
Contains the records of the North Carolina Public
Interest Research Group, a social and environmental action
student group formed in 1972 at Duke University. Types of
materials include correspondence, minutes, agendas,
reports, notes, fliers, pamphlets, newsletters, handbooks
and financial materials. Organized into the following
series: Series 1. North Carolina college and university
chapters, 1970-1982; Series 2. NCPIRG statewide
administration and activities, 1970-1982; Series 3.
National administration and activities, 1974-1980.
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Subject Headings
These and related materials may be accessed under
the following subject headings in the Duke University
Libraries online catalog.
-
Consumer Advocacy.
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Duke University--Students--Societies, etc.
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Duke University--Students--Political activity.
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Durham (N.C.)--History.
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Environmental
protection--North Carolina.
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Lobbying.
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North Carolina
Public Interest Research Group.
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Political campaigns--North Carolina.
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Public interest--Societies, etc.
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Student
movements.
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Students--Political activity.
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Office of the Chancellor.
Environmental Concerns Committee records.
University Archives, Duke University.
ECOS records.
University Archives, Duke University.
Small Collections: Environmental
Center folder.
University Archives, Duke University.
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Detailed Description of the Collection
North Carolina college and university
chapters,
1970-1982.
Contains the records of NCPIRG campus groups
at colleges and universities in North Carolina. Types of
materials include correspondence, constitutions, bylaws,
notes, and clippings. Clippings and correspondence reflect
the attitudes and values of students on college campuses
during the 1970s-1980s.
Box 1
Appalachian State
University
General establishment and
correspondence,
1973-1974
Clippings,
1973-1974
Bennett College
General establishment, ca.
1975
Correspondence and notes, ca.
1978-1980
Duke University
Establishment and administration
materials
Constitution and bylaws,
1970
History,
1971-1972
Organizational materials, ca.
1977
Correspondence and notes,
1971-1974,
1977-1978
Meeting agendas, minutes, and
notes, ca.
1973-1981
General environmental concerns,
ca.
1974
Summer internships,
1978
Campaigns
Utility rates and deposits,
1973-1976
Beverage container recycling,
1974
No Nukes/Kudzu Alliance,
1978
Labor and Medical Center
Employee Unions,
1979
Truth in Testing,
1979
Free University,
1979-1980
Duke Draft Coalition,
1979-1981
Nestle boycott,
1980
Printed materials
Newsletter, ca.
1980
Fliers, posters, and pamphlets,
1971-1977,
1978-1982
Clippings,
1971-1973,
1974-1977
West End Community Action
Group
Grant proposals and
correspondence,
1979-1980
General meetings notes and
fliers, ca.
1978-1981
Includes Phoenix festivals, Vista
activities, and clippings
Newsletter, The West End Times,
1978-1981
Elon College
Establishment,
1976
Correspondence,
1975-1980
General activities,
1975-1981
Student papers, ca.
1976
Guilford College
General materials,
undated
Meredith College
General materials,
1973
North Carolina State
University
Establishment, 1976
Correspondence, ca.
1976-1977
Clippings, 1976, undated
St. Andrews College
Establishment, ca.
1975
Correspondence and activities,
1975-1976
Clippings, ca.
1972-1975
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill
Establishment and history,
1974
General materials, ca.
1974
University of North Carolina at
Charlotte
Establishment,
1975
Correspondence,
1975-1977
General activities and notes,
1975-1976
Clippings,
1975-1976
University of North Carolina at
Greensboro
Constitution and bylaws, ca.
1973
Correspondence and activities,
1973-1986,
1981
Greensboro office space,
1982
Clippings,
1975-1982
Wake Forest University
Constitution and bylaws,
1973
Correspondence,
1973-1978
General activities and notes,
1973-1978
Clippings,
1973-1978
Western Carolina
University
General materials,
1976
NCPIRG statewide administration and
activities,
1970-1982.
Contains establishment, administration, and
activities materials of North Carolina PIRGs. Includes
articles and correspondence regarding student fees and PIRG
funding, petitions, meeting minutes, agendas, and reports,
and clippings.
General administration
Constitution and bylaws,
1972
Also contains general establishment
materials.
General history, ca.
1983
NCPIRG contracts with colleges and
universities,
1974-1975
Box 2
Solicitation licenses,
1977-1982
Annual reports,
1973,
1977
Organizing a PIRG, ca.
1972-1974
Funding a PIRG and collecting
student dues, ca.
1972-1974
Employment and Manpower trainees,
1975
Campaigns,
1976-1979
Background materials, ca.
1979
Student voter registration,
correspondence and general materials,
1976
Student voter registration,
clippings,
1976
Watauga County voter registration,
1976
Anti-PIRG bill,
1977
Minutes, agendas, reports, and
correspondence of NCPIRG
Correspondence and notes,
1972-1975
Minutes, agendas, and reports,
1972-1973 Spring
Minutes, agendas, reports, and
correspondence,
1973 Fall-1974
Spring
Minutes, agendas, reports, and
correspondence, Summer
1974
Minutes, agendas, reports,
1974-1975
Minutes, agendas, reports,
1975
Clippings and other materials,
1975-1976
Minutes, agendas, reports,
1976 January
-1976 July
Minutes, agendas, reports,
1976 August-1977
March
Minutes, agendas, reports,
1977 March-1978
August
Minutes, agendas, reports, and
correspondence,
1978
September-1979 April
Policy notebook, correspondence,
other notes,
1978-1979
Minutes, agendas, reports,
1979 August-1980
May
Clippings, 1979-1980
Minutes, agendas, reports,
1980 June-1981
April
Clippings and other materials,
1980-1981
Minutes, agendas, reports, and
correspondence,
1981
October-1982 June
Clippings and other materials,
1981-1982
Financial Materials
General financial materials,
1973-1974
General financial materials,
correspondence,
1974-1975
Box 3
Budgets 1974-1975
General financial materials,
correspondence,
1975-1976
Monthly reports,
1975
September-1976 September
General financial materials,
correspondence,
1976
October-1978 February
General financial materials,
correspondence,
1978-1979
General financial materials,
correspondence,
1979-1981
Audit summaries,
1973-1981
Lobbying expenses,
1977-1981
Budgets and notes,
1979-1982
Printed materials, working papers,
and reports
Davidson College, Urban Sociology
course papers,
1976
Fliers,
1978-1982
Pamphlet layout, ca.
1980-1982
Canvasser's handbook,
1971
NCPIRG Advocate,
1973-1981
Outreach,
1978
PIRG Perspectives column and
press releases
Of the People,
1978-1979
The Insider,
1979-1981
Research reports,
1970-1975
Research reports,
1976-1981
Clippings in support of NCPIRG,
1979-1981
National PIRG governance materials,
1973-1980.
Contains materials relating to the national
governance and organization of state PIRGs. Materials
include records of PIRG representative networking and
solidarity in political action.
Governing council materials,
1979-1980
Correspondence and reports,
1978-1980
Oppositions to PIRGs,
1973-1977
[2
folders]
Letters of endorsement,
1972-1980
Governing council,
1979-1980
National PIRG conference, Colorado,
1978
National PIRG conference, Virginia,
1979
Clippings,
1974-1980
