Recently, two students wrote opinion pieces in the “Quick Take” section criticizing the need for students to pay to participate in the Freshman Service Experience. We are writing to respond to these claims and to set the record straight about the mission and purpose of FSE as a whole.
Yes, it is true that the program comes with a $115 fee. But, as the “Quick Take” editorials accurately surmise, there are significant costs associated with a program of this size and magnitude. However, those costs are all put toward things to meet the goals of the program, not to “throw a party” for students.
There are some misconceptions about the evening programs that occur after the first day of service that we would like to debunk. While the programs are intended to be fun and entertaining, their primary purpose is to teach students about the history, culture and issues of D.C., a goal that permeates the entirety of FSE. This year, we hosted a panel discussion with the National Coalition for the Homeless, a spoken word poetry performance, a step team and go-go band, a D.C.-based storytelling troupe and a series of student-made films that document experiences and issues in the nation’s capitol.
We understand that the costs of attending university are already high, and as a result, the Center for Community Engagement and Service (CCES) has always done everything it can to work with students with financial difficulties. No one has ever been denied the opportunity to participate if they couldn’t pay. The Center is also willing to provide more details on the exact financial breakdown of FSE to anyone who is interested. However, we believe the potential rewards of FSE, both short and long term, are worth it.
We would also like to address the two writers’ criticisms of the program’s philosophy, for we believe it is been grossly misinterpreted. One writer perceives FSE as a “program designed more to fulfill a psychological urge to help, rather than actually help,” which is simply not true.
First of all, FSE volunteers can, and have, make a big difference to community organizations, hence the reason many of them continue to ask for more students every year. Sarah Morse, site coordinator at Montgomery County Park Services, was quoted in an article that “it would take us weeks to get done what [the FSE students] can do in an afternoon.”
Second, FSE is, in fact, a learning experience we want students to feel proud to have participated in. Just to be clear, we are vehemently against the “savior complex” and never want to give students the idea that they are doing community service to make themselves feel good about assisting the poor helpless people who can’t do anything on their own. This is not what FSE is about, nor is about saving lives or solving world issues in two days, as one of the writers wishes he had done.
Instead, FSE is supposed to be the “spark” (to go along with this year’s theme, “Keeping the Flame of Service Alive”) that gets students passionate and involved in their communities for the long-term. Had everyone simply written checks to local charities, there would be no learning, connection and, frankly, no point. That’s why the office is now called the Center for Community ENGAGEMENT and Service.
FSE is meant to get new students active in D.C., and after 23 years of evidence, we can confidently say that the program has succeeded in doing so. From growing numbers of participants in CCES’ other programs (D.C. Reads, Alternative Breaks, One-Day Service Events, Community-Based Service Learning, etc.) to testimonials about accomplishments of FSE alumni to the rising number of students who volunteer to be FSE leaders (105 this year), it is clear that AU students have taken the program’s values to heart and keep the flame of service alive long after their two FSE days are over.
The 2012 FSE Coordinators
Thomas Cheng SPA/SOC senior
Alex Karmazin SPA/CAS junior
Mary May Kozlik Kogod junior
Diana Williams CAS sophomore
Cindy Zavala SOC junior
edpage@theeagleonline.com
