College students are stressed out, burnt out and run down. Long have they maintained demanding schedules filled with classes, jobs, meetings, extra-curricular activities and other commitments. They've finally had enough.
Unlike their parents, today's students tend to avoid such traditional college activities as large service clubs, leadership and honor organizations, the greek system and athletic events. Their activities relate to the individual: making money, building resumes and joining boutique clubs and organizations that cater to their interests. Some experts say the current college student reflects a new form of social engagement. Other experts have accused those students of what is called civic disengagement and warn it could erode the sense of community that is important to a democratic society.
VOLUNTEERING
TAKES A BACK SEAT
A public opinion poll conducted by the Panetta Institute for Public Policy in Washington D.C. found that volunteering time to engage in community or public service ranks at the bottom of students' priorities in terms of personal goals -- lower than the goals of enjoying oneself, having a close-knit family life and making money.
The 2004 survey of 800 college students across the United States found that 87 percent of the students feel they can make a difference in the world through volunteering. Still, almost half said they have not volunteered at all in their communities, compared to 2001 when more than two thirds of students had volunteered in their local communities.
Disengagement at the college level is a national social phenomenon. Because of time constraints, money and other factors, students are less likely to donate their time and get involved simply for the sake of participating, George Kuh, director of the National Survey of Student Engagement, said. The NSSE is an annual study that examines college students' involvement in campus and community activities.
"With college students, there is a lot more spontaneity right now," Kuh said. "They are developing a very individualistic mentality, which means they are less involved in formal organizations."
'NO MORE BLACK
AND WHITE'
Alpha Lambda Delta, an honor fraternity for students with high academic achievement at Ball State, initiates almost 250 students each year but has problems keeping members engaged.
"Our membership is pretty much nonexistent," Kori Knoll, president of Alpha Lambda Delta, said. "We have tried to put on some fun activities, and absolutely no one comes."
Last month, the fraternity held a pizza party and service activity that included making Easter cards for nursing home residents. Six people turned out for the event, Knoll said.
Formal organizations like Alpha Lambda Delta seem to be nothing more than resume-builders anymore and are being replaced by specialized groups and clubs that fit students' real interests, Kuh said.
"Students are no longer interested in forming or belonging to groups with complex organizational structures, but they are looking for other opportunities that relate to issues they are passionate about," J.R. Jamison, program adviser for Ball State's leadership and service learning program, said. "We need to start looking at everything as being gray. There is no more black and white."
Kuh worries the disengagement could have negative long-term effects.
"There is something larger going on, and there will be a price to pay," he said. "If civic disengagement among this college generation continues, students will begin to lose a sense of loyalty and community with their institutions."
The challenges that face society when young people are disengaged are two-fold, Melinda Messineo, professor of sociology, said.
"Individuals fail to develop the cultural knowledge and networks that give people supportive social networks, purpose and support through their lives," she said. "Second, democracy as a system requires people to be engaged and care about what's going on. If people don't participate, there is no system."
The NSSE found students with higher levels of civic engagement were more knowledgeable about voting in local, state and national elections and interested in the welfare of their communities. About 30 percent of students said they have expressed an opinion about politics or community at a public forum, and 65 percent said they stay informed about political and community issues through news media.
If students choose only to be involved in class and part-time jobs, they will become narrow-minded in their own experiences, Messineo said. Their lack of knowledge about their communities and the arts will be evident.
Students are showing less interest in volunteering and more interest in making money during college. The rising cost of tuition is making it more difficult for students to give their time for free.
A survey on student volunteerism done by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities reported that almost 50 percent of first-year college students worked at least part-time in 2004 to help pay for their education, limiting their opportunities for involvement.
Academic demands also make finding time to volunteer more difficult, Lucinda Woodward, Ball State professor of sociology, said.
"There has been a noted change in the attitudes of college students over the past decade," Woodward said. "Additionally, the level of course work and curriculum demands has increased over the years so that it has become increasingly difficult to graduate in the allotted four years. There is simply less time to devote to volunteerism and community involvement."
Students might be losing a sense of loyalty to large institutions, but they are choosing to form smaller communities with which they strongly identify.
'SAVVY CONSUMERS'
Some experts suggest students might not be disengaged but engaged in other ways.
Daniel Stallings, director of Leadership and Service Learning at Ball State, said college students have many passions and are making commitments to causes about which they feel strongly. They are making choices to get involved with activities that will relate to their futures, careers and specific interests, he said.
Career-oriented activities that will give students a competitive advantage after graduation are becoming increasingly important to students entering competitive career fields.
"Life was not as complicated in generations past," Stallings said. "Students today are much more savvy consumers. They are being much more selective in how they spend their time and the commitments they make."
College students need to be willing to make a commitment to engagement of some kind to make sure democracy doesn't suffer, Messineo said. Through commitment to involvement in general, they will make a commitment to individual growth, which will lead to stronger communities, she said.
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