How-To: Running Productive Meetings
There's very little that's worse than sitting through a bad meeting. Unfortunately, it's a problem that's plagued many student governments.
Running a productive meeting is a skill. Once you learn it, your meetings will accomplish more, they’ll be better attended, and your members will feel like part of a community.
Here are seven ground rules for running a productive meeting.Read more
#HuskiesLobby: UW Students Take On Olympia
The Office of Government Relations at the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW) recently organized a lobby day in Olympia. We interviewed two leaders from the OGR to find our more about the event.
Please tell us your name(s) and current position in student government. If you’re willing, please also tell us anything else that you think is relevant about who you are: your year, major, past student government experience, etc.
Lucas Barash-David: I'm the Director of the Office of Government Relations. I'm a senior majoring in Honors English and Political Science.
Kanokbhorn (KK) Saha: I'm the Legislative Programming Coordinator for OGR. I'm a junior studying Political Science and Economics. This is my first year as an employee in student government but during my sophomore year, I've held numerous volunteer positions.
What is the ASUW OGR? What do you do? What are your current priorities?
ASUW OGR is the legislative advocacy branch of the Associated Students at the University of Washington. We represent over 40,000 students at all levels of government including Federal, State, and Municipal. We have a pretty diverse set of issues that we tackle but we always work on increasing state funding to the UW!Read more
#TextbookBroke: Campaign for Affordable Textbooks
Many student governments have joined a growing movement to lower the cost of college textbooks.
At first, this might not seem like a profound issue, but for many students textbooks are the single largest out-of-pocket expense of going to college. The College Board estimates that students spend about $1200 on textbooks and supplies every year, and individual textbooks can cost as much as $200. Even worse, over the past decade, college textbook prices have increased by 82%, which is three times the rate of inflation.
Textbook prices can be a serious barrier for students and families struggling to afford a higher education - but they don't need to cost so much. In the online age, we certainly have the technology to make textbooks more affordable.
U.S. PIRG published a recent report, Fixing the Broken Textbook Market, that details the huge impact textbook prices have on students.Read more
University of Tennessee SGA Campaigns to Protect Student Fees
The UTK SGA is running a campaign to oppose bills in the Tennessee legislature that would restrict the use of student fees. We interviewed one of the SGA's leaders to find out more about the campaign.
Please tell us your name and current position in student government. If you’re willing, please also tell us anything else that you think is relevant about who you are: your year, major, past student government experience, etc.
My name is Rachel Cross and I am the current director of the Government Affairs Committee at the University of Tennessee. I’m a senior double majoring in Political Science and Sociology with a Criminal Justice concentration and I’ve had the pleasure of working with Student Services and Government Affairs for the past three years. Outside of my role there, I’ve also been involved with SGA Student Senate, College Republicans, and multiple political campaigns.
What are the current priorities for the SGA Government Affairs Committee?
We have a lot on our agenda for the remainder of the spring semester – Advocacy Week, a town hall with Chancellor Cheek, another political debate, and of course continuing to fight for the rights of students to keep control of their student fees.Read more
News Roundup: Arkansas, Maryland, and Castleton State
Here are a few recent news stories about interesting projects being taken on by student governments.
Razorback Action Group to Advocate for Students
The University of Arkansas Associated Student Government has launched the Razorback Action Group, a project to advocate for the student body at the local, state, and national level. The group will begin by advocating for increased funding for scholarships and other higher education programs.Read more
Upcoming Conferences in Portland and Texas
Student government leaders in the northwest and southwest both have the opportunity to attend great student government conferences next month.Read more
News Roundup: FSU, Penn State, and more
This week's student government news including stories on tuition breaks for veterans, efforts to increase campus safety, and a project to make a campus more bike-friendly.
In-State Tuition for Veterans
Florida State University's Student Government Association visited the State Capitol to show their support for a bill that would grant in-state tuition at public colleges to veterans who were honorably discharged from the military. FSU has previously declared that it aims to be the most veteran-friendly university in the country.Read more
Organizing Tips: Getting Media Coverage
Getting media coverage for your projects helps you educate the public, urge decision-makers to take action, and build visibility for your student government. You can get your issues covered in student-run media outlets on your campus, as well as off-campus media outlets.
Here are the steps to getting media coverage on one of your issues.Read more
Organizing Tips: Making Class Announcements
Class announcements are one of the most effective recruitment tactics you can use to identify potential volunteers for your student government. Here are some tips on how to do them.
What you need:
- A class announcement "script"
- Student government "interest cards"
- Professors to let you make the announcements
- You and other student government members to actually make the announcements
Organizing Tips: Leadership Development
To be effective, a student government needs a deep bench of leaders who are willing to take on responsibility and help coordinate different projects. Many student governments struggle because they only have a small group of students who are taking on real responsibility. Those student leaders tend to end up overburdened and burned out, and those student governments often struggle from year to year because they don't have new students who are ready to replace the graduating leaders.
Student governments that constantly develop new leaders are able to tackle more projects, keep their members motivated, and keep their organization vibrant from year to year.Read more