College is historically a common time for students to engage in activism. But going to protests and demonstrations aren’t the only ways to get involved in activism work as a student. The simplest and most direct way is to create or join activism-focused student orgs right on your campus. Orgs like these are great if you want to lead efforts to support causes that are important to you, or if you want to get involved in activism in some way, shape, or form, but don’t know how.
Being in a campus environment constantly opens you to new ideas and perspectives. You may want to make an impact on someone’s life, help people in your local community, or get involved when it comes to bigger societal issues. If you have interest in doing so but don’t know where to start, activism clubs do a great job of introducing and educating members on the issues at hand. Most importantly, these clubs help build a sense of community, as everyone comes together for a common goal or purpose. And of course, if there is an issue that is important to you and a chapter doesn’t exist at your particular school, you can always take the initiative and start a club yourself.
So, if you want to explore new topics or dive into a specific issue that you know you are passionate about advocating for, here are 10 ideas of common activism0related clubs for you to join on campus to help get involved and create change.
Active Minds
If you’re passionate about advocating about mental health, consider joining or starting a chapter of Active Minds. According to the org’s website, it is “the largest nonprofit in the United States mobilizing youth and young adults to transform mental health norms across society.” Groups like these change the conversation about mental health in its school communities. Active Minds has a network of 500+ chapters in colleges and high schools across the U.S. Chapters can implement mental health programming, participate in partnerships, and get involved with advocacy and mobilization opportunities. This means you can attend panels, speak at conferences, write blogs for the Active Minds website and more. So whatever your strength is, you can use it to uniquely contribute to the cause and help support mental health initiatives geared specifically to young people.
Planned Parenthood Generation Action
Planned Parenthood is an organization that works to protect and expand access to sexual and reproductive health care and education. This org provides a list of services, including access to birth control, emergency contraception, HIV and STD testing, abortions, cancer screenings, gender affirming care, and more. Planned Parenthood Generation Action is a network of young activists who “mobilize advocates for reproductive freedom, raise public awareness about reproductive health and rights, educate young people about sexual health, and create lasting change in their communities.” Through this, PP has over 350 campus groups across the country. So, if you’re motivated to advocate in support of reproductive healthcare, see if your campus has a Planned Parenthood group.
Students Demand Action
This one addresses a huge issue that hits close to home for Gen Z: gun violence. In fact, according to Students Demand Action, gun violence is the No. 1 killer of children and teens in America. It is an issue that continues to concern students everywhere as they fight for safety in schools, and that is where orgs like Students Demand Action come in. This org works to advocate for legislative change with support for stronger gun safety laws. The org has over 1,000 student groups in high schools and colleges nationwide.
Food Recovery Network
The Food Recovery Network is a way to make a more local and tangible impact in your activism work. This org also touches on climate change and combats a major issue in the U.S., and that’s food insecurity. According to its website, the Food Recovery Network “unites 8,000+ college students, food suppliers, farmers, and local businesses across the U.S. in the fight against climate change and hunger by recovering surplus food from across the supply chain and donating it to local nonprofit organizations that feed people experiencing hunger.” Its website labels it as the largest student-led movement in recovering surplus food and ending hunger in the U.S. Through this org, you can fight for a more equitable food system and distribute food to those in need in your local area.
Andrew Goodman Foundation
One of the simplest ways to advocate is to be civically involved, and the main way to do that is to vote in elections. According to the Andrew Goodman Foundation, those ages 18-29 are one of the most underrepresented voter groups in the country. This nonpartisan foundation works to fight this by making sure young voices are heard and promote voter engagement and accessibility.
IGNITE National
Speaking of being politically involved, another org to join on campus that is geared specifically toward women is IGNITE National, a nonpartisan nonprofit that unleashes political power in young women and navigates systems that allow them to use their influence to transform policies that affect their lives. The organization is focusing on Gen Z women ages 15-28, along with the oldest members of Gen Alpha. IGNITE “trains, mentors, and supports them to advocate for policy change, run for office, and mobilize their peers to participate in the political process,” according to its website. In addition to the chapter networks you can create as a college and high school student, there are also networks for alumni, elected officials, political professionals, and campus professionals.
Environmental Clubs
Environmental clubs are typically pretty popular on campus. They can be tied to a specific org or just be an independent club on campus that works to protect the environment. Whether it is climate change, sustainability, global warming, pollution, recycling, wildlife protection, or environmental laws, there are many different niches and sub-issues that fall under the environmental justice umbrella.
Identity-Based Student Orgs
A lot of campuses will have clubs dedicated to specific racial or ethnic backgrounds (such as Black Student Union or Asian American Association). They serve to not only create a community for students within these identity groups, but also they tend to touch on issues that affect that very group — either specifically on campus or in society at large. There are also clubs on campus that are dedicated to students of specific faiths (like a Muslim or Jewish Student Association), or other identities (such as LGBTQIA+ communities). If you want to be an activist and your issue of choice affects a specific community, or is intersectional, you can join an identity-based student org and participate in activism in that way.
Professional Associations
Campuses often have associations geared toward a specific profession or field. For instance, a lot of campuses will have associations such as Women in Medicine, Law, Media, Business, and so on. These chapters not only allow you to network with others in your fields within your school and nationally, but they also aim to fight disparities and often are connected to philanthropic opportunities.
Political Party-Affiliated Orgs
If you’re politically involved and want to fight for a wide range of issues that represent your views, then you should consider joining a partisan organization. Unlike single-issue orgs that tackle one topic, these groups cover a wide range of issues that the political party supports. Some schools even have clubs that represent political parties outside of the main two, or political clubs that relate to politics but don’t take sides or support a specific party.