Every semester we should try to involve the whole campus in what student government is working on. By doing that, we:
- Get more done, because we've got more help
- Strengthen our relationships with other people and organizations throughout the campus community
Here's how to make a plan for involving the whole campus in something you're doing.
# # # # #
Step 1: Brainstorm all the constituencies on campus that you could possibly work with.
Student organizations...
- What are the biggest organizations?
- What are the most active organizations?
- Who organizes the biggest events? (Dance Marathon, Programming Board, etc.)
- What organizations are working on similar issues to us?
- What are all the other organizations? (Remember, we want to work with EVERYONE)
Campus media...
- What campus media outlets are there? (newspaper, radio, TV)
Faculty...
- What are all the departments?
- Who are the most popular professors on campus?
- What professors teach the biggest classes?
- Who are the department chairs, or other influential faculty?
- What faculty organizations exist on campus? (unions, Faculty Senate, etc.)
Staff...
- What are all the administrative departments? (student affairs, student life, admissions, external relations, etc)
- Who are all the upper-level administrators? (the College President, Vice Presidents, etc)
- What other staff could we work with? (housing and dining staff, transportation staff, student center staff, etc)
Athletics...
- What are all the sports teams?
- Who are the coaches and staff?
- Who are the "celebrity" athletes on campus?
"Centers" or "Institutes" on campus (Institute of Politics, Multicultural Center, etc.)...
Residence Life system...
Freshman Orientation committee...
The list could go on!
Step 2: Take one of your biggest events, or a priority issue that you're working on, and brainstorm what all of these constituencies could do to help.
Step 3: Go out and actively recruit them to get involved. They won't get involved until you ask! (HOT TIP: You can't do all the outreach yourself. Delegate responsibilities to your members: for example, a "Faculty Outreach Coordinator", "Campus Media Outreach Coordinator", "Student Organization Outreach Coordinator", etc.)
# # # # #
For example, let's say you're organizing a campus-wide Food Drive with a goal of collecting 1,000 cans of food in one month. Here are just a handful of ways that the whole campus could get involved:
Student organizations:
- 50 student organizations agree to email their members
- 20 student organizations agree to collect food in their next meeting
- 5 student organizations agree to table outside the supermarket for one hour to collect food
- The Breakdance Club performs on the quad with a big Food Drive banner and food collection bins
- The A Capella group performs on the quad with a big Food Drive banner and food collection bins
- The Programming Board agrees to offer free admission to their Battle of the Bands concert for anyone who donates a can of food
Campus media:
- The Campus Paper puts a banner on their front cover and their website for one week, advertising the food drive
- The Campus Paper publishes an editorial encouraging students to donate food
- The campus radio and TV stations run daily PSA's about the food drive for one week
Faculty:
- 50 faculty agree to email their students
- 10 department chairs agree to email their majors
- 20 faculty agree to collect food in their next class
- 5 faculty offer extra credit to any student who volunteers for one hour of food collection
- Faculty Senate collects food in their next meeting
Staff:
- Residence Life staff put food collection bins in all the dorms
- Student center, computer lab, and library staff put collection bins in their buildings
- 10 upper-level administrators endorse the food drive
- Director of Athletics agrees to run an advertisement about the food drive at the next football game and have collection bins at the stadium
- College President sends an all-campus email about the food drive
