How To: Running Issue Campaigns
When we look around the country, the most effective student governments that we see are the ones that run carefully planned campaigns.
Many student governments plan events or pass resolutions about important issues, but running a campaign requires going further. A campaign is a long-term project where a student government focuses their energy and effort on a single issue. It takes planning and commitment, and allows a student government to win bigger victories than they could achieve in any other way.
We've written this spring about some amazing campaigns, including ASUW's campaign to win funding for higher education, UTK SGA's campaign to protect student fees, and ASBSU's campaign to stop concealed weapons from being allowed on campus.Read more
How To: Launching a Student Vote Coalition
The 2014 elections may seem far away, but now is the time to start planning.
In most states, the voter registration deadlines are early in the fall semester, so you should lay the groundwork this spring. By doing so, you can hit the ground running when classes start and organize the biggest possible voter registration and get-out-the-vote drive on your campus.
The first big step in planning for election season is to build a campus-wide coalition. Having a broad Student Vote coalition lets you run the biggest possible voter registration drive by bringing together groups with a range of resources.Read more
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
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
Organizing Tips: Get-Out-The-Vote Drives
Voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives are popular projects for student governments. Here are a few tried and true tactics for effectively getting out the student vote.
The most effective way to increase voter turnout is by contacting students individually to remind them to vote. There are lots of ways to do this.Read more
Organizing Tips: Holding a Press Conference
Generating media attention for your issue is a great way to educate the campus and the public, put pressure on decision-makers to take action, and build your student government's visibility and name recognition.
A press conference is a short event where you invite reporters to cover something newsworthy. For example, you could hold a press conference to:
- Release the results of a survey or a study
- Launch a new campaign
- Culminate a campaign or part of a campaign (at the end of your voter registration drive, petition drive, etc.)
- Highlight a big event (e.g., at the launch of your community service day)
Here's what you need to do to make your press conference a success.Read more
Organizing Tips: Running Productive Meetings
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
Organizing Tips: Building a Student Vote Coalition
One of the best ways to get decision-makers to pay attention to students is to make sure that students get to the polls and vote during elections.
If you want to run a big voter registration and get-out-the-vote project, building a campus-wide coalition is key to your success. Having a broad Student Vote coalition lets you run the biggest possible voter registration drive by bringing together groups with a range of resources.Read more