Spring Break
The apathetic generation?
Staff Editorial
Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: Opinion
A university program that takes students around the country and the globe to complete community service projects each spring break had a record number of applicants this year. So much for the apathetic college population.
About 400 students are vying for the 180 available spots in the university's Alternative Spring Break program. That's a huge number for a program that had only 39 applicants its first year. What the growth of this program shows about today's university population is that students here are increasingly looking for ways to give back to a world in which they are, as college students, part of an extremely privileged minority.
In 2005, The Princeton Review published a book titled Colleges with a Conscience that looked at the stereotype that college students these days are lazy and self-centered. An article adaptation from the book on the Review's website states, "Today, 83 percent of Campus Compact member schools house a Community Service or Service-Learning Office, up from only 50 percent ten years ago."
Campus Compact is an organization this university joined in 1993 and, according to its website, is "a coalition of more than 1,100 college and university presidents - representing some 6 million students - who are committed to fulfilling the public purposes of higher education" and "a leader in building civic engagement into campus and academic life."
This university, indeed, has its own Community Service-Learning Office, which falls right in stride with the university's role as both the flagship university of the state and a land-grant institution. This office would mean nothing, however, if students weren't participating in its programs. The fact that students are volunteering to participate in programs such as Alternative Spring Break shows not only that they are aware of these university roles but also that they are willing to dedicate their time and energy to help make sure that role is realized.
Students today are volunteering in increasing numbers. Our generation of privileged college students is clearly taking its responsibility seriously to help those who are less fortunate. Still, older generations often claim our generation is apathetic. Even people within our generation claim the same!
About 400 students are vying for the 180 available spots in the university's Alternative Spring Break program. That's a huge number for a program that had only 39 applicants its first year. What the growth of this program shows about today's university population is that students here are increasingly looking for ways to give back to a world in which they are, as college students, part of an extremely privileged minority.
In 2005, The Princeton Review published a book titled Colleges with a Conscience that looked at the stereotype that college students these days are lazy and self-centered. An article adaptation from the book on the Review's website states, "Today, 83 percent of Campus Compact member schools house a Community Service or Service-Learning Office, up from only 50 percent ten years ago."
Campus Compact is an organization this university joined in 1993 and, according to its website, is "a coalition of more than 1,100 college and university presidents - representing some 6 million students - who are committed to fulfilling the public purposes of higher education" and "a leader in building civic engagement into campus and academic life."
This university, indeed, has its own Community Service-Learning Office, which falls right in stride with the university's role as both the flagship university of the state and a land-grant institution. This office would mean nothing, however, if students weren't participating in its programs. The fact that students are volunteering to participate in programs such as Alternative Spring Break shows not only that they are aware of these university roles but also that they are willing to dedicate their time and energy to help make sure that role is realized.
Students today are volunteering in increasing numbers. Our generation of privileged college students is clearly taking its responsibility seriously to help those who are less fortunate. Still, older generations often claim our generation is apathetic. Even people within our generation claim the same!
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Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Joe Siev
posted 11/05/07 @ 1:45 AM EST
Somehow, you make an inference regarding our generation as "lazy, non-voting, selfish, video-game-playing ingrates who will probably be the first generation to be less successful than our parents," from the fact that 400 out of the 20 something thousand on this campus are not hopelessly self centered and ignorant and actually care about issues more significant than that night's special at Santa Fe. (Continued…)
Jane Doe
posted 11/05/07 @ 8:44 AM EST
I guess I am apathetic but I don't care.
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