Bill makes service programs accessible

Monday, March 9, 1998

Bill makes service programs accessible

SERVICE: Financial compensation gives more students chance to
get involved in service activities

With students devoting so much time and energy to studying and
holding jobs, community service often falls by the wayside. Due to
this lackluster involvement in community service, Sen. Tom Hayden
has written a bill to compensate those who donate their time to
service. The bill is a long-overdue push for increasing community
service.

Hayden’s main objective is to increase student involvement in
community service, especially tutoring. He written Senate Bill 1740
in order to motivate more students to donate time to community
service projects.

Many college students work in order to pay tuition or other
expenses, and thus are unable to dedicate any time to serving the
community.

Hayden’s bill promises to allow those interested in community
service, but tied down by jobs, to dedicate some time to take part
in projects such as tutoring or serving as mentors for younger
students.

Hayden was the keynote speaker at last week’s Community Service
Conference at UCLA, which attracted only 122 people, 35 of whom
were speakers. This dismal showing is indicative of the lack of
student involvement or interest in community service, and
demonstrates the need for a solution that will spark
involvement.

Hayden attended the conference to promote his program and to
raise student awareness about the importance of serving the
community.

He was adamant about getting more college students involved in
the community, saying that public universities have a
responsibility of serving the public, and was hopeful that his
program could provide the impetus for getting students to commit to
more community-oriented activities.

Hayden’s bill proposes to establish the Statewide Service
Learning Center Program, which would formally train students to
tutor younger students. If passed, the bill would also devote $25
million to establishing the program.

The funds would be allocated to campus community service centers
which provide matching funds from non-state sources. The money
would then go toward partially paying for those students’ tuition
costs.

Although critics may argue students should not be "paid" for
volunteer work, Hayden’s program merely provides an added incentive
for students to help better the community through various
projects.

Student participation in high school community service
organizations is high, in part because club members have an
incentive for their participation – a notation on their transcripts
that indicates community service.

College students, who have less time to juggle more
responsibilities, often find it much more difficult to dedicate
time to such projects.

For those students who want to participate in community service
projects but cannot because they have jobs, the financial
compensation provides them with the means to get involved. The bill
is not a means of coercion.

The bill represents a much-needed step toward getting more
students involved in helping the community. There’s certainly a
need for students to devote more time to service programs, and
Hayden’s bill provides the incentive for students to do so.

Community service needs to be a priority for college students,
and if students are given some compensation for their work, the
community will benefit as well.