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What are players?

Players are individuals, groups or organizations that try to influence public policies. Some examples include:

1. Individuals—The President, a mayor, a school principal, a union leader, a civil rights leader, a casino owner, and you.
2. Groups/organizations—The American Medical Association (AMA), the National Rifle Association (NRA), the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), and your class.

As a student, your life and your activities may place you in numerous categories—students, teenagers, part-time employees, taxpayers, rock fans, etc. Ordinarily, these categories are not players.

However, sometimes members of such categories form groups or organizations as a result of being dissatisfied with some social problem. For example, perhaps your school has a chapter of Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD). Students who belong to SADD are upset by the numbers of people killed or injured by "drunk driving." To be a player, you must actively participate in a group that is organized to influence a particular public policy change. For example, if your SADD chapter is trying to influence the passage of tougher DWI laws and penalties, then your group is a player.