Posted by
voice_of_reason on Thursday, October 18, 2007 7:04:32 PM
A symptom of the academic rot on our college campuses may be found in the seemingly innocuous area of 'progressive volunteerism'. Enter the oxymoronic world of mandatory volunteerism.
Admissions committees at most of our colleges place a disproportionately heavy emphasis on an applicant's record of progressive volunteerism. On the surface, this doesn't seem like such a bad thing - after all, it does show that the applicant 'gave something back to the commmunity', and perhaps learned about compassion during their high school years. Who could be against that?
Unfortunately, what should've been an interesting footnote to a student's application has now become an almost mandatory requirement. High school students are advised to pick from a 'menu of community service' choices. We are now witnessing the specter of mandatory volunteerism.
Under the guise of seeking well-rounded students and promoting diversity on campus, admissions committees are making their process more subjective and political. For example, a politically biased committee member may turn down a student with JROTC qualifications in favor of a student with a demonstrated progressive background, often based on the applicant's record as a community volunteer.
At some high schools in my area, administrators boast of their students who do as many as 125 hrs of community service during their sophomore and senior years. This is done to 'prepare them for the college admissions process'. In some cases, even academically gifted students are advised to forgo an additional AP course in favor of volunteer work.
The reality is that students are shown a path to college that does not demand academic rigor. Many of the incoming freshmen are well-rounded, well-meaning & diverse - but they lack academic preparation, having wasted precious time on fluffing up their resumes with progressive volunteerism.