Last semester Kansas State’s Student Governing Association placed emphasis on safety following the nationwide swatting incidents on college campuses, and advocated for an affordable college experience starting from the federal level.
SGA president, Brady Kapplemann explains the impact advocacy trips have on college campuses.
“The thing that we are advocating for is just the hope that the state government would continue to support things they are already helping us with,” Kapplemann said. “So that students have access to financial aid, scholarships and resources like the Career Center advising all those things that are really important to a student’s experience.”
SGA will attend two advocacy trips during the spring semester, starting in Topeka with state legislators and ending nationwide, advocating for student affordability with federal legislators.
“We will meet with federal legislators and this year we will be advocating for relatively similar things to Higher Ed day, mostly focusing on bills related to college affordability,” Kapplemann said.
Without the burden of worrying how they are going to pay rent or afford groceries, students can focus on their academic success and plan the next phase in their careers.
“Students really care about affordability, but also [we should] show them that their experiences in college is going to make Kansans better,” Kapplemann said. “You know, we have great students who graduate from K-State and they stay in Kansas and go into the workforce. It makes our state a better place.”
Beyond advocacy, SGA is focusing on learning opportunities to unite Wildcats.
“Applied learning has also been a big topic for us this year,” Kapplemann said. “Applied learning experiences are also becoming a graduation requirement, part of President Linton’s Next-Gen Strategic Plan, so student government has become very involved in that, being a part of sharing feedback, being a part of making decisions and kind of taking a look at what applied learning is going to look at for the various colleges.”
Applied learning looks different for every K-State student, Kapplemann said.
“Making sure students know applied learning is not just an internship, but there are six main categories it could be. It’s doing a leadership position in a student organization, is applied learning. It could also be you going to Italy for a month. … You could do it in Manhattan, you could do it at home over the summer. You could do it in class.”
