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St. Cloud State University
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Project encourages involvement
By Regina Eckes
Published:
Thursday, October 2, 2003
SCSU has implemented another program to encourage student involvement in the community. Last spring, the university chose to become part of The American Democracy Program.
The American Democracy Program is a project of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), The New York Times and other AASCU members. Together they share a common belief that civic engagement is a necessary part of American democracy and plays a vital role in preserving the ideas of democracy that the U.S. was founded upon.
The American Democracy Program requires the president and chief officers of participating schools to be involved and supportive of the program. Provost for SCSU, Michael Spitzer, is a key supporter of the program at the university.
"My involvement is to help promote the activities of this project across campus," Spitzer said.
Spitzer has noticed that over the years, Americans have become less and less involved in their communities. Students are taught that higher education is a private good that leads individuals to better jobs and more money. The cultural belief that higher education also focuses on the good of the community has been lost over time. The program's goal is to instill that belief back into students, a belief that will come about through a change in coursework and activities.
"The project is to encourage students through their coursework and extracurricular activities to focus on being engaged in the community as a way of connecting what they learn in the classroom to their lives and to the real world," Spitzer said. "It will get them to understand the value of being involved in community life."
After students complete school, the program hopes they will be able to go back to their home communities and become active members there as well.
This year meetings with faculty and staff will be held to discuss The American Democracy Program and to establish how the program will be affecting their course plans. It will help teachers design projects for their students. Civic activities will vary depending on the department and specific courses taken. Spitzer was able to give several examples of civic engagements students might be asked to participate in.
For the science department, a course project might involve some kind of quality testing for an organization in the community. Social science projects will mainly deal with helping social service agencies, and students involved in the arts could design posters or types of publicity for various non-profit organizations.
"What this project tries to do is connect that volunteer activity with what students are learning in their courses," Spitzer said. "There is a lot of potential that exists from working with organizations in the community."
Due to the program, students will likely leave their higher education facility with a number of social skills and values that will motivate them to make a difference and promote a higher quality of life in their own communities.
SCSU has already begun to reach out to the community by establishing a volunteer link, Volunteer Connection and joining the AmeriCorps program. The university has high hopes that these service agencies, along with The American Democracy Program, will be successful and valuable for many students who come to SCSU.
"We want to kick it off and make it a part of the life of the campus for the foreseeable future," Spitzer said.
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