Category: Announcements

2021 Annual Report

Posted on by darlene

We are glad to announce the release of our 2021 End-Of-Year Report. There are all kinds of actions from the past year that we are happy to celebrate and reflect on. This includes our advocacy and organizing around the issue areas of higher education, civic engagement, and criminal justice.

In 2021, our members were critical in a campaign collecting signatures for the petition that eventually became Issue 24 in Cleveland, a police accountability measure that passed and will establish the strongest civilian oversight board in the country. We were also actively engaged in conversations, training, and action around student debt relief, combating the ‘transcript trap,’ expanding financial aid, and more.

Finally, as always, we are constantly working to help get out the vote and better engage young people in the democratic process.

Check out our work from this past year— including our accomplishments, our challenges, and our growth over time— by looking at our annual report. To support our organization and its important work, donate here.

Budget Wins Update

Posted on by ohiostudents

The state budget has been approved and, while there is still work that needs to be done, there were some gains that were made that make the future look quite promising. One of the biggest wins is the Fair School Funding plan. We know that children represent our future, but for decades, Ohio’s budget has failed to invest in educating our kids.

However, this new plan changes everything. By fully funding public education, the Fair School Funding plan will increase opportunities and possibilities for students, no matter what their zip code is. It will help give students access to the resources and tools that they need to succeed and continue their education. 

Another huge win within the budget is the expanded healthcare for new mothers. Every new mother will receive a year of medicare, after giving birth. This type of win will save lives. With the budget investing in affordable childcare, supporting mental health and wellbeing, and expanding priority health programs, the future is looking bright. 

Nonetheless, we can’t give up yet. We must continue to fight together as students from all walks of life, so that we do not just earn some wins, but all of the wins we need to ensure an Ohio where everyone can thrive— no matter where we come from, what we look like, or how much money we have. 

2020 Annual Report

Posted on by darlene

Between a critical election, an ongoing pandemic, an adjustment to remote learning, and the struggles of trying to afford an education while paying off debt and making ends meet, young people in Ohio had an overwhelming and difficult year in 2020. Nonetheless, even in these dire and unfamiliar circumstances, young people have continued to find ways to organize and fight for the issues that matter most to us. For the OSA team, this has entailed getting out the vote, showing up for racial justice, fighting for criminal justice reform, and more. Read all about our different work, wins, and reflections for the past year in our yearly report.

Ohio-Student-Association-2020-End-of-Year_FNL-ReportDownload

“Invest in Ed, Divest from Prisons” Report 

Posted on by ayaadmin

Introducing . . . 

The “Invest in Ed, Divest from Prisons” Report  (click here)

and The Ed4All Convening (October 19th – 20th 2019) 

 

“Invest in Ed, Divest from Prisons: How shrinking incarceration can save higher education”  is not just a list of statistics showing how our education system and our prison system leave black, brown, and poor students behind; it’s a document with stories from people seeing the system break day by day; it’s also our first step toward a concrete vision of how we can transform Ohio’s public institutions. In it you will find specific ways we can move funds into higher education away from mass incarceration.

Higher education is out of reach for many, yet remains the best corridor for upward mobility in the US. Money that should go toward funding students struggling to get ahead is invested in prisons and jails, even though it costs far less to educate an Ohioan than it does to incarcerate one. So, why are Ohioans being locked up more frequently than they are completing advanced degrees? OSA demands this pattern change.

Read our report to see concrete ways that the state can re-align its priorities! 

But we’re not just talking about change. We’re launching a movement to make change. We invite you to join us at The Ed4All Convening (10/19 – 10/20), where we will bring together people who have seen the broken parts of the higher education system and craft a 2020 Ed4All Plan. We will take this bold vision into 2020 through political advocacy, voter education, campus organizing, and cultural interventions. And we want you to be part of shaping it. To register, please visit: http://bit.ly/Ed4AllConvening.

We will bring together students, professors, alumni, and community members to design a policy plan to open up higher education for ALL Ohioans. 

Moving away from the cash money bail system, reducing incarceration practices that waste state dollars, expanding financial aid, rolling back debilitating student debt practices . . .  these steps can give Ohioans — whether white, black, or brown — equal access to stability and a sense of safety within their community.

 

Read the report.

Share the information.

Get involved.