2010
2011
The Books to Prisoners action group, one of WPIRG’s most active action groups, continued to collect books on campus and in the community to donate to prisons throughout Ontario. The Feminist Zine Distro was founded in summer 2011, focusing on printing and distributing zines, pamphlets, reports and more on issues relevant to feminist social movements. The Grand River Media Collective was formed with the goal of presenting alternative news stories and perspectives relevant to social and environmental justice activism. From September 19-24th WPIRG organized DisOrientation, an alternative orientation week. KW Indigenous Solidarity Action Group (KWISAG) spent the year hosting a reading group on the history of colonialism and indigenous resistance, as well as participating in Barriere Lake’s legal defense fundraising campaign and the Six Nation Solidarity Network.
2012
WPIRG launched the “Seeds of Resistance” Workshop Series, a series on topics including anti-oppression, activist self-care, web research skills for activists, decolonization for settlers, and DisAbility Justice. Rainbow Reels Queer Film Festival took place on March 1-4 at the Princess Twin Cinemas, with an opening gala at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery in Uptown Waterloo. In March, WPIRG worked in collaboration with The Women’s Centre to host a week of activities, presentations and educational events for International Women’s Week. The third annual School of the Public Interest (SPI) Conference was held titled “Breaking Bars, Building Bridges: Challenging the Prison System and Fostering Communities of Support”
2013
A fall welcome-back party was held at the Queen Street Commons café in Downtown Kitchener featuring Test Their Logik, Lee Reed & Mother Tareka for “Social Justice from the Underground: Radical Hip Hop Show” on September 27, 2013. The Association of Muslims and Arabs for a Secular Quebec facilitated a November 28, 2013 panel titled “Quebec Charter of Values: Sexist, Feminist and Inclusive or Hypocritical, Sexist and Discriminatory?”. Grand River Indigenous Solidarity (GRIS) organized with Aamjiwnaang & Sarnia Against Pipelines (ASAP) and the Waterloo Region Coalition Against Line 9. GRIS formally submitted evidence against Line 9 in October to the National Energy Board. Students for Peace in Syria (SFPS) became an Action Group in spring.
2014
WPIRG introduced Members’ Meetings to its organizational structure, encouraging a more engaged membership in line with principles of direct democracy. WPIRG’s annual conference was held February 7-8 under the title “School of Public Interest: Just Education? Bringing Together Social Justice and Student Life”. On March 6, for International Women’s Week, WPIRG hosted Selma James and Nichola Marcus in a well-attended event titled “How to Change the World”. WPIRG’s 40th Anniversary celebration brought together renowned critical comedians Hari Kondabolu & Kristina Wong for “Comedy Night for Your Rights” on March 12. The 14th Annual Rainbow Reels Queer and Trans* Film Festival was held May 8-11. In July, the Federation of Students (Feds) terminated WPIRG’s lease for the Student Life Centre office space, ending WPIRG’s 18-year service to students from the SLC, the hub of student life. WPIRG maintained that the decision was not in the best interest of students and violated Feds’ own mandate to serve and empower students on campus. The WPIRG office relocated to the Centre for Peace Advancement (CPA) at Conrad Grebel University College in October. In September, over 300 students were left without a place to live when Schembri Property Management did not complete the construction of a new apartment building. Through a series of direct actions and a highly public campaign, WPIRG helped 53 students win back their deposits. Waterloo350 was formed as an action group with the mandate of educating students and advocating that decision-makers take their investments out of the fossil fuels industry. The annual School of Public Interest Conference focused on “No Action Without Inquiry”, addressing questions about the roles of activists and their relationship to politics and solidarity, including a teach-in on the Black Lives Matter movement.
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
WPIRG makes a gift to the Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre at St. Paul’s University College. A grant fund is established to support graduate and undergraduate students in pursuing academic opportunities related to social and environmental research and justice.
2021
WPIRG celebrates the long-anticipated launch of our organizational archives in an accessible online format. University of Waterloo Special Collections and Archives at Dana Porter Library acquire the full digital collection.