On college campuses, students are already organized, which makes them ideal locations where you can find people to engage in your work. However, the number of opportunities for students on campus is enormous. The key question becomes: How do you engage students in your issue? Based on our interviews, there are several common strategies advocates can use to overcome this challenge.

• Reach Students on Campus
• Target “Students in the Know”
• Build Successful Internship Programs
• Guide Students to Success and Secure Their Long-Term Engagement
• Shape the Campaign

Reach Students on Campus

• Get an introduction
  To make connections with students on college campuses, get an initial introduction from someone students already know. Aaron Smith, Executive Director of Young Invincibles, advises that students rarely, if ever, respond to a cold contact from someone they do not know. If they get introduced to you via someone they know and trust, they are more likely to respond, and this will help you get a foot in the door.
  
  
• Localize, localize, localize
  Everyone we spoke with agreed on this point—Organizing on college campuses must start on campus and come from students. Campaigns and events should have a local campus feel to them. Students are more likely to become involved when they are being organized by other students rather than by “real world” outside organizations. Keep events and campaigns relevant and campus-centered to maintain student interest.
  
  
• Tap into existing networks
  Because college campuses are already organized, there are many avenues for finding interested students through existing networks. Look to a wide range of organizations, from pre-professional and health-specific groups such as the American Medical Student Association, policy groups such as the Roosevelt Institute, and political groups such as the College Democrats or Republicans.
  
  
• Understand timing
  Almost every organizer we spoke with emphasized the importance of understanding timing for students and campus life. There are times of the year when students are less available, for instance, during breaks or when midterms are in full swing. Students also hold meetings at nights and on weekends, and it may be difficult for them to be available for daytime press events. Accepting this and adjusting to it from the outset will greatly ease your work and communication with students.
  
  
• Get into the classroom
  Building relationships with professors can give your group access to students in and out of the classroom. Suzanne Schlattman, Community Outreach and Development Director for Maryland Health Care for All, says that, due to an earned reputation on policy issues and on a variety of skills (including coalition building and issue-based campaign plan development), they are able to reach more students through classroom presentations. She says that by broadening their reach in the classroom, the group is able to attract a more diverse range of students. If your organization does not already enjoy such ties, ask current interns to talk to professors about inviting someone from your organization to make a presentation in their class. Other community members, such as board members or volunteers, also might be able to help with classroom connections.  

Target “Students in the Know” 

• Find the students who can make things happen
  On most campuses, there is a core group of students who are involved in multiple activities, know a lot of people, and have name recognition on campus. Try to engage these students in your project, as it will raise the profile of your event and help you connect to more people and groups. Emily Schlichting of the University of Nebraska says that connecting with these students will open even more doors on campus.
   
• Target students who are interested in careers in health care or health policy
  Due to the challenging job market, students are looking to get ahead by gaining careerrelated experience in their field while in school. Rahul Rekhi, a student organizer at Rice University, emphasized the importance of providing students who are interested in health fields (both clinical and policy) with advocacy experience. More importantly, these students can gain an understanding of the importance of advocacy at an early age and become lifelong advocates.
   
• Reach nontraditional students
  Part-time students or students on community college campuses tend to be more involved in off-campus activities. Virginia Organizing has had success with bringing these students into their regular organizing efforts. According to Northern Virginia Organizer Kevin Simowitz, it takes less time to explain the issue to these students, because many of them already understand the challenges that come with finding
  affordable health coverage. Tactics for engaging these students tend to be more like those used with off-campus youth organizing.

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Build Successful Internship Programs 

• Formalize your work with young adults
  According to several state organizers, creating robust internship programs is the best way to break into organizing young adults. Internship programs create a more formal way to work with students that increases their accountability and can help to establish your organization’s presence on college campuses.
  
   
• Make it mutually beneficial
  A good, sustainable internship program involves both time and commitment from your organization. The more you invest in making sure your interns have a good experience, the more you can expect in return. If students can see how an internship can be mutually beneficial, the internship can lead to new and innovative projects, build organizational capacity, and develop future health care justice leaders. Think about creative ways to help your interns grow and gain new skills from their positions, such as providing them with networking opportunities and helping them build stronger community connections.
  
   
• Recruit in the classroom
  When making presentations in the classroom, highlight opportunities for students to get involved. Maryland Health Care for All recruits most of their student interns through classroom presentations, where staff clearly articulate the advantages of students’ participation in health care advocacy programs.
  
   
• Let students take the lead
  Suzanne also suggests allowing interns the opportunity to take ownership of campus work to foster more energetic engagement on their part. They know the campus environment best, and, as students, are probably your best messengers. Talk to them about possible projects to determine what grabs their attention and how they can become involved. Also, ask them about the skills they want to develop during their internship, and have staff match them to a project while providing support and assistance.

Guide Students to Success and Secure Their Long-Term Engagement

• Answer “why participate?”
  Clearly illustrate to students the impact they can achieve by joining your cause. Whether it involves a certain piece of legislation, changing opinions on campus, or getting news coverage, explain your goals and the importance of their role.
  
   
• Provide mentorship
  Whether you run a full-fledged internship program, have campus chapters, or are working one-on-one with students on campus, strong mentorship and guidance will enhance your work with young people, who rarely have organizing experience. After working with student organizers on a variety of campaigns, Sam Menefee-Libey with Campus Progress recommends providing “hands-on support” to students so they feel confident every step of the way and can learn effective advocacy techniques.
  
   
• Offer leadership development opportunities
  Beyond mentorship, good student organizing involves constant leadership development. As campus groups and coursework inundate students with opportunities, you can stand out from other groups by offering exciting new leadership development opportunities. Virginia Organizing provides students with special activities, such as in-depth trainings that are offered off-campus, to build more committed and involved campus chapters. For example, students who attended a training at the statehouse were ready and excited to come back to talk to their representatives during session.
  
  
• Use traditional organizing tactics
  Although some organizing tactics, messages, and strategies may be different with young adults, using traditional organizing structures is critical to maintaining your base. Identifying self-interest can be a challenge, but taking the important next steps to follow up with one-on-one conversations and other face-to-face organizing tactics can ensure longer-term engagement and the overall success of your campaign.

Shape the Campaign

• Find the “fun factor”
  It may sound trivial, but having an element of fun is critical to pulling in students. Matt Singer of the Bus Federation recommends organizing youth through the use of dynamic events, such as the wildly successful “Trick or Vote” project. For student organizer Emily Schlichting, her goal was not to get students asking “Why should I be a part of the Plus One Nebraska campaign?” but rather, “Why am I not part of the Plus One Nebraska campaign?” Make your campaign fun, instead of a chore, to keep students coming back and to create enthusiasm.
  
  
• Think outside the press conference
  Sometimes, traditional events such as press conferences can seem as boring as a long class lecture. This demographic is much more likely to participate and take a long-term interest in your work if your events have creative, fun, and interesting elements to them. Aaron Smith with Young Invincibles suggests thinking of funny names, getting students to do something whacky, or just doing something different, such as holding a creative march or demonstration. It’s important to have your media hook, but in order to get students to buy in to the project, events need to be creative and student-centered.
  
  
• Create a buzz on campus
  Because of the insular nature of college campuses, it is disproportionately more effective to focus on word of mouth to increase turnout for your events. Students often attend events because their friends are attending, or they hear about it from multiple sources. To create buzz on a campus, be creative with your messaging and branding, use campus media to get the word out, and organize large, dynamic events whenever possible.
  
  
• Maximize your presence, create a brand
  Young adults very much care about the look of a campaign. Make sure your branding is modern, sleek, funny, and speaks to your audience. Student organizer Emily Schlichting also recommends the use of innovative branding on products (bracelets, t-shirts, hats, etc.) to increase your footprint on campus and get students advertising and talking about your campaign.
  
  
• Offer free food
  As most organizers know, providing food wherever and whenever you can is a good way to increase attendance. This trick is especially useful on campuses, as students are always looking for a free lunch or dinner. Lunch discussion series and pizza at meetings are easy ways to get students to your events. Although it seems like a small component of an event or meeting, providing food can make a big difference in turnout.
  

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