Build and Maintain Trust with Student Activists
It can be difficult for colleges and universities to know how to provide support to, build trust, and strengthen relationships with student activists. However, there are steps student affairs leaders can take to navigate these challenges and change the contentious narrative of institutions and activists being enemies.
By shifting the focus of activism strategy from crisis management to proactive engagement, student affairs can build relationships with student activists and establish themselves as a source of support as students drive change on campus and in the community.
"We haven’t always gotten it right—we talked about managing activism, by which some meant ‘squashing’ it. It will be hard to change that mindset.
"Student Affairs Leader
EAB identified three imperatives to help student affairs leaders build trust and strengthen relationships with student activists. This series of resources is designed to help you and your team assess performance in these three areas and identify next steps to build stronger relationships with activists.
1. Assess your institution’s current practice and receive recommendations
Take the Audit
- Offer just-in-time resources and tools
- Bring activist voices into decisions
- Provide skill development opportunities
Using the questions in each section rate your institution on a scale of 0 to 3 (“We do not offer this & haven’t discussed it” to “We feel confident about our approach to this”). Then review the recommended resources according to your score.
2. Explore recommended resources and other possible initiatives to implement
Explore the Toolkit
This toolkit provides worksheets, briefings, best practices, and more to help colleges and universities build trust and relationships with student activists. Learn how you can support activists with the right resources, ensure activist voices are heard, and offer skill development opportunities to student activists on campus.
Offer just-in-time resources and tools
2020 demonstrated there is great value in pivoting existing offerings to meet student needs amid substantial and rapid change. Resources around student activism are especially important because activism often takes an emotional toll on students—not only because of the gravity of the issues students protest but because of the stress that comes with organizing protests on top of their academic workload. Staff are also in need of resources to appropriately respond to student activism.
Start building inroads with activists by providing support during key moments. The resources and tools in this section will help you update the information that student activists need, provide guidance to students throughout the student activism lifecycle, and set staff up for success with student activists.
Bring activist voices into decision-making processes
Many campuses feel pressure to address concerns from student activists on campus. But if communication regarding university decisions, initiatives or flashpoints misses the mark with students, it can lead to damaged trust with activists, further increasing obstacles to building strong relationships with student groups.
Use the tools in this section to bring the voices of student activists closer to decision-making processes, ensuring activists feel heard, regardless of the outcome.
Provide activist skill development opportunities
Students invest significant time, energy, and passion into activism, and many students have no plans to end their involvement with activism after they leave college. Helping student activists build connections and network is an important part of supporting their development.
Explore the resources in this section to learn how you can offer professional development for activists and provide them with opportunities to enhance advocacy skills.
3. Create an implementation plan
Follow the Implementation Guide
After completing the Student Activist Support Audit and analyzing the results in the previous tabs, use this implementation guide to prioritize activism initiatives and create an action plan with your team.
Outline next steps for implementing the audit recommendations
The implementation and prioritization worksheet will help you identify next steps and questions that need to be addressed, assign owners, and determine timelines.
Participants:
- Student affairs team members
- Student activism task force or committee members
Spark a conversation about student activism with other university leaders
Consider using the downloadable implementation and prioritization worksheet to spark a discussion about your activism strategy with key campus partners.
Participants:
- Student Affairs team members
- Student activism task force members
- Student activism committee members
- University leadership or anyone who oversees student activism strategy
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