Devils’ Advocates turns to student employment amid new club registration requirements

The student organization that hosts tours across all four campuses is transitioning to act as a branch under admission services, straying away from its original approach of being a University club.

Devils’ Advocates was one of the longest-running student organizations at the University, having existed for nearly 60 years, according to Matt Lopez, the deputy vice president of admission services at ASU. The organization’s transition to employment at ASU came following student organization registration revisions that included a requirement to have a faculty advisor affiliated with the club.

With Devils’ Advocates’ new transformation, all campus subgroups of Devils’ Advocates will now work under admission services as student workers. This change furthers the distance from their original approach of recruiting volunteers as all student participants will now act as employees on campus. 

Lopez said he spoke with many University officials, including those in the Human Resources department and Educational Outreach and Student Services, to arrive at the best solution for the club, instead of disbanding altogether. 

“That’s not what we wanted to do,” said Lopez. “We very much wanted to continue the legacy Devils’ Advocates have, not only from an impactful program for students but also because they’re incredibly valuable to the University. And my priority was to ensure that as much of the organization and the leadership that students have had in the Devils’ Advocates continued.”

The revised registration code states that organizations must “have a Faculty Advisor who can advise the organization on operating within university policy, serving ASU in the role of professor, teaching professor, or clinical professor with two years of experience at ASU.”

The revision became public on July 1, tightening qualifications. 

Even before the revised registration code, student leaders had asked University officials to implement stipends for those affiliated with the organization, according to Lopez. He said the stipends vary depending on involvement, as the executive board receives an additional stipend.

However, this change was made several months before the policy revision, according to Lopez. The organization’s student leaders requested financial assistance due to the high commitment that Devils’ Advocates had devoted to the campus community.

“I know it was controversial at that point because there were students who were like, ‘Well, I don’t need to be paid, I want this to remain voluntary,'” said Lopez. “But to me, it was important that we provided an experience that reflected the student body of ASU, and there are incredible students that I wanted to have the opportunity to participate in Devils’ Advocates, but they just felt like they needed some financial assistance in order to do so.”

The Devils’ Advocates executive board will continue to make decisions for the organization as they have in the past, according to Lopez and Brad Baertsch, the senior director of admission services. 

“I’ll be working directly with our team that will be managing this program to ensure that we’re keeping up with the promises of advocates and making sure that we are building this and continuing to honor the history of it, and I speak as a former Devils’ Advocate myself,” Baertsch said. 

In the fall semester, the organization will begin building training programs and providing professional development opportunities so the recruitment branch can have a “seamless transition” from the previous year, according to Baertsch.

“It’s about making sure that we have the best campus ambassadors providing tours to students, just as we always have in that particular space,” Baertsch said.

Edited by Natalia Jarrett, Sophia Ramirez, Madeline Schmitke and Alysa Horton.

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