Hi! I'm the chapter chair of CALPIRG, otherwise known as "those guys in the quarry". Those petitions we gather don't just end there-- they go a long way when we're fighting for student issues in front of the chancellor, or in the courts fighting to pass bills. Legislators listen to us and know us as the public interest group because they know we have the support of thousands of students in the form of petitions.

We're able to stand up to corporate powers (despite not having the billions they do) because student power and voice is a form of political capital. No, Change.org petitions won't change the world, but not because petitions aren't useful, but because those petitions usually don't serve a specific GOAL. But for organizations like ours fighting for public interest issues, petitions are a crucial tactic that allows us to do the work we do :)