Lobbying

ASGA believes the strongest student voice begins on campus.

Rather than lobbying at the state or national level, ASGA helps Student Governments become stronger organizations so they can represent students more effectively within their own institutions, and advocate successfully whenever they choose to do so.

For more than four decades, ASGA has focused on helping SGs become stronger, more effective organizations through training, research, resources, and best-practice sharing, not through lobbying or political advocacy.

Advocacy is helping students communicate their perspectives and influence decisions that affect their campus, community, or educational experience.

Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence legislation or government policy by communicating with elected officials or government agencies.

Why ASGA Takes This Approach

Influence on campus begins before advocacy efforts. It starts with credibility, preparation, and strong relationships with decision-makers. Because Student Governments experience constant leadership turnover and changing priorities, long-term effectiveness depends on strong organizational systems—not just passionate leaders. That’s where ASGA focuses its training. By building organizational capacity first, SGs are better prepared to advocate effectively whenever they choose to do so.

That means helping SGs strengthen:

• Recruitment and leadership continuity
• Internal structure and governance
• Visibility and communication with students
• Decision-making capacity and credibility
• Enhancing voter participation in SG elections

What ASGA Is—and Is Not

ASGA Does

✓ Shared governance

✓ Best practices

✓ Advocacy skills

✓ Governance structures

✓ Research

✓ Goal-setting

✓ Team-building

✓ Power & influence assessment

✓ Advisor development

ASGA Does Not

✗ Lobby Congress

✗ Lobby state legislatures

✗ Endorse legislation

✗ Support political parties

✗ Tell campuses what positions to take

✗ Tell students what issues or causes to champion

Why neutrality matters

ASGA serves Student Governments at public universities, private colleges, community colleges, technical colleges, tribal institutions, and faith-based institutions across the country. Remaining nonpartisan ensures ASGA serves all SGs equally, regardless of institutional type or policy priorities. It also allows members to exchange ideas and best practices without political alignment.

How Student Advocacy Actually Works

Student advocacy takes many forms. One of the most common is through citywide, athletic conference, and statewide student associations, which bring together Student Governments to address issues that extend beyond a single campus.

For SGs that choose to participate in statewide or regional advocacy efforts, ASGA provides one of the nation’s largest collections of governance documents and organizational resources for student associations.

The strongest student voice isn’t created in a legislature. It’s built on campus, one stronger Student Government at a time.