Arizona Students Association (ASA) advocates for left-of-center higher education finance policy in Arizona. The organization advocates for making college “nearly as free as possible,” supports eliminating student debt, and opposes voter ID requirements. ^{1 2 3}

ASA previously engaged in a legal and political standoff with then-Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) in 2012 and 2013 over the organization’s funding. ⁴

Background

Arizona Students Association was established to advocate for affordable and accessible higher education and advocates to elected officials and runs issue campaigns to engage students. ⁵

The association describes itself as a student-led organization that represents the interests of more than 140,000 university students and more than 400,000 community college students in Arizona. ⁶

ASA is built around three pillars: advocacy, organizing, and leadership development. ⁷ The association works directly with the Arizona Board of Regents, university administrations, state legislators, members of Congress, city councils, the Arizona governor, and the Arizona secretary of state. ⁸

ASA hosts the Conference of Arizona Student Leaders each fall and Lobby Con each spring to help train students to lobby and campaign. ⁹

Arizona Students Association is a member organization of the Declaration for American Democracy, a coalition of left-leaning activist groups that advocates for a series of governmental and electoral administration policy changes. ¹⁰

The association has chapters at Arizona State University, Maricopa Community College, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona. ¹¹

History

The Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees the state’s three public universities, directly funded the ASA from 1974 through 1988. In 1988, students voted to impose a $1 per student fee per semester that was increased to $2 per student in 2008. ¹²

In 2012, ASA campaigned for Proposition 204, a ballot measure that would have made a temporary one-cent sales tax increase approved by voters two years earlier permanent. Most of the money from those funds would go to education. ASA helped draft the ballot measures and collecting more than 20,000 signatures. It also used $120,000 from the student-fee income to promote the measure. ¹³

Then-Gov. Jan Brewer (R), who was also a member of the state’s Board of Regents, opposed Proposition 204, as did several other regents. After voters rejected the initiative, the regents suspended the collection of the fee. However, there was a legal dispute over what to do with the withheld fees already collected for the spring 2013 semester. ¹⁴

Separate from board policy, Brewer signed a law in 2013 that said the state board of regents can no longer collect student fees to fund organizations that are not part of the university system. After this, ASA — which had previously been funded through a $2 fee on public university students — announced it would scale back, but would continue to advocate for university students. ¹⁵ The ASA stood to lose out on $600,000 annually because of the law. ¹⁶

ASA sued claiming the board violated its First Amendment rights and claimed the state board illegally withheld funding in retaliation for its campaign for a ballot initiative. A U.S. district court dismissed the case, but the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the case could go forward. This led to a negotiated settlement to avoid a trial. In December 2016, the Arizona Board of Regents agreed to give the ASA $250,000 as part of a legal settlement. The state board did not admit wrongdoing. The settlement ended three years of litigation. ¹⁷

Policy Advocacy

Arizona Students Association advocates for canceling all student loan debt. ¹⁸

It is in favor of what it calls “climate justice,” which the group defines as an energy transition away from carbon-based fuels, more green jobs, and combatting climate change. ¹⁹

The organization also opposes voter identification laws, which it claims “disenfranchise out of state students.” ²⁰ ASA also has worked to put polling locations on college campuses. ²¹

ASA has pushed an amendment to the state constitution that says college “shall be nearly as free as possible,” and calls for capping college tuition and greater funding for students to attend. The group has advocated for placing the initiative on the ballot. ^{22 23}

Leadership

Cesar Aguilar is the executive director of the Arizona Students Association, a position he took in 2018. He is a graduate of Northern Arizona University, holding a bachelor’s degree in political science. ²⁴

Patrick Morales is the government affairs director of the Arizona Students Association. ²⁵

Ken Nitschke is the organizing director for the Arizona Students Association. Nitschke is a 2019 graduate of Northern Arizona University. Previously, he worked for NextGen America in Flagstaff, Arizona and registered 2,500 voters. ²⁶

Shayna Stevens is the operations manager for the Arizona Students Associations. ²⁷

1. “Cancel Student Debt Campaign.” Arizona Students Association. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.azstudents.org/cancel_student_debt_campaign
2. “Voter Registration.” Arizona Students Association. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.azstudents.org/voter_registration
3. “The Arizona Students Association Announced Initiative to Reduce Tuition.” October 5, 2021. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.statepress.com/article/2021/10/asa-announces-initiative-to-reduce-tuition
4. Fischer, Howard. “Arizona Board of Regents settle student association’s claim of retaliation.” Arizona Capitol Times. December 6, 2016. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2016/12/06/arizona-board-of-regents-settle-student-associations-claim-of-retaliation/
5.  Arizona Student Association. Cause IQ. Accessed February 7, 2023.  https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/the-arizona-students-association,860893801/
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12. Fischer, Howard. “Arizona Board of Regents settle student association’s claim of retaliation.” Arizona Capitol Times. December 6, 2016. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2016/12/06/arizona-board-of-regents-settle-student-associations-claim-of-retaliation/
13.  Fischer, Howard. “Arizona Board of Regents settle student association’s claim of retaliation.” Arizona Capitol Times. December 6, 2016. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2016/12/06/arizona-board-of-regents-settle-student-associations-claim-of-retaliation/
14. Fischer, Howard. “Arizona Board of Regents settle student association’s claim of retaliation.” Arizona Capitol Times. December 6, 2016. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2016/12/06/arizona-board-of-regents-settle-student-associations-claim-of-retaliation/
15. Associated Press. “Students group scales back but still plans a role.” Arizona Capitol Times. April 10, 2013. Accessed February 9, 2023.  https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2013/04/10/students-group-scales-back-but-still-plans-a-role/
16. Adams, Kristen. “Student advocacy group faces funding loss over political donation.” Tucson Sentinel. March 19, 2013. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/031913_asa_students/student-advocacy-group-faces-funding-loss-over-political-donation/
17. Fischer, Howard. “Arizona Board of Regents settle student association’s claim of retaliation.” Arizona Capitol Times. December 6, 2016. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2016/12/06/arizona-board-of-regents-settle-student-associations-claim-of-retaliation/
18. “Cancel Student Debt Campaign.” Arizona Students Association. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.azstudents.org/cancel_student_debt_campaign
19. “Climate Justice.” Arizona Students Association. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.azstudents.org/climate_justice
20. “Voter Registration.” Arizona Students Association. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.azstudents.org/voter_registration
21. “Voter Protection.” Arizona Students Association. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.azstudents.org/voter_protection
22. “As Nearly Free as Possible Act.” Arizona Students Association. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.azstudents.org/as_nearly_free_as_possible_act
23. Press Release. “The Arizona Students Association Announced Initiative to Reduce Tuition.” October 5, 2021. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.statepress.com/article/2021/10/asa-announces-initiative-to-reduce-tuition
24. “Staff.” Arizona Students Association. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.azstudents.org/staff
25. “Staff.” Arizona Students Association. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.azstudents.org/staff
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27. “Staff.” Arizona Students Association. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.azstudents.org/staff