What is advocacy? 

1. Professional Advocacy

We offer person-centered advocacy to all OSU students.

Our professional staff will meet with students and help them to navigate university policies and pathways forward. 

 

2. Peer Advocacy

Peer advocates are students just like you. They have completed formal training to improve their empathetic listening, motivational interviewing, and the importance of working across differences.
 

The goal of peer advocacy is to provide individualized peer-based support to students at Oregon State University.
Peer advocates work one-on-one with students to provide services including:

  • Identifying on or off campus resources
  • Providing assistance with communicating with faculty
  • Attending meetings with students
  • Support with formal process and appeals

Peer advocates do not provide legal advice or psychological counseling.


How does the peer advocacy program work?
Students first meet with one of our professional staff, Daniel or Molly. If appropriate, the case is assigned to a peer advocate. The peer advocate follows the same confidentiality policy as our professional staff.


 

3. Policy Advocacy 

We work alongside the ASOSU executive and legislative branches to advocate for student-centered policies. 

Some of our past and ongoing policy advocacy projects include:

Equity-Centered Community Design (ECCD)

Beginning Fall 2020, we are taking a new approach to our policy research and event initiatives: we will begin using an Equity-Centered Community Design framework. We want to ensure that the time and energy that the Office of Advocacy devotes to policy research pertains directly to student wants, needs, and concerns. 

What is ECCD? How does the Office of Advocacy use ECCD?

ECCD is a multistakeholder model of community engagement. It occurs at the intersection of community development, design-based problem solving, and equitable outcomes. ECCD acknowledges and integrates history and healing practices, power dynamics, and co-creating with the community. The Office of Advocacy uses this framework to gather an idea of what, where, and how students want on-campus change. The Office of Advocacy has the means to conduct relevant policy research, draft policy recommendations, connect with on-campus organizations, or even host educational events. 

Want to be involved in ECCD?

Email asosu.advocacy@oregonstate.edu with the subject line "ECCD Member at Large"