Students across the University of Missouri System could soon lose a key voice in state politics after university officials moved to defund the Associated Students of the University of Missouri, an organization that has represented campus interests in the Missouri legislature for 50 years.
Last August, ASUM executives received notice from the university system’s general counsel that the organization would lose its current funding model by the 2027 fiscal year, citing First Amendment concerns. Student leaders say the change could dismantle legislative internships, eliminate student lobbyists in Jefferson City and reshape how students advocate for higher education policy.
“This organization is for the pursuit of knowledge and being a student in the state of Missouri. Regardless if you are a transfer student or a graduate student or an international student, you fall under our umbrella, and we want to make sure that we are advocating for your experience in learning being a productive member of our state,” ASUM Executive Director Ryan Highfill said.
Why funding is being cut
ASUM has historically been funded through small student fees, sometimes costing just cents per student, along with individual university support. Mizzou’s most recent fee was 83 cents per student.
In fall of 2025, ASUM leadership was informed by the UM System’s General Counsel that this funding model could violate free speech protections. The concern centers on whether students are being required to fund an organization that takes political positions.
A memo from the UM System’s General Counsel to ASUM executives pointed to ongoing legal debates, including the Supreme Court case Lackie v. Students United, which addresses similar issues surrounding student advocacy funding. The case, filed May 9, 2024, focuses on a private political student organization at St. Cloud University.
Highfill said ASUM executives were told the organization would lose funding regardless of the case’s outcome.
The decision also came with little direct consultation, according to student leaders.
“I wish there would have been more communication to see if there’s some middle ground we can find,” 2024-25 Mizzou’s ASUM chapter president and 2025-26 Missouri Students Association president Logan Kuykendall said. “The abrupt nature of how this happened was disappointing to say the least.”
University officials said the decision was made after reviewing legal guidance. Christopher Ave, a spokesperson for the university, said the UM System determined last year that changes were needed to ASUM’s funding model.
Ave said ASUM had historically received dedicated funding not available to other student organizations, but the university concluded that student activity fees must be distributed on a “viewpoint neutral basis” to respect students’ First Amendment rights.
As a result, he said ASUM will be required to apply for funding like any other Recognized Student Organization beginning in fall 2026.
Statewide student voice at risk
Founded in 1975, ASUM is a non-partisan, non-profit student lobbying organization with student representatives from Mizzou, University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Missouri-St. Louis and Missouri University of Science and Technology. At the state level, the organization connects students with lawmakers, advocates for higher education policy and runs legislative internship programs. At the campus level, the organization helps students access existing resources, such as voter registration.
“ASUM is like a governmental liaison between students and the state governments as well as the federal government,” Highfill said. “It’s us talking as students to legislators, bringing them issues that we experience and connecting students with the legislature on things that the legislature might be able to solve.”
Over five decades, ASUM has contributed to initiatives affecting students across all of the higher education institutions within Missouri. These initiatives include expansions to the Bright Flight scholarship, harsher penalties for hazing, expansions for the STEM fund and legislation affecting healthcare access and tuition support.
Kuykendall explained that much of that legislative work happens quietly.
“ASUM handles the boring,” Kuykendall said. “But oftentimes it is the boring that affects you more than what you even realize.”
Uneven campus impacts
While Mizzou students have access to alternative political science internship programs like the Civic Leaders Internship Program, ASUM is the primary pathway for political engagement at other system campuses.
“This is their primary avenue from my understanding,” Kuykendall said, referring to Missouri S&T’s limited political science infrastructure.
According to ASUM leaders, the organization provides a unified voice across regions of Missouri.
Without university-backed funding, ASUM chapters lose resources and opportunities. The most notable loss is the elimination of legislative internships, particularly for students outside Columbia.
At UMSL and UMKC, select students often travel more than two hours to Jefferson City. Those trips were previously supported by stipends.
UMSL chapter president Carson Howe explained students traveling to Jefferson City by car were incentivized to do this through this program.
“We represent St. Louis, which is about 40% of the state’s economy. We have Kansas City, which is another huge chunk, and we have Missouri S&T that basically pumps out most of Missouri’s engineers,” Howe said. “So we all bring our own unique perspectives to ASUM. Without us, it would kind of just be one-on-one with Mizzou versus whatever problem that they’re trying to face. With ASUM in the room as well, we are able to put that into a perspective of what legislators’ local workforce is going to look like. We show how diverse Missouri higher education really is.”
The organization also serves as a bridge between campuses, helping student governments share ideas and coordinate efforts.
“That will explicitly disappear,” Highfill said.
What comes next?
ASUM leaders are now exploring alternatives, including restructuring internships to focus on local advocacy and seeking private or alumni donations, but replacing consistent funding will be difficult.
“We are going to be going from about $30,000 a year to zero,” Kuykendall said. “No amount of alumni could make up that stopgap anytime soon.”
Howe said chapters may rely on smaller budgets and community support moving forward, though programming will likely shrink significantly.
“I don’t see a path where we could ever get our funding back in a meaningful way,” Howe said.
For many involved, the defunding marks a broader shift in how student voices are treated in higher education.
“It is a scary time in higher education,” Kuykendall said. “We need that support now more than ever.”
