I have some knowledge of PIRG in roughly the same time frame as Obama's involvement. We are talking the brainchildren of Ralph Nader. Although the PIRG's get funding from mandatory student fees and are SUPPOSED to be the students' political operation, in fact the PIRGs were dominated by left wing professional staff. The PIRG's pursued a radical environmental agenda, especially anti-nuclear power, that was basically spoon fed by Nader (who had his own non-student PIRG.
If Obama was anything like the PIRG staff I interacted with, they were arrogant left wing professionals who treated the students paying their salaries like little children.
I ended up having zero respect for Nader, and I despised the kooky left wing professional staffers.