ASU student government advocates for higher education at Arizona State Capitol
The Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. Photo by w_lemay via Wikimedia
Members of the Associated Students of Arizona State University, or ASASU — ASU’s official student government — recently visited the Arizona State Capitol to have meaningful conversations with legislators, staff and policy advisors about the future of higher education in Arizona.
Mikah Dyer, ASASU’s vice president of policy at the West Valley campus, emphasized the importance of having student voices represented within policy conversations.
“First and foremost, students belong in policy spaces,” Dyer said. “I think sometimes it's a daunting thing, and it can feel like young people aren't supposed to be there. The students who were able to attend, and also hopefully ASU students who saw the posts on social media, could see themselves as stakeholders in the democratic process and understand that participation isn't necessarily theoretical.”
Dyer said the student conversations with legislators revolved around advocacy in three key areas:
- Keeping higher education accessible and affordable
- Ensuring Arizona’s public universities continue to serve every student who seeks opportunity
- Including student voices as part of policy conversations
“All of us entered the conversation recognizing that higher education remains one of the most powerful opportunities for economic mobility in Arizona," Dyer said. "Being able to achieve higher education allows you to do amazing things, and so ensuring that it continues to be affordable and accessible for students in Arizona is really important.”
Dyer, a Barrett, The Honors College sophomore studying secondary education and political science at ASU’s West Valley campus, has participated in student government for two years — since the beginning of his undergraduate program. He helped coordinate the day’s meetings and activities at the Capitol, which included more than 30 students and represented all of the ASU campuses and online students. It was a first-time visit for the vast majority of student participants.
“The idea was to bring together members and students from across all of the different campuses with the goal of ensuring that members of the state Legislature here in Arizona understand all the amazing work that we're doing, but also hearing the concerns and issues that students face on a day-to-day basis,” Dyer said.
“We had great conversations with a number of different members,” he said, including state Sen. Lauren Kuby, who represents Legislative District 8 in Tempe and is a senior Global Futures scientist at ASU.
Dyer said this won’t be the last opportunity for students to have their voices heard, with continuing opportunities on all campuses available for Sun Devils to get involved in government.
“We have a policy working group on the West Valley campus that's run through the student government, and we do a lot of work and collaboration with the Arizona Board of Regents and the two student regents. We are always looking for students who are interested in getting involved," he said.
His advice for fellow Sun Devils who want to have their voices heard through student government? Show up and be consistent.
“Getting involved in anything, consistency is super important,” Dyer said. “Showing up and showing people that you can show up goes a really, really long way. I'm always the kid raising my hand — even in kindergarten through 12th grade I was raising my hand. I was giving my opinion, but how can we hear the students who sit in the back of the classroom and don't share much? ... Being able to amplify the voices of those too often kept silent is the work of a true leader.
“There's a number of ways to be involved — just go talk to someone. Every day at ASU there are opportunities to better the world around you.”
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