ASG turns focus to advocacy

The UNC-system Association of Student Governments will spend its last meeting of the fall semester this weekend preparing for one of next semester's biggest projects.

The association which is comprised of student leaders from all the UNC-system schools is trying to revamp the Advocacy Corps a program intended to involve students in lobbying the state government on relevant issues such as tuition.

Each school will appoint two students to the corps. However the program is having difficulty recruiting participants. As of Thursday only four schools had submitted any applications.

Chazz Clevinger who leads the committee in charge of the program" said the low level of response is due to deadlines placed on the campuses — they were supposed to turn in at least six applications for spots on the corps by Nov. 7.

""Time constraints are the number one thing I'm up against right now"" Clevinger said.

The legislative and public affairs committee of the association is continuing to recruit members from each school, he said.

Greg Doucette, the ASG president, said the problem is partially one of recruitment efforts and partially one of a lack of resources.

A lot of universities aren't in a position to reach out to the students collectively"" he said. We can't paint everything with a one-size-fits-all approach.""

Clevinger echoed that sentiment" saying that he and the committee were working with schools and being flexible to help make sure they are all represented in the corps.

Because of the time crunch and because of how few students have applied" Clevinger said there will be a motion in the committee this weekend to pass the responsibility of choosing applicants on to the student body presidents.

""Although this process isn't as ideal as we would like" it's the best we could come up with in three weeks time" Clevinger said.

He said the most important thing is full representation, which means that some universities might have to directly appoint members to the corps.

We will provide a customized plan for each campus to make sure they are fully represented in the corps"" he said.

David Mofford, Appalachian State University student body president, said students at the university were very enthusiastic about the corps ,and he had several applicants.

I think it's going to be an organization that puts a face to the UNC system"" he said.

In the past the corps has not been as successful as it could be, Doucette said.

Clevinger said that to avoid repeating past problems — such as disrespect toward legislators or uninformed participants — they will host an extensive training session Dec. 12 and 13.

The association is organizing a trip for the corps to Washington, D.C. in early January and a students' day in Raleigh on March 17.

Mofford also said he thinks the corps is a good opportunity for the schools to work together for a common cause.

There seems to be a lot of cooperation between the schools this year in ASG.""



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