Advocacy
NYU's Opportunity Programs encourages its students to get involved in advocacy and in the issues affecting them, not only as students, but also as state residents and members of the United States populace.
Our students are encouraged to get involved with CICU and are invited to participate in NYU Day in Albany, visiting their legislators and letter campaigns.
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Links
Get a Complete Address Listing of all NYS Elected Officials
New York State Division of the Budget
Find Your Voting District - Map and Representatives
Find Your Elected Officials in New York
New York State Assembly Lookup
Tips for Student Advocacy
NYU's Opportunity Programs encourages students to get involved in advocacy that will make a difference in the state's legislation affecting our program. In addition to advocacy training sessions, our semester-long advocacy efforts involve students in sharing their reliance on Arthur O. Eve HEOP with legislators and decision-makers in the state capitol.
There are many ways for students to share their opinions on the issues. Technology allows quick and direct communication with legislators, but there are a number of other ways to voice concerns and encourage others to do the same:
Letters-to-the Editor—Letters may be published and read by others or may inspire an editorial.
Opinion Pieces—Many newspapers feature a section opposite the editorial pages for citizen opinion.
Reporters/Editors—Contacting reporters and editors to discuss the issues could result in a column on the topic of concern.
Radio Call-In Shows—A place to ask questions of guests and share thoughts with them and the listeners.
Flyers—Encourage other citizens and community groups to become active.
When writing a letter to legislators or paying them a personal visit, here are tips to make the communication more effective:
Letter writing:
- Be clear about what is wanted
- Tell a story or give an example to make the issue real
- Ask for a direct response or their position
- Personalize the letter rather than sending a form letter or petition
Visits:
- Keep the group to 5 or less people
- Make the group diverse
- Discuss in advance how to handle the meeting
- Be direct but not threatening
- Know the facts
- Leave informational material with the official


