YPA Michigan
Young people are done being left behind. Our generation is caught between high prices, barriers to building a career, and eroded communities. In Michigan, we're coming together across party lines to fight for our own Michigan Dream.
Our Michigan Chapters
Every YPA chapter in Michigan.
Universities · 4
Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti
Michigan State University
East Lansing
Oakland University
Rochester
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor
Our Platform
Young people are facing shrinking economic opportunity, an affordability crisis, and mass erosion of communities. Neither political party is prioritizing these pressing issues affecting our generation. Here is what we're fighting for in Michigan.
OPPORTUNITY
Despite America's status as the land of opportunity, many young people are struggling to find fulfilling and stable careers.
Higher education is more expensive than ever and is no longer a promise of success. Meanwhile, those in alternative career paths are on track to make less than their parents. AI has already automated millions of entry-level jobs, spiking youth unemployment, and is on track to automate vast swaths of industry, cutting off access to meaningful careers.
We work to:
- →Advocate for the creation of millions of apprenticeships and training programs in both blue-collar and white-collar fields to give our generation an AI-resilient entry point into careers.
- →Make 4-year colleges more cost effective, ending legacy admissions, and reform occupational licensing requirements to make employment more accessible.
- →Explore how we can retain purpose in a mass-automation scenario, for instance by better supporting families and community institutions through policy.
AFFORDABILITY
From housing to basics, it is getting too expensive to live a fulfilling and dignified life.
The Michigan Dream promises us the ability to buy a home, but that feels like a fantasy to many of us. While 42% of young people are barely getting by financially, we pay a disproportionate amount of taxes and benefit significantly less from government spending than other generations.
We work to:
- →Make housing more affordable by reforming zoning laws that artificially increase the price of housing and create incentives to encourage more housing construction.
- →Stop manipulative corporate practices that raise prices, like AI price fixing and dark patterns.
- →Explore reforming the tax system to be more fair for our generation.
COMMUNITY
Our generation has been gutted by loneliness and a lack of strong communities, and 83% of young people are not deeply connected to any community.
Emerging technology like social media and AI companions are designed to steal our attention away from the things that truly matter to us, while eroding our ability to build relationships. Our civic communities have also crumbled, and while our generation believes in the potential of America, only 41% are proud of our country.
We work to:
- →Eliminate the manipulative effects of attention-based technology like social media and AI companions, while encouraging innovation for tech that is truly pro-social.
- →Through our work, we create community and purpose for our generation, bound by a shared mission to make the Michigan Dream our reality.
Legislation
Bills we've written, endorsed, or advocated on in Michigan.
MI SB0760
Passed the SenateCompanion Chatbot Regulation
Prohibits AI companion platforms from providing chatbots to minors unless it is foreseeable that the chatbot cannot encourage self-harm, offer mental health treatment without oversight, or engage in sexually explicit conversation.
Track this bill →MI Housing Readiness Package
SupportedZoning Reform to Build More Homes
A bipartisan package updating Michigan's zoning laws to address a housing shortage that has priced young people out of the places they grew up. It permits duplexes and accessory dwelling units by right in single-family zones, caps minimum lot sizes at 1,500 square feet and minimum dwelling sizes at 500 square feet in metro areas, limits parking mandates to one space per unit, and sets a clear 60-day timeline for local site plan decisions.
Learn more →Campaigns & Lobby Days
How members in Michigan have shown up.
Spring 2026 · Nationwide
American Dream Lobby Days
Students in NC, CA, and MI all lobbied on behalf of protections to ensure opportunity, affordability, and community for our generation. This coordinated nationwide effort brought young advocates to state capitols across the country to push for our American Dream Platform priorities.
Students in Action
Young people testifying in front of legislatures.
YPA State Director Testifies on Michigan's Kids Over Clicks Package
YPA Michigan State Director James Jandro testifies on behalf of Michigan's Kids Over Clicks legislative package, proposing stronger protections to ensure kids' online safety.
YPA Member Speaks at Michigan "Kids Over Clicks" Press Conference
YPA member Stephanie Iacoban speaks at a press conference in Michigan in support of the "Kids Over Clicks" package, advocating for youth online safety protections.
Listening to Michigan Students
The Need for a New American Dream
How Young People Are Navigating a System That Wasn't Built for Them
Our report is based on listening sessions with ~210 students across 22 campuses in Michigan, North Carolina, and California, and was covered in Politico's Morning Tech newsletter. It found young people embrace AI for basic tasks but reject it in human-centered roles, ranked home affordability and stable livelihood as top priorities, and applied to an average of 25 jobs or internships before landing a role.
Read the findings →Join YPA Michigan
Whether there is already a chapter on your campus or you want to start one, there is a place for you in this movement.