The student voice in government
Purpose and Mission:
The purpose of ASUM is to:
- Educate students about the political process
- Increase political awareness, concern and participation among students.
- Provide the public with information concerning student interests.
- Channel student energy and interest in the governmental process.
ASUM´s mission is to advocate and lobby for student interests while educating students on the importance of involvement in government. ASUM lobbies of behalf of UM student interests and provides meaningful student leadership and hands-on learning experiences in the area of policy development, higher education concerns and processes, and day to day operations of state and federal government.
About ASUM:
ASUM was founded in 1975 by the Missouri Students Association (MSA). MSA felt that students needed a specific legislative arm and requested that a fee be administered to support the program which came to be known as ASUM. ASUM has now functioned for more than 30 years.
In a national survey conducted in 2004 (Building the Student Voice, Student Empowerment Training Project, March 2004), forty-one state student associations in thirty-four states were identified. ASUM, when compared to similar student associations across the country:
- Is one of four system organized associations
- Is one of seven state student associations that has an internship program
- Of the seven internship programs, ASUM has the second highest number of interns annually
Structure:
ASUM has a student Board of Directors, representative of each UM system campus. Students are elected/selected by their campus Student Government Association. Each campus is represented by three Board members, comprising a total of twelve members. ASUM also hires central organization staff and campus-specific staff.
ASUM in the Maneater:
ASUM lobbies for pair of tenant bills