UCCPS defends its role on campus

At a school where community building and public service is emphasized by administrators and faculty, relatively few Tufts students appear to know much about the public service opportunities available through the University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS).

UCCPS was founded in 2000 by President Emeritus John DiBiaggio and Tufts alumni Pierre and Pam Omidyar (LA '89 and LA '90 respectively), who donated $10 million for the program's inception. The program aims to promote leadership and active citizenship through public service. UCCPS funds the Omidyar scholars, students who receive grants for organizing and developing community service programs, which encourage Tufts students, faculty and administration to volunteer.

Although the program has existed for three years, many students on campus have expressed a lack of understanding of what purpose UCCPS serves, and why it was created.

In an unscientific poll, the Daily asked 100 students whether they knew what UCCPS was and what the Omidyar scholars do on campus. More than three quarters of students (76) said they had never heard of the organization, 15 students said they had heard of it or had a vague understanding of what its purpose was, and nine students said they had a firm grasp of the program and could explain its purpose.

Many students felt they had little knowledge of, or interaction with, UCCPS. "I don't know what the classes are about," senior Megan Schwartz said. "I don't know who [the Omidyar scholars] are. I feel like I only read about them in the paper."

Some UCCPS representatives agreed that the program could stand to improve its publicity to those who are not Omidyar participants. "I suppose we may spend too much time organizing [events and programs] as opposed to publicizing them, and we ought to be doing better on the latter," UCCPS Dean Robert Hollister said.

Omidyar scholar Mitchell Lunn, a junior, disagreed that UCCPS doesn't have enough visibility, but said, "I can easily see where that opinion comes from."

UCCPS Director Molly Mead responded by saying that the program's current goal is to provide support and funding to many other organizations on campus, and that UCCPS does not aim to receive direct recognition for all the work it does. "In many ways it is our goal to work behind the scene. We don't necessarily want everyone to know who we are and what we do," she said.

For example, Mead said, UCCPS works extensively with the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) to support leadership of the program, as well as fund retreats and reflection sessions. UCCPS is comfortable not receiving credit for the assistance it provides to LCS. "We're pleased to have LCS take the credit for what we're doing," Mead said.

Emblazoning a UCCPS banner onto every public service project could even have a negative effect on the program's attempts to give support by stealing the limelight from those deserving of the credit, Hollister said. "I think it's essential that we continue to operate with respect for those activities that other people invented and are responsible for," he said.

But this approach may prevent many students from knowing that UCCPS even exists. Senior Jeff Malbasa said that the only reason he knows about what purpose the Omidyar scholars serve is because his friends are involved in the program. "I know what they do just because I know [Omidyar scholars]. But I wouldn't know if I were just a regular student," he said.

Senior and Omidyar scholar Brad Crotty suggested UCCPS's lack of recognition might be the cause of an apathetic student body. "The only reason that many people don't know much about it is that they haven't taken the initiative to look into it," he said.

But Mead said that simply by providing Tufts students with opportunities to participate in community service, UCCPS is promoting leadership and service throughout the campus.

"We're on a journey where more and more students are learning about who we are and what we're doing," Mead said. "I'm more interested in what we do and what we help make happen than our name," she said.