Should the University of Arkansas require community service for graduation?

Many U.S. schools require community service on the basis that it encourages students to become involved in their local communities/governments, possibly for life. Some proponents of mandatory service claim that through completing community service, students who rely on scholarships/grants to attend college may offset some of the costs to the society that supports them. Also, community service builds experience for students’ résumés, and it allows them to form contacts with members of their community. The experience and the contacts that students gain through such service may prove valuable in finding jobs later on.

Many opponents to mandatory community service claim that the service hours interfere with studying and homework, causing students’ grades to suffer. Others claim that required community service during high school or college does not ensure that students will continue to be active citizens after graduation. Some opponents even claim that requiring community service for graduation will result in diminished volunteerism because it encourages students to volunteer for their own personal gain; once students have fulfilled their requirements, they would not continue to do volunteer service because it no longer serves their needs.

I propose that the University of Arkansas should require community service hours for all bachelor’s degree students. The potential benefits to students and society (e.g. civic involvement, work experience, community relationships) outweigh the potential damages of required community service (e.g. self-serving volunteerism, diminished volunteerism). In order to avoid interference with studying, and in order to regulate the documentation of service, the university could add a community service course to the general education requirements. The course would consist of weekly service projects/programs approved by the university staff in conjunction with local public service and non-profit organizations.

One potential problem with such a course would be that many students require special accommodations. Some local volunteer opportunities cannot accommodate disabled students. For example, volunteers at the Rogers Recycling Center must be able to handle bending and heavy lifting. However, there are numerous volunteer opportunities that any student can do, regardless of physical ability. For example, the Fayetteville Public Library offers volunteer positions for reading stories to children and preparing arts and crafts materials, which involves minimal physical exertion.

Another potential problem would be transportation and scheduling for the service projects. By organizing the service requirement as a course, the university would ensure that students in the course would have three hours per week available for service. During what would be lecture time, students could complete service projects under the supervision of a professor. Transportation, if necessary, would be provided by the university. If funding for class transportation were an issue, the class could focus on projects that do not require special transportation. The Fayetteville Public Library, for example, is located along the Brown Bus Route, so students would already have handicapped-accessible transportation to the site. Another cost-efficient option would be to have some community service projects on campus.

Melanie Kyles

ENGL 2003