A Planning-Process Perspective on Student Activists' Upward Influence Attempts to Effect Campus Change

Abstract

Student activists have a long history of attempting to shape campus policy and programs, yet the ultimate power and decision making lies with campus administrators. Thus, in order to bring about positive changes student activists need to effectively influence administrators. Such a university hierarchy makes student activism a natural context for study in compliance gaining. This qualitative study linked cognitive processes of plans and planning to compliance-gaining message production. Results showed that strategy and tactic selection differed with negative strategies used only during bottom-up planning. Additionally, traditional approaches to studying planning were not always adequate to describe compliance-gaining communication. Thus we suggest a fourth approach: postconversational planning.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kathy Barnett

Kathy Barnett, Loyola University New Orleans;

Rebecca Ropers-Huilman

Rebecca Ropers-Huilman, University of Minnesota;

Laura Aaron

Laura Aaron, Northwestern State University of Louisiana.