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| North Carolina Student Power Summit | |
|---|---|
| Name | North Carolina Student Power Summit |
| Abbreviation | NC SPS |
| Formation | 2010s |
| Type | Student organization |
| Headquarters | Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Region served | North Carolina |
| Leader title | Executive Director |
North Carolina Student Power Summit is a student-led coalition headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina that mobilizes students across campuses such as University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, North Carolina State University, Wake Forest University, East Carolina University and Appalachian State University to engage in activism, organizing, and policy advocacy. The coalition builds alliances with partners including Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Young Democrats of North Carolina, North Carolina Association of Educators, NAACP, and national networks such as United States Student Association and Campus Progress to address campus issues and state-level decisions affecting students. The Summit coordinates campaigns that intersect with organizations like Amnesty International USA, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, American Civil Liberties Union, and unions such as American Federation of Teachers and Service Employees International Union.
The Summit functions as a hub connecting chapters at institutions such as Bennett College, Elon University, North Carolina Central University, Guilford College, Winston-Salem State University, Salem College, Johnson C. Smith University, Queens University of Charlotte, and Meredith College. It collaborates with advocacy groups including Sierra Club, Greenpeace USA, League of Conservation Voters, Common Cause, and Rock the Vote to amplify student voter registration, sustainability, civil rights, and reproductive rights campaigns. The coalition also maintains ties with political organizations like College Republicans, College Democrats of North Carolina, Progressive Student Network, Democratic Socialists of America, and labor affiliates such as AFL–CIO and Teamsters for broader mobilization.
Founded in the 2010s, the Summit emerged amid movements related to Occupy Wall Street, the Black Lives Matter protests, and national student actions around tuition and debt exemplified by groups like Student Debt Crisis Center and protests at City University of New York. Early convenings invited speakers from NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Southern Poverty Law Center, Center for American Progress, Brennan Center for Justice, and activists associated with Moral Mondays and leaders from North Carolina NAACP and Forward Together. The coalition’s evolution involved partnerships with civic institutions such as North Carolina State Board of Elections, North Carolina General Assembly, Office of the Governor of North Carolina, and higher-education administrations including UNC System leadership and campus student governments.
Leadership has included student organizers from University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Fayetteville State University, Elizabeth City State University, and graduate student organizers from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law and Duke University School of Law. Advisory boards have featured members from Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, John M. Belk Endowment, Carolina Performing Arts affiliates, and former public officials from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The Summit’s governance integrates campus coordinators, campaign directors, a steering committee, and partnerships with national groups like Rock the Vote, Common Cause Education Fund, MoveOn.org, Indivisible, and Daily Kos.
Programs include voter registration drives in collaboration with North Carolina State Board of Elections, civic engagement training with Harvard Kennedy School alumni and instructors from Duke Sanford School of Public Policy, campaign management workshops referencing methods from Obama for America, and direct-action training influenced by tactics used in Civil Rights Movement sit-ins and Freedom Rides. The Summit runs policy labs partnering with think tanks such as Pew Research Center, Urban Institute, Brookings Institution, Economic Policy Institute, and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities to analyze student debt, housing, and tuition. Additional initiatives encompass sustainability projects with U.S. Green Building Council chapters, sexual-assault prevention programs modeled after Know Your IX, and mental-health campaigns involving National Alliance on Mental Illness and Active Minds.
The coalition has advocated for positions aligned with North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus priorities, calls for tuition-free community colleges as seen in proposals from Bernie Sanders, expansion of Pell Grant eligibility, and protections codified in laws such as Title IX applied to campus conduct. It has taken stances opposing bills associated with HB2 (2016) and aligning with efforts by American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina and ACLU litigation. On climate and sustainability, the Summit endorses initiatives similar to the Green New Deal proposed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ed Markey, coordinating with groups like 350.org and Sierra Student Coalition. Labor-related advocacy includes support for graduate-worker unionization modeled after campaigns at Columbia University, University of California, and organizing in concert with United Auto Workers and National Education Association affiliates.
Annual gatherings take place in venues across Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, and Durham, featuring keynote speakers from organizations including Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Color of Change, Movement for Black Lives, Generation Progress, and political figures from North Carolina General Assembly and former candidates such as Roy Cooper and Pat McCrory. Conferences have hosted panels with academics from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, North Carolina State University, researchers from RAND Corporation, Johns Hopkins University, and journalists from The News & Observer, The Charlotte Observer, and The Washington Post.
Supporters credit the Summit with measurable impacts on student voter turnout noted by analyses from Pew Research Center and state election reports, contributions to policy debates in Raleigh, and mentorship that produced organizers who joined groups like Campaign for Southern Equality, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Democracy North Carolina, and Rise Up Movement. Critics, including commentators from John Locke Foundation, The Heritage Foundation, and some campus conservative groups, argue the Summit exhibits partisan bias and questioned funding ties to foundations such as Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations. Debates with campus Republicans and libertarian groups like Cato Institute–aligned student networks have shaped perceptions of the coalition’s role in North Carolina civic life.
Category:Student organizations in North Carolina