‘Advocacy and Learning: The Positive Statewide Impact of AASG’ by Francis Meyers

Once a semester, hundreds of student council leaders from across the state come together at the Alaska Association of Student Government’s conference. This conference, dubbed AASG, is always a blast to attend–with the 300+ delegation engaging in workshops, fun individual challenges, and spirited competitions between the six Alaskan regions. 

However, it is not all fun and games. The bulk of each AASG is spent in the General Assembly (GA), where delegates debate and discuss resolutions in efforts to positively impact education across the state. As AASG president, my goal for this post is to demonstrate how, through resolutions, AASG can teach students about governmental processes while paving the way for effective advocacy. To do this, I’ll first discuss the process a resolution goes through in AASG, and then I’ll highlight some resolutions passed at our previous conference. 

The journey of an AASG resolution starts by understanding a resolution’s purpose. Fundamentally, resolutions are supposed to propose an action to tackle an issue. Student councils will usually meet weeks before an AASG conference to discuss issues they are seeing, and what they can do about them. The issue addressed by a resolution can be anything–but generally, it should be something that actually benefits from AASG backing. For example, if a student government wanted to change the art in their school hallways, but their school’s administration already supported the idea and is willing to fund it, they don’t really to bring a resolution to AASG. 

On the other hand, if the administration refused to support that endeavor, a resolution makes sense. The power of passing a resolution at AASG is that it gives the idea, as I like to say, “bargaining power.” By passing that hallway art resolution at AASG, the student council could go back to their uncooperative school administration and say, “look. We did the research, we did the advocacy, and student leaders across Alaska agree this issue is a priority. Can we look at the hallway art one more time?” And that could bring about real positive change. 

After landing on a solid issue and an actionable plan, student council leaders then draft up the resolution. Resolutions have a specific format they must adhere to; Times New Roman font, MLA citations, whereas statements, etc. After a resolution is completed, and they are sent to the Vice President of AASG, the real magic of the resolution process happens, debate at the conference.

During the General Assembly, all the delegates will come together to discuss and debate resolutions. We use Roberts Rules of Order to keep everything running smoothly, and all GAs are run by the president. To begin, the author will come up to a podium and read their resolution. Afterwards, the floor will open for debate, and delegates can choose to stand behind either the pro or con mic to voice their opinions of the resolution. There are special placards schools can pick up too; the Point of Information placard allows delegates to ask questions, the Point of Order placard is used if Robert’s Rules is messed up in any way, and the Point of Privilege placard is used if delegates need anything in order to participate in discussion better. While discussing a resolution, students can also move to amend it by cutting or adding statements, in efforts to improve or strengthen the resolution’s overall message.

What is most incredible about this process is that through the GA, and the actual advocacy that comes from it, students are inadvertently learning crucial lessons about real government. Robert’s Rules are used in legislative proceedings across the US and learning how to wield those rules is an important skill. Furthermore, resolutions don’t end post high school–they are used by many organizations, and developing the skills to craft an official document for advocacy is something all AASG delegates benefit from. 

At the end of the process, when resolutions are approved and sent back to the author, effective advocacy can and does happen. At every conference I’ve been to, students have submitted resolutions calling for an increase to the Base Student Allocation. I like to think that it is thanks to those sustained efforts, along with hundreds of other voices, that the legislature gave in and voted for a 700-dollar BSA increase this summer. 

Our fall conference this year, hosted by the Anchorage School District on October 23rd to 25th, also had many fantastic resolutions that covered a wide array of topics. One of the many advocated for an increase to the State’s maintenance fund, another called for an alternative and respectful high school graduation certificate for kids with special needs, and one asked for more comprehensive sexual education in the Mat-Su school district. We won’t know for sure how these efforts will pan out until the spring conference–but even if only one or two resolutions made way for the change they wanted, then AASG would’ve done its job.