Student Videos on Issue Development
Below you will find student videos to explore each of the components of Issue Development: choosing an issue, 1-3 demands, and a target; naming your student group; interviewing a stakeholder and students; and becoming an official student organization.
Choose an Issue
The first component of Issue Development is to identify a policy change to a social problem that you feel strongly about. Your professor will have a and “issue identification” process for you to go through in the beginning of class. Follow that process!
Below are videos where students are talking about their “issue identification” process.
What was the “issue identification” process in your class? How did you break into groups and choose your issue?
What was that process like — fun? Challenging?
Choose 1-3 Demands
An issue is a solution to the problem, which is composed of 1-3 specific demands (i.e., a concrete, measureable policy change) that requires a yes or no answer. The demand is specific, stated in a single sentence, and winnable in 3 years or less, with there being a right and wrong side. If there is a cost, the dollar amount is included at the end of the demand. The result of the campaign is a positive, concrete change for the community. Your demands should follow this format: Name of student group demands that ... (a specific, concrete, measurable policy change stated in a single sentence) which will cost $??,$$$.
Below are students’s are talking about choosing their demands.
How did you and your group choose your 1–3 demands? Was it easy?
Choose the Target
Your group needs to identify who is the lowest ranking person who can meet your demand(s). You shoud state the name and their title. If it is a committee, name all of its members, and titles.
Below are student’s discussing about choosing their target.
How did you and your group choose your target?
What did you learn from this?
Name Your Student Group
Naming your student groups is a fun activity. Clearly, it should be connected to your policy change. Many students choose something like “Student for …..” It might also create a nice acronym, but the decision of naming yourself is totally up to the students.
Below are student’s talking about choosing their group name.
What group name did you choose?
How did this group naming process go? Was it fun? Hard?
Interview One Stakeholder and Two Students About Your Demands and Target
You need to Identify a community stakeholder (sometimes with the assistance of your professor) and 2 students who you will interview. You will record the key insights from these interviews and explore what significance they have for your demands and target, as well as for the overall success of the campaign.
Below are student’s talking about doing their stakeholder interviews:
How did your community stakeholder and student interviews go?
Who did you interview? How were they selected?
What did you learn about your campaign?
Fill Out the Form to Become an Official Student Organization
Many campuses require that you become an official student organization in order to table and to talk to the Administration. If this is the case, you will need to fill out a form to become an official student organization.
Below are student’s discussing the process of becoming an official student org:
What was the process like of becoming an official student organization on your campus?
Issue Development Worksheet
The worksheet is available both as a Microsoft Word Doc, which allows you to type in your responses, and a PDF doc, where you can insert your responses by hand. Please use if helpful.
Faculty Advice
Below is some faculty advice about Issue Development: