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>> Hello, everyone.
Welcome and thanks so much for joining Speak Up for Penn State.
I'm Paul Clifford, CEO of the Penn State Alumni Association.
We have a number of esteemed guests with us here, today.
I am joined by the Zach Attack.
We have Zach Taylor from CCSG and Zach Robinson, former,
formerly of, well, currently, UPUA, right?
Serving as a, as a mentor, now.
And as always, Alan Janesch is joining us.
How are you guys doing, today?
>> Doing great, great.
>> Doing wonderful.
>> Excellent.
Well, we're going to talk today about ways we work together
on Capital Day to keep the state in Penn State.
How to keep our advocacy effort moving forward.
But before we get started, let's talk some housekeeping details.
Later in the show we're going to ask for comments and questions from our live audience.
So, if you're tuning in via the live Zoom stream, please mute your microphones
and use the chat function to send us any questions.
If you are tuning in on Facebook Live you can always put in the comment section any questions
that you would like to ask Zach, Zach, or Alan, or I.
Or any questions that you might have about Penn State that's on your mind.
So, let's dive right into the conversation.
We are here, Zach Taylor, CCSG.
Zach, you were one of the student government leaders that had the opportunity to stand
up on Capital Day during the Tally in the Rotunda and represent your fellow students.
You represented about 30,000 students across the commonwealth.
Talk about what that experience was like and what your message was that day on Capital Day.
>> Yeah, absolutely.
So, you know, the message really, was no matter where you're coming from on Capital Day,
it's specifically a day where Penn Staters get together to talk about that [inaudible] support
that we really need to keep our, our mission, you know, driven.
Whether you're a faculty member that's really committed to keeping our institution excellent.
Whether you're an alumni who has been here and knows what Penn State has to offer.
Or you're a current student, someone
who is literally experiencing what Penn State had to offer.
We all know what it is that Penn State brings to the table.
However, not everyone in Harrisburg does know that exact same thing.
They haven't all been here.
They haven't all experienced that Penn State experience.
So, my message was no matter who you are and your connection to Penn State.
If you know what we have to offer go ahead and tell people at Harrisburg so that they can,
they can support us as much as they possibly can.
>> Excellent.
Now, Zach, you didn't speak at Capital Day,
but you played a big role behind the scenes helping us turn out so many students.
Talk about what it was like to be there in the Rotunda that day.
And to hear all those voices unite on behalf of Penn State.
>> Well, it was really a surreal experience just being part of the larger Penn State community.
You know, it wasn't just university park students.
It was also commonwealth students, faculty, administrators,
President Barron was there to speak.
So, it was a really great experience to have everybody there supporting Penn State kind
of pushing why we are worth funding in the Capital to our legislators.
It was a really, really great day.
I thought we had some really great conversations.
So, it was a fun, fun experience.
>> And, and Alan, you're kind of the, the, the spoon that stirs all of this together
on Capital Day, making sure that alumni and parents and friends and students come together
to speak up for our great university.
What's it like to work with these students?
>> It's, it's really terrific.
I mean, one of the big goals for Capital Day is to bring [inaudible] together with alumni
and to rally on the steps, be noisy and let everybody know in the Capital.
And then, of course, meet with legislators.
And you know, working with students who are in the student government is so terrific,
because you know, they're well informed about this institution.
They care about this institution.
They know how to make things happen, you know.
And, and, and when they come to Capital Day they dress for the occasion.
I mean, they, they look really sharp and they've got the, all the messages up in their head.
And they, and they meet with their legislators
and it's a very good experience, I think, for everybody.
>> Absolutely.
The strongest voices in the Capital on Capital Day are certainly our students,
whether they're speaking from the podium
or in the individual meetings with our representatives.
And so, there, there's no stronger voice that day
for Penn State than the voice of our students.
Now, Zach, you started your Penn State career at Penn State, Altoona.
That's how you first got involved with CCSG.
You represent 30,000 students, 19 undergraduate campuses.
>> Yes.
>> Talk a little bit about CCSG for our audience
that might not be familiar with that organization.
>> Yeah.
>> And tell them, just give them the, you know, the scoop on.
>> Yeah, for sure.
>> What you're all about.
>> I'll try and make it as short as possible.
It can get a little bit complicated.
So, Penn State, of course, has, you know, well over 90,000 students that attend our university.
So, it's kind of impossible to clump those all together into one constituent base.
So, we split it up a little bit.
UPUA, where Zach is from, they represent all of the undergraduates that go to University Park.
A little bit over 40,000 students.
GPSA, the Graduate Professional Student Association represents all the
graduate students.
World Campus Student Advisory Board, newly formed, actually,
represents all the world campus students.
And then, CCSG, we represent all of the commonwealth undergraduates.
So, that's our 19 campuses that server undergrads.
So, that's going to be your Mont Alto, your Brandywine, your Altoona.
>> You going to list all of them?
>> Your Behrend.
No. I can't, I can't list them all.
But we represent all of those undergrads.
Our structure, CCSG as an organization, is just really the encompassing organization
for all 19 of the student governments.
Each one of those campuses has its own student government, president,
student government body, their own senators.
Everything like that.
And we are really just the organization that brings them all together
and say, hey, let's advocate as one body.
One thing that we're all able to identify with is we all come from the smaller campuses.
We all come from campuses smaller than University Park.
Many of us do the Two Plus Two program.
We're able to save a little bit of money on tuition
or maybe a little closer to home with our campus.
Then, transition up to the University Park campus.
All these students, they have a much, much tighter communities at each one
of their campuses, where they can really get to know, you know, those couple hundred
or couple thousand people that are on the campus.
Rather than trying to, you know, learn 40,000 people's names.
So, a lot of them were really able to get behind the message of Capital Day.
Not only this year, but years in the past.
This year we had a really good turnout from a lot of the campuses that we, typically, haven't.
Campuses like Greater Allegheny and even Penn State Brandywine was able to give us
like nine people, that they were able to register for.
Typically, you know, we don't always see, you know, students stepping up to the plate
when it comes to advocating for the university.
But I think, this year, we were really able to drive the message home, get a lot of campuses,
a lot of students out to Capital Day.
>> That's great.
So, Zach. Zach, you represent the Philadelphia area.
Zach, you represent the Pittsburgh area, a little east side of the state,
west side of the state going on, here.
You're, we mentioned you're involved with UPUA.
But what I'm particularly interested in hearing about is your involvement as Executive Director
of PASS, which is the Pennsylvania Association of State-Related Students.
Tell me a little bit about that organization and how you work
with the other campuses across the state.
>> Sure. So, I'll just say a little about both.
So, UPUA, like Zach mentioned,
is the undergraduate student body student government, here at Penn State main campus.
It's, we're always looking for ways to better student life.
Whether that's implementing new programs and initiatives like our bike share on campus
or [inaudible] Harrisburg [inaudible] for student funding.
And then, PASS, which is the Pennsylvania Association of State-Related Students,
that ties together all of our state related institutions.
So, that's Penn State Pitt, Temple and Lincoln.
And really, that's just a great collaborative network
to see what each student government is doing.
Seeing how each student government is trying to work with their administration,
with their local legislators to better student life at their campus.
And we've really gotten some great ideas and great programs that we're trying
to implement, now, here at Penn State.
For instance, Pitt actually had a day dedicated to sidewalk tabling, having students come
up to the landline telephones and calling their state senators about federal programs
that affected their, their student body.
And we tried to do that here and so did Temple.
So, just kind of the idea sharing between schools is, is great for PASS.
As well as also advocating this unit, which is something we're trying to do more of, this year.
So, hopefully, this summer, this fall, PASS will be traveling to Harrisburg to meet
with the governor's office to kind of say, you know,
here as a united front, we, we appreciate the funding.
And we hope to see a little bit more in the future for our state-related institutions.
But that's PASS's mission is kind
of tying together those state-related institutions for, for one common goal.
>> Yeah.
So, now this is just representative of how far we've come as a, as an institution.
Zach Robinson drops the main campus in his answer.
And Zach Taylor doesn't even react.
Right. It's, we've come, we've come so far that.
And that's part of the good relationship that we have between the, the government.
>> We're not at each other's throats.
>> That's exactly right.
And, and having student government organizations, Alan, that,
that are friendly with each other, that work so well together has to be, has to be an advantage
for us when we're trying to get one voice speaking at the Capital.
Talk a little bit about the three groups and, and organizing them.
>> That, that's absolutely right.
And, you know, again, it was such a pleasure to reach out to these guys
and their predecessors, you know, early on.
And to try to link up with them and bring them into Capital Day.
And try to keep hem activated and motivated.
Not that they're not all by themselves throughout the whole year.
But the more voices you get, as you know, Paul, united behind a common message,
the more effective it's going to be.
So, to have CCSG and UPUA and GPSA, and the other schools and their student government.
People all united, all asking for the same thing.
That's very powerful and very effective.
>> Yes.
>> Yes.
>> So, let's kind of dive into Capital Day for a second, here.
And this question's actually for both of you.
We'll let Zach Robinson go first, this time.
The governor had proposed level funding, about $318 million again, for Penn State.
That was the message that you all took into your meetings with representatives that day
on Capital Day advocating for level funding.
What, was the message heard?
How was that message felt by, by students who were delivering it?
And do you feel like we got our message across that day?
>> I definitely think our message was heard.
Unfortunately, the Senate was not in session, but the House was in session.
>> Right.
>> So, we met with a lot of House legislators and senatorial staff members.
And what we went up and said, was kind
of we really appreciate the funding levels you've given us.
And we went in with facts and figures to back up, you know, why this funding is important
to Penn State and how it affects, not only Penn State students, but Penn State families.
And also, communities across the commonwealth.
And I think legislators and the senatorial staff members that were sitting down in those meetings
with us really understood the impact of funding Penn State.
And I think our students got their message across and felt like their voices were heard.
And so, I would say it was a great day.
And I think that the students who went left feeling that they had made a difference.
>> Yeah. Zach, I mean, level funding is, is somewhat of a bitter pill to swallow
when we know all the needs that we have here at Penn State.
But how was the message received?
>> Yeah. I would say the message, definitely, received the right way.
One thing our governmental affairs team was able to do this summer, was we sat down with probably
as many upwards of like 35-40 senators and congressmen from,
from not only Harrisburg, but also DC.
And really, we're trying to hear what is it that's the most effective way
to convey our messages to you.
And what they had said was students, just students getting out in front of them.
They don't want to hear from, you know, you know, university administrators.
They don't want to hear from the board.
They don't want to hear from these people.
They want to hear from the actual students that are the beneficiaries of that money
that they are giving to the university.
And that's what we were able to bring to them on Capital Day when we bring to them eight students
in one meeting, you know, five students in one meeting.
Even just one student, sitting there, face to face, telling them about their personal story.
That is, no doubt, the best way to get our message across.
And they definitely heard it this time around, as they will every time students come.
>> Well, you know, the students are, are the best voice
to bring the Penn State message to light.
But we also know an important voice in this process, Alan,
is the voice of alumni backing the districts
that actually send the representatives to Harrisburg.
So, for alumni that might be tuning in on Facebook Live or on Zoom,
talk a little bit about how they continue that message back home in their districts
and continue to advocate for Penn State.
>> You know, one, one thing we did, Paul, as you know, was on Capital Day itself.
We sent out an action alert to everybody who's part of the Grassroots network
and said, can't be at Capital Day?
Don't worry about it.
You can still make your voice heard.
And we put an action alert out there so that people can,
could sit down at their computers and, and echo the same message that people
who were there live and in person were saying.
Joining the Grassroots network is always a great way to be involved.
Because we can keep people informed about what's happening and when to take action.
So, that's always something I, I try to promote with alumni and students and parents
and everybody who's, who wants to be involved and wants to support Penn State.
>> That's right.
I'm Paul Clifford.
I'm here with my cohost, Alan Janesch.
And you're watching and tuning into Speak Up for Penn State.
We are here with two government leaders, here, at, at Penn State.
The Zach Attack, Zach Taylor and Zach Robinson.
So, not only were you active on Capital Day and throughout the year.
Right. And making sure that the Penn State message is heard.
But there's also kind of a, a political engine at work here on campus.
You both have had a run for the positions that you've held.
And, and Zach, you're actually leaving your role as CCSG President.
The election just wrapped up March 24th.
>> Yes, sir.
>> Greg Carbohol [assumed spelling] and Cynthia Harriston [assumed spelling] will be the new
President and Vice President.
Tell us a little bit about those folks and what kind of leadership you expect from them.
>> Yes. So, I mean, definitely, again, like you said, running for the, the office was,
was a huge, huge challenge that we had to overcome early on.
Hunter and I, Hunter being the Vice President, we had to face executive board incumbents.
So, people that were already the Chief of Staff and already,
you know, directors in the organization.
So, we were coming in as kind of fresh, fresh people.
>> Right.
>> We really came in, shook up a lot of the ideas.
Changed the way that the organization operates and saw a huge boost in productivity,
which was, which was phenomenal to hear.
We can objectively measure that we've been getting more done over the short period
of time that we have in our term.
Greg and Cynthia, they have even, they're doing the same thing we're doing, but times two.
You know, they have, they have some new ideas about, you know,
how they want to communicate with other organizations.
About how they want to communicate with the commonwealth.
About how to communicate our messages to administrators and alumni.
They have a lot of new ideas that, that our organization may not have time to complete.
But they have the same productivity and the same deliverable driven mindset, you know,
that they're going to deliver tangible results to all
of our constituents and to the university.
So, I'm really excited for what they're going to do.
I can't say, I can, I can put my finger on exactly which,
which things are going to be the hit successes.
But I know all the discussions we've had, Greg, Cynthia, I, and Hunter, we've all sat down
and talked about some really, really exciting things that are coming forward.
>> That's great.
And similar question for you, for you Zach.
You now, move into your role as a mentor, other statesman, if you will.
Tell us a little about Cody Heaton and Laura McKinney.
>> Sure. So, Cody and Laura were just sworn in as UPUA's new President
and Vice President, last Wednesday.
I'm really excited about their platform and kind of the initiatives they want to push this year.
About their initiatives on campus, you know, continuing bettering student life as well
as more emphasis on our outreach programs and our sustainability here at Penn State.
And their governmental affairs platform is a little bit more detailed,
separating the local, state, and federal levels.
So, I'm really excited to see kind of the [inaudible] that can come
out of UPUA in the upcoming year.
And I think we have a great group of young students who are really ready to get to work.
And we have a lot of new voices in the assembly, as well.
So, I'm really looking forward to the work that the UPUA is going to put forth in the fall
and spring of the next academic year.
>> Yeah. Now, this isn't a CNN style type show or Fox News type show.
We don't have pundits sitting around the table making predictions.
But I know Laura McKinney is a sophomore.
Could she be a two time UPUA President?
>> She may.
>> If that's what's on the horizon for her?
>> She may.
She's the current Vice President.
But she may step into that presidential role, hopefully, in her senior year.
It's always good to have a younger student serving as Vice President,
just so they can see what the President is all about.
>> Sure, mm-hmm.
>> Kind of continuing that on, they know what the role takes, time requirements,
and also, have those connections built.
Because they're always by the President's side.
>> Yeah.
>> I do encourage outside involvement.
And I really think competition is healthy, especially for student government.
So, I think anybody who wants to run should.
But it is good to have young student leaders in the assembly,
just because they're able to build those relationships.
And hopefully, hold them and maintain and continue them for more than just one year.
But again, I do like to see the competition.
So, I don't discourage that [inaudible].
>> That's good.
So, Alan, you've been working with the student leaders for, for a while in your role here
at the Penn State Alumni Association.
And year after year after year we get great leaders in these roles
to help us with our advocacy efforts.
And yet, we have them for such a short period of time.
And so, talk a little bit about the onboarding process for, for new folks and what it's
like to, to bring in new student leaders.
>> You know, it's, it's easy.
I mean, the, the folks who lead CCSG and UPUA and GPSA are so welcoming and so happy to work
with me and so eager, you know, to, to work with me
to help support the university's legislative goals.
That there's almost, you know, there's almost nothing to do.
I just call them up or I send an email and, and they're right back at me.
And one of the things that makes me really happy is that a lot of the student leaders
that I've worked with have, have hung around, you know.
And, and have turned, then, of course, become alumni.
And I'll just mention one, for instance, Ben Clark, who was a CCSG leader years ago, is,
is now an attorney in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.
>> Pittsburgh.
>> And, and, and on alumni council and staying active
and on the Grassroots network slash advocacy committee.
So, it's. I'm sorry, he's not on the committee, but he's,
he's still very active in supporting what we're doing.
So, you know, that kind of stuff is very gratifying.
You know, it really makes me happy.
It really makes it fun to work with these guys knowing that a good chunk of, I hope,
are going to stick around and continue to stay involved.
>> Yeah. So, so let's get some parting shots.
Your last message to students and alumni.
If you had to give a parting shot to alumni or maybe a call
to action for alumni or folks coming in.
What would your message to them be?
>> Sure. I would just say that students really appreciate
when alumni get involved in advocacy, as well.
That's really powerful to have both your students and your alumni
of your university advocating to your legislature, simultaneously.
Especially, when it comes to big projects like the budget.
So, in the fall, you know, if the budget starts to stall, again,
we would really appreciate alumni getting out there, calling the legislators,
meeting with them if they have the time.
And also, writing letters and sending emails.
It's huge when we unite as one Penn State community toward one objective or one goal.
So, I would encourage the alumni to remain active
and remain true to their dear old White-Blue.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Yeah.
>> Zach, how about you?
>> Yeah. Parting message is definitely stay consistent with, you know,
with staying with the university.
Because what ends up happening is, is you know, we send out a message one day,
and it's just another message from Penn State or from the students or from the alumni.
You know, if you get those messages every week, then you're going to start to look
at those messages like it's just a spam.
But you know, if you're engaged with the Grassroots network,
if you're engaged with the Alumni Society, if you're engaged with the university you see those
and you know what those are about.
You know what the issues are for the university.
So, stay active, stay consistent with the university
and help everyone achieve their goals.
>> Absolutely.
So, do we have any questions from the audience?
Any questions for our students on Facebook or on the Zoom video conference?
No questions.
Well, we will go to Alan for a final parting shot.
Alan.
>> Well, I would say, I would echo what these two fine young gentlemen said.
You know, stay informed, stay connected to Penn State,
and stay connected to the Alumni Association.
Join the Grassroots network if you're not a member.
Build a relationship with your legislators.
Get to know them as, as, as individuals and share with them, information about what's going
on in your community so you can become a source for them.
And then, when you do have something to ask for they know who you are
and they're going to listen to you.
>> Right. > Absolutely.
I thank everyone for tuning in to our third episode of Speak Up for Penn State.
You can get more information on the website that you can see on the screen,
behind us, as alumni.psu.edu/Grassroots.
Visit that website.
You can sign up for the Grassroots Network.
You can see our calls to action and take action so that your voice can be heard
as you speak up for Penn State, too.
Thank you to our guests for joining us, today.
And thank you to you, our audience, for tuning in.
We are.
>> Penn State.
>> Penn State.
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