Im a "community associate" in the graduate dormitories on campus which means I plan the non-academic events for grad students in my neighborhood. In addition to this, all of the CAs are separated into four groups to lead campus-wide events for grads in these categories: sports and recreation, culture and education, social events, and community service. Im in the latter and this year, for example, I organized a book drive for local prisoners.
Tonight we had a meeting and it was proposed by the CA in charge that rather than have a separate group for community service we are going to split it up and integrate it into the other three categories and make them each required to do one community service event throughout the year. This is a response to the low graduate student attendance at community service events. By making it a "requirement" the idea is to thereby emphasize the importance of community service on campus and increase the numbers of people attending.
When I oppose this suggestion, am i being conservative? Surely, more people be involved by making it a requirement. This was the "reality" of the issue I was repetitively asked to consider. I wondered instead if this would further stigmatize public service as something students "should" do but don't really want to. I don't want people "required" to attend to attend cooking for the homeless, collecting books for prisoners, or even eating ice cream cones with the elderly. There's this widespread tendency on campus to turn something that falls behind or lacks popularity into a success by making it mandatory. People obey rules, is the local fail-safe pedagogy. I proposed several ways of making the group fun and more creative with its events and therefore courting people to get invloved. But they said our group isn't allotted money to budget such things as parties like the three other groups are. So they hadn't even thought to offer the same amount of money to community service as, say, going to the ballet might necessitate. In the meantime, our numbers are down and now its curtains for community service on campus. Its hard not to see this as somebody's long term plan.
Painting by Raymond Pettibon (1987). For the fuck of it.
Posts
2 comments:
Damn right. They allocate fewer funds to community service and then wonder why the events aren't as well attended? This is ridiculous.
That's bad!
The budget allocation for community service group, when you think about it, reflects their thinking.. the main ‘quantifiable benefit’ being to a third party other than students unlike the other three groups, as if one is doing community service forcibly! In fact the ideal way would be to make it fun as well and let people choose to do if they like.
It seems to be common. I know of student groups/chapters where one is forced to participate in community services for the sole purpose of showing off good statistics and winning best student chapter award!!!
Post a Comment