School Specialty. Planning & Student Development

"We are never really happy until we try to brighten the lives of others." – Helen Keller, a writer "If you don't like the way the world is, you change it. You have an obligation to change it. You just do it one step at a time." – Marian Wright Edelman, a social activist

Today's college students seem to have an intrinsic motivation to help others. Larger numbers of students are interested in community service and service-learning. So much so, that unless institutions of higher education offer enough opportunities to be connected to the community, students are increasingly less likely to create an opportunity to make connections, get community experiences and make a difference—and thus miss an opportunity for students to enjoy and engage in a richer learning experience. This applies across academic disciplines, majors and career interests.

Students need to know they have the power to make a difference and create change in their community—socially, politically and otherwise. People who work with students on a daily basis are influenced and inspired by students' passion and idealism, which gives even more power to their efforts. However, students need tools to go from being interested in making a difference to actually making a difference, and administrators can provide this to them.

Civic Engagement as Defined for College Students

Civic engagement, for students, means the act of being an active and responsible participant in the campus community. This includes individual and collective actions intended to address issues of public concern. A student who is civically engaged works to make a difference on campus, to promote quality-of-life issues, or issues of interest, and affect positive change. Morally, ethically and civically responsible students identify themselves as part of a greater community and social fabric. Thus, they want to do something about campus and community issues, justify and make informed moral and civic decisions, evaluate moral and civic dimensions of issues, and take appropriate action as necessary. Civic engagement is a broad term. It can refer to reading up on candidates and ballot initiatives and then actively voting in elections, speaking at student government or city council meetings, meeting with university officials about concerns or ideas for the campus, and other activities.

Civic engagement can take many forms and spans broad ranges of involvement. From participation in community service or service-learning activities to involvement in organizations to voting in elections to discussing current events and social issues with friends and classmates— all of these, and more, are forms of civic engagement or civic responsibility. Civic engagement can be formal or informal, and as extensive as the student wants it to be. Students can talk about issues with friends or work with others in the community to solve a social problem or inequity. Students can share feedback with government agencies and institutions to make a difference or vote for whomever and whatever she/he thinks is right for the community. Civic engagement can apply to any person or group, regardless of demographic or other considerations. Each of us can demonstrate civic responsibility by being fully engaged in and informed about social issues—locally, nationally and internationally. It is a sense of personal responsibility individuals may feel to uphold their obligations as part of their community.

How students might demonstrate civic engagement

Students can demonstrate civic engagement through multiple means, whether in the community or on-campus. Some examples include:

• Get involved in student government, vote in elections, serve on a committee, be informed, attend a meeting and ask questions
• Serve in a student leadership role by running for a chair or officer position in a student organization or student government as a whole
• Read the campus newspaper(s) and submit letters to the editor in response
• Sign a petition or start one and collect signatures
• Meet with a professional staff member on campus to share an idea you have about improving something for the campus
• Attend a teach-in or workshop to find out more information about a given topic
• Participate in campus focus groups and fill out surveys when given the chance (the feedback provided helps improve campus programs and services)
• Join a student organization and actively participate in activities
• Attend a local city council meeting (students may ask to be put on the agenda to address the council)
• Volunteer for a local campaign or the local branch of a larger election campaign (Senate, Presidential, etc.)
• Share your civic engagement experiences with others and encourage them to demonstrate their own civic responsibility

Helping others is neither new, nor is it specific to any type of person. In a nutshell, any person, regardless of circumstance, has the capability to make a difference for others. There are plenty of people or situations where a significant difference can be made. Obviously, civic engagement can take many forms. Following are some interesting stories about current trends in civic engagement.

• Perhaps one of the most recent and notable incidences of civic engagement amongst college students is the record turnout of student voters in the 2008 Presidential Election. Regardless of party affiliation, the simple fact that so many students voted in that election speaks to a yearning to be more civically engaged, particularly when presented the right way.
• In celebrity examples, the singer-turned-activist Bono created "ONE," an organization whose mission is to fight extreme poverty and disease. Former President Clinton introduced a global initiative and foundation to improve access to health care. There are many celebrities who support environmental awareness and sustainability.
• One of the most common forms of civic engagement is community service. Woven throughout the mission and purpose of countless student organizations, and a number of institutions' graduation requirements, is the need to fulfill a specified number of hours of community service as criteria for membership (or graduation). Some organizations go even further, engaging in philanthropic activities—raising money to donate to a charity or other worthy cause—as well as community service.
• Another form of civic engagement is a connection between classroom learning and community service learning. This means taking advantage of a practical application of the curriculum in the real world. Universities provide ample opportunities for civic engagement. Since service-learning activities are likely to be closely connected to the curriculum and eventual career path for students, it seems like a natural place for universities and colleges to focus effort. Intentionally creating connections between the material that is covered in coursework and services within the community is an ideal way to further develop students' experiences and knowledge-base to prepare them for their career, as well as prepare them as responsible citizens. Institutions can easily weave civic engagement throughout the curriculum, whether it's connecting the syllabus and class discussion to current campus or community events, providing extra credit to students for speaking at a student government meeting, or running simulations in the community.

Benefits of civic engagement experience in college

Students who practice civic engagement in college are more civically engaged throughout their lives. A core purpose of higher education institutions is to prepare individuals to be productive and meaningful members of society. Then, it becomes incumbent that administrators explore every possible source of civic engagement opportunity available for their students. Weaving civic engagement throughout multiple facets of the college experience—both inside and outside the classroom—helps students develop moral and cognitive reasoning skills, become more engaged members of the community and alumni , and likely even more competent in their work. Institutions of higher education can promote both community service and philanthropy that are outside the direct curriculum—being sure to stimulate civic engagement through advocacy, activism, informed decision-making and more.

Civic engagement vs. Technology

With the ever-present and increasing variety and quantity of technological distractions that face today's "Net.Generation" students, new barriers exist for students to engage civically. Social media and a host of mobile electronic devices synchronize and synthesize multiple facets of students' "real" lives. Yet simultaneously, these tools also connect us to significantly more resources and people than students otherwise would have had access to. Since these connections are global in nature, students have the ability to be more informed, develop a network of peers that can help them be more engaged, and make a difference. On Election Day 2010, Facebook posted a live, updated tally of how many Facebook users indicated they had voted, presumably being responsible for prompting others to remember to vote.

Conclusion

No matter how savvy administrators are with emergent technology; college students will always be more connected and savvier. It is administrators' responsibility to help students understand how technology can enhance one's efforts toward being a civically engaged member of society. Administrators need to realize that civically engaged students are better than the alternative, and students become more civically engaged citizens after graduation. If students can be helped to find their passion, whatever that passion may be, each student may be able to make a difference in the world. In the words of famed anthropologist Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small, highly committed group of thoughtful, concerned individuals can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

BIO:

SCOTT SILVERMAN is the Coordinator of Orientation Programs in the office of Student Life at the University of California, Riverside—his alma mater. His professional career began as a peer mentor and teaching assistant for environmental science and first-year seminar courses at UC Riverside, where he earned a BS and MS in Environmental Science. Throughout his tenure as a student, he was a heavily involved student leader and activist, having roles in multiple student organizations, student government, peer mentoring, and community activities, including non-profit work. While completing his MS, he worked as a graduate assistant supporting student organizations. He also ran a campus-based community non-profit that provided support services and educational programming to college students at UC Riverside. He then transitioned into his current position.

In 2007, Scott earned an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Southern California. His doctoral research about Facebook and other online social networks, was chosen for the Outstanding Research Award by the National Orientation Directors Association (NODA) in 2008. Scott continues to be involved in NODA, serving on planning committees, on the Board of Directors and as an Associate Editor of the Journal of College Orientation and Transition.

Website link: http://www.facebook.com/DrScottSilverman