Higher Education and/in the Community

Jessica Kim-- I definitely agree with Adam and Drew's posts about the role of higher education institutions in the community. Liberal arts colleges were initially set up to prepare young people for a life of informed citizenship, and I feel like allowing and creating opportunities for students to get involved in their communities is an undeniably important way of doing so. Adam's point about how college can be a 'bubble' is definitely true. Some could argue that this is a good thing, that it allows students to focus themselves on their academic commitments; but if students learn without a sense of how their studies can be applied to the wider world, what makes us think that they will be able to apply them once they actually get out there?

Our students have a great culture of service. I think the next step would be to get the spirit of service imbued into the administration and academics of our school. I found an interesting document on the W&M website titled "A Vision for Public Service at the College of William & Mary" (http://web.wm.edu/as/dean/fas/documents/Vision%20for%20Public%20Service%20at%20W&M.pdf?svr=www) that details a committee's reasoning and recommendations for expansion of public service initiatives at the college. I feel like it was written a while ago, and I feel like we could use this as a guide to help us implement more of these ideas at W&M.

There is a fine line as to how much a college should invest in the greater good of the community, but that should be gauged primarily by the student interest and demand. If students dedicate so much time to service at this college, there should be more investment in ways to expand upon those interests. Not only would that meet a student demand, but it would also work for the good of the wider communities we are all a part of. I don't think there can be a downside to higher education involvement in the community because it caters to a student need and corresponds with a trend of greater social awareness and involvement that is sweeping our nation.

Higher Education and / in the Community

Adam Harris - 

In response to Drew's question about if it's the role of higher education and it's role in being a social service agency,  my answer has two distinct parts.  First, I think that the trend in higher education to provide / involve service in its curriculum is not only a step forward, but very important in the relationships between an institution and the community that it is in.  Far too often in my opinion, there is the ever-present college "bubble" that many of us live in.  As a student body, many are completely uninformed and ignorant of many social conditions, may they be good or bad, in the immediate surroundings of the institution.  

I believe that "opening the doors to the community as a social service agency" by an institution not only is within its capacity, but an integral part of getting students more active in the community as well as being part of their learning experience.  Teaching students does not necessarily have to mean learning in a classroom.  In the sense that higher education's purpose is to introduce young adults into the "real world," I believe that one essential part of this "teaching" comes from easing students into facing local issues by giving them more opportunities at volunteering within the community.  

I think that this allows students to come in contact with their "townie" neighbors, but also gives them a tangible experience that can enhance theoretical learning in the classroom.  For instance, learning about the U.S.'s social welfare system for three hours a week in the basement of Morton can be wholly supplemented by volunteering with a non-profit student group helping out in the local unemployment office, free health clinic, etc.  As Drew said in his statements, this not only helps out the community by filling holes in the various institutions, but also instilling the student with a sense of efficacy, connection with the community, etc. 

Lastly, since these actions / organizations are based of off volunteer support, the issue of capacity is a minimal issue.  As long as there is enough interest and that the issue that various organizations is relatively sustainable in terms of creating a permanent institution to address the issue, having institutions as social service agencies, in my opinion, has no downside.