Students and faculty who are interested in volunteering for goodcauses this holiday season do not need to look farther than ScrippsCottage on the west side of campus.
Scripps Cottage is the home of the Center for Community-BasedService Learning, which provides information to students onvolunteering opportunities, works with student organizations oncommunity efforts and assists faculty who wish to develop and enhancetheir classes by integrating academic study with community service.
The center was established in summer of 1998 as one of San DiegoState University’s Shared Vision Initiatives. The Associated Studentsallocated $50,000 to the center, paid for the space and renovation ofScripps Cottage, and gave the center free rent for five years.
“Service learning is integrating community service as a learningcomponent in the classroom and attaching it to the coursecurriculum,” said Katie Copeland, a student assistant at the center.”Students can apply the community service to a given subject whileexperiencing community service.”
Bill MacKey, who teaches seminar classes and is a test coordinatorat SDSU, said the center sent him a list of community serviceopportunities of which he had to pick three. He then signed himselfand his class up for the United Cerebral Palsy fundraiser event inOctober at Mission Bay.
“Only three or four students out of 13 went to the fundraiserbecause it wasn’t mandatory,” MacKey said. “I made it optionalbecause I felt uncomfortable forcing someone to do volunteer work.”
Community-based service learning is a form of experimentaleducation in which students engage in activities addressing communityneeds with structured opportunities designed to promote studentlearning and development.
Students can get involved in virtually any area they areinterested in, Copeland said. Volunteering opportunities can rangefrom helping children to senior citizens. There are about 186agencies for students, faculty and staff to get involved.
“I volunteered at a convalescent home because I felt the need tohelp people who are less fortunate than me,” said Lillian Dixon, anEnglish senior. “I found out about helping senior citizens throughthe center’s Web page.”
This summer, SDSU’s president Stephen Weber, along with 50 otheruniversity presidents, signed a compact declaring that universitieshave a responsibility to educate their students about communityservice. The compact urges universities and colleges to stress theneed for students to participate in community service and to embracegood citizenship.
Governor Gray Davis has been pushing to make community service agraduation requirement for state schools. Such legislation isundecided.
“There are already many students who are actively involved withthe center, and these students are in the process of planning serviceactivities for the spring semester,” said Copeland. “We would like tosee a major volunteer movement take place on campus. The students whobecome involved with the (center) can help make that happen.”
For more information on the Center for Community-Based ServiceLearning, call 594-0809.
