Community service leaders want more commitment from students

A large number of Tufts students do not seem to have a problem with commitment _ at least when it comes to community service. A number of university groups offer accessible ways for Tufts students to get involved with their local and global communities but some organization leaders say there is room for improvement, especially since many students are not involved on a continuous level.

With opportunities for students ranging from international volunteerism to activities in Medford or Somerville, there is an increasing emphasis on volunteering and actively giving back to the community.

"Everyone at Tufts has the ability to use their gifts to benefit others," Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) President Kate Elder said.

Tufts is especially strong in international volunteerism. The University puts a heavy emphasis on global intervention and international relations, so naturally, students are very involved with community service overseas. This year, for example, several Tufts students have enrolled in a class about Nicaragua. Over winter break, students will travel to the country to promote social and political reform.

Last year, Tufts sent 22 volunteers overseas with the Peace Corps, placing Tufts in the top two for Peace Corps volunteers, according to The Washington Monthly's survey of schools with less than 5,000 undergraduates.

But with all of Tufts' strengths in volunteerism, there are still some weaknesses.

The same ranking that put the University in the top two for Peace Corps volunteers did not even rank Tufts in the federal work-study fund category.

The percentage of federal work-study funds allotted to community service projects at the University is less than 20 percent _ meaning that a vast majority of work-study jobs are not designated as community service jobs.

On a more local scale, over 35 different programs for student volunteer work are available through the LCS.

The diverse range of community service activities that LCS offers caters to people with many interests and talents. There are five categories of volunteerism in LCS: Hunger and Homelessness, Youth Mentoring, Literacy and Education, Health, and Special Interests.

But a lack of consistency in volunteering among students is a serious weakness, Elder said. Many students volunteer only once in a great while and fail to make a weekly commitment to an activity. While LCS appreciates all of the help that it receives from students, Elder encouraged students to make a more consistent commitment. "Even if you spent one hour a week with a child," she said, "the outcome of that commitment will be incomparably stronger than spending one day a year with a kid."

English as a Second Language at Tufts (ESL@Tufts) is the newest LCS activity. Several students dedicate a few hours on Saturdays to helping members of the Tufts janitorial staff improve their English.

The success of the ESL@Tufts program is due to the "very visible impact right here on our own campus and that students feel committed to helping empower many of the people they see in their dorms on a daily basis," Elder said.

Another new, LCS sponsored activity is the Jumboathon. During this 12 hour dance-a-thon, co-sponsered by Tufts Hillel, students will dance to raise money for a Somerville charity.

Hillel offers the Tufts community a variety projects for service, as well. By far the most successful and widely known projects is Read by the River, an annual event promoting literacy in both children and adults. Hillel's Social Action Committee also encourages students to get involved with the community _ running projects centered on homelessness, poverty, the elderly, and children.

The newest of Tufts community service organizations is the three-year-old Omidyar Scholars Program which promotes leadership qualities and social responsibility in participants. The program _ consisting of 47 financially endowed students _ encourages the creation of many service projects and the involvement of fellow students and faculty. Run by the University College of Citizenship and Public Service, the program is endowed with approximately $450,000.

While scholars themselves are involved in community service, the program primarily strives "to get the Tufts campus involved in the programs," sophomore Omidyar Scholar Zachariah Baker said.

All of the student-run activities of the Omidyar Program are open to student volunteers. The program "was instituted so that the idea of being an active community member will be spread throughout the entire Tufts community _ faculty, staff, students, alumni, everyone," junior Omidyar scholar Christina Zahara said. They should "embrace this idea and embody it when they leave Tufts," she said.

There is a wide range of other Omidyar Scholar Program projects getting underway including plans for The Giving Camp, a campus summer program for people with developmental disabilities and Shape Up Somerville, a community project in the works which looks into preventing childhood obesity.