Carrie/"student activities" and community service organizations:
This is a primary component of what we are doing here at JMU. Our question to
ourselves, having been a "student activity" is why are the questions seperate
and different? Shouldn't all of us be asking how we can respond to the
community, including sports clubs, major concerts on campus, Greek Life,
Emerging Leaders, etc? And my question is also, why end there? Should
career counselors and residence life advisors be asking the same questions?
My fear for service-learning, and the community service field in general, is
that we might pigeon-hole ourselves in a separate entity. Should it not be
about, what we are calling "citizen-leadership" for everyone, in every office?
We have hammered and discussed long hours about personal values, ethics, and
agendas. The bottom line is, though, that every mission statement we have
found includes community, service, and learning. The issues that Emerging
Leaders discuss could, and in our program should, be connected to social
transformation and instructional curriculum. Service is a part of it, not
"the" part of it.
I can see a difference in national movement agendas and local/personal
transformation. Maybe some people are working through different doors for the
same goal? From the impact that we have had in just our first year of
transforming our own campus programs and services (which our services do provideservice as well, like Dining Services is addressing hunger issues in their
training and they are doing a Hunger Banquet, and "weigh the waste" challenges
in collaboration with CS-L and the University Program Board.
Again, I think VACOOL is focusing on and doing a great job with what the mission
of the organization is. I am wondering what others think and are doing with
this relation?
Holly Smith
Coordinator, Community Service-Learning
Madison Leadership Center
James Madison University
540-568-3463