Presented by Sarah Clarke & Kayley Schoonmaker Ready to make change for students? In this roundtable, we will discuss going beyond the tried and true advocacy methods to give you new tools to make a greater impact on higher education in Minnesota.

1. Creative Advocacy
Strategies

2. Why advocate?


“If you’re not at the table, you’re on
the menu”
The cost of your education, price of
your textbooks, the classroom you are
in, and the state and federal financial
aid you receive are just a few of the
ways both politics and public policy
factor into your education

3. Why advocate?
 Because
you can not
afford not to!

4. What is advocacy?



If I “like” a Facebook status about
Obama, is that advocacy?
If I “poke” my U.S. Senator on
Facebook, is that advocacy?
If I yell at my TV during the news, is
that advocacy?

5. Advocacy Is…
A
comprehensive, multifaceted plan that seeks to
advance a specific public
policy goals
◦ In this session, we are talking
about advocacy in the the
legislative arena

6. Proven Methods


Building the message
Conveying the message
Personal stories
Facts
Capitol and Town Hall meetings
Testimony
Advocacy Day
Phone calls, emails, letters to the editor and social
media
◦ Media
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦



Tracking votes
Addressing potential roadblocks
Winning!

7. While good advocacy requires
use of a variety of tactics…
Some methods are better
than others.

8. Student Power



Your story is powerful
Students are our BEST advocacy
resource
Now, let’s get warmed up and start
coming up with creative advocacy
strategies!

9. Student Power

If you have been involved in our
advocacy efforts before
◦ What has worked well for you?
◦ What should be improved?

If you have not been involved
before, what barriers prevented you
from getting involved?

10. Student Power


What can we do at the campus level to
engage more people around our
statewide legislative agenda?
With the changing pace of the
legislature, how can we activate rapid
responses from students across the
state?

11. Next Steps


How can we better train and
communicate with you on legislative
developments?
What questions do you have about
our advocacy work?