COMMUNITY service has gotten a lot of attention these days. With the emergence of debates on the value of Alternative Spring Break to the popularity of Madison House, there is no denying that community service has a powerful presence Community service requirements have sparked the question about whether these efforts really help to better society or merely bettering résumés. While many argue that required service undermines the purpose of altruism, there is certainly nothing wrong with pushing students to do the right thing. As Michael Powell of the New York Times put it, "Sometimes society stumbles in the right direction for the wrong reasons."
Required community service is nothing new. Criminals have often been sentenced to community service, doing everything from picking up trash on highways to painting subway stations. In 2006, 19,000 minor offenders were sentenced to perform community service in Manhattan, according to the Times. No one can argue that requiring community service beats the thousands of dollars it would cost to jail each criminal. The value of the service to the felon, however, is debatable. Community service does not send a harsh message like incarceration would, but that is not the original purpose.
Many people forget that the number one goal of community service should be to help the community. While we would all hope that facing the problems of society would instill a strong desire in individuals to make a difference, in reality, an improvement in the society is good enough. Community service -- no matter why or how it is performed -- is good for our society.
For students, community service requirements can seem like yet another nuisance on the list of college or résumé requirements. I can remember struggling with community service requirements in high school -- scrambling to get my hours in for the deadline and dreading the next time I had to tutor at the elementary school. Just because I did not enjoy the community service I performed, however, does not mean it did not have a positive effect on the community.
The reason for performing the service or the enjoyment received from the service does not matter nearly as much as the. It is hard to motivate young people, especially those of our well-off generation, to do something that does not benefit them directly. If community service requirements can force students to become involved, then the society benefits in the end. I probably would not have tutored those children back in high school if I had not been required to by the National Honor Society. And yet, I do not doubt that I helped at least one of them get a better grade in class.
Robert Putnam, a professor of public policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, agrees, as he wrote in the Times, "If young people acquire the habit of community service (even for less than exalted reasons), there is some evidence that the habit persists into adult life. So even if the initial motive was ignoble, the long-run net effect may create a more caring society." In this way, not only does society benefit by the required hours performed for college applications but also by the possible hours done for pleasure.
Because of requirements, community service has become yet another item on our list of daily activities. Performing community service is as ingrained in us as finding a job or playing a sport we enjoy. To argue that this is negative is short-sighted. Florence Davis, student co-chair of the Madison House Board of Directors believes, "What happens most often is that after their first volunteer experience, students are motivated to volunteer by the relationships established and the satisfaction gained through the volunteer experience." Community service requirements not only benefit society the service itself is often something they did not think they would enjoy. Few students would think that playing cards at a homeless shelter would be enjoyable, but after volunteering there, they might discover the unique stories of the individuals and enjoy returning each week to foster deeper bonds.
Although community service requirements may seem to take away from the joy of genuinely selfless actions, they also encourage individuals to get involved. This involvement helps the community and takes people off their couches and into the real world. A passion for community service may not always initially exist, but after hours of volunteering, it can be fostered in even the most selfish of people. Community service is always a good thing, whether done purely for a résumé or out of a love for the community.
Lindsay Huggins' column usually appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at lhuggins@cavalierdaily.com.
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