jtx>> m i U w CHAPTER /: A CARING COMMUNITY Fifth, a college

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CHAPTER / :
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A CARING COMMUNITY
Fifth, a college or university is a caring community, a
place where the well-being of each member is sensitively
supported and where service to others is encouraged.
While colleges should be purposeful,
disciplined—as
and just, and
well as froo -and o p e n — t h e unique characteristic
that make these objectives work, the glue that holds it all
together, is the way people relate to one another.
A»d-4as
impossible as the goal may seem to be, a modern college or
university should be a place where every individual feels
^t/eve^
C L C h
Cs/7f/*tni?\ O fiurnrrJL.
affirmed.
Caring is th/b Key.
y
At first blush, the term "caring" seems soft, almost
sentimental.
And yet, as human beings we have an absolute need
for social bonding, from the first to the last moments of our
lives.
Professor Mary Clark at San Diego State University puts
the matter this way:
"Social bonds," she writes, "are not
temporary contracts entered into simply for the convenience of an
individual, but are absolute requirements for human existence.
Social embeddedness," Clark concludes, "is the essence of our
nature."
Today's students cherish their independence.
pieae—Hrat:'~'iF~~77Tgm-papenfei-g-has been -Ahrrt-tsFpd.
But
undergraduates, like the rest of us, still need to feel that they
belong.
One student captured this amhiM-Le»ee when she said, "We
don't want the university to be involved in our lives, but we
would like someone to be concerned occasionally about our
lives."'QJ^ij
When we surveyed undergraduates several years ago, we were
troubled to learn that about 50 percent "feel like a number in a
book," about 40 percent do not feel a sense of community on
campus, and about two-thirds say they have no professor
"interested in their personal lives."
A TABtE—PftOM'tTNDE'RGRADUATE
"sUliVEV COULD BE PLACED "HERE
~Ju-st-~are~~bh^y- have alway5 -4ana^_^.tud&B-ts make friends and
ffTand many agrue that it'sponly through small groups
A 1
rrf fty
that bonding can occur. -ft professor a_t_ a -l-argg/WPR^r n
form
uEuwarsity told us that, "Loyalty to the big institution develops
only after the 'little loyalties' have been established."
And
student at a liberal arts college made a similar observation:
"You can't have a community of the whole without the smaller
groups."
One of the most familiar, yet troubling, examples of "-trtHH
tiesr" are fraternities and sororities. ^The head of the""
Panhellenic Council at a small university in the Northeast put it
this way:
"Greeks form a sense of community for themselves.
Freshmen who rush want a place to belong.
because I had no girlfriends.
1984).
The
I joined a soparity
I wanted some friends" taotfi^, ^ —
Thirs- tm-iversity-receTvEIy""repQ-rbed-t- h a f—f-ratornirty-amd
soror xty- members expressed signifircaftt-Ly—great£r-happincss with
fa*
A W ' ^
^
student l i f e a ruTThat "GT^Bj^gliMiru-at t hat^institution
rer"-graduates.
C — - s
contribute
y~7 corm£ cFton-a,Jiave b^e-n
en we asked presidents in our survey about Greek
life, more thajv4ialf of these at large universities considered it
/ ^
frAjASL
y
a p r o b l e m . ^ A t one liberal arts college that is 30 percent Greek,
>
/
the faculty, on several occasions, recommended disaffiliation to
the Board of Trustees, citing the use and sale of drugs and
alcohol abuse as cause.
Even the President of the National
M
Interfraternity Conference, a confederation of fifty-nine
fraternities, spoke of the crisis:
"Chapters that have gone
undisciplined for years now resent our discussion of basic
standards and expectations.
dialogues about
They cannot begin to relate to our
'values and ethics' of fraternity membership"
(Loring, 1988).
Table
Percentage of Presidents Who Say
Fraternities and Sororities Are a
"Moderate" to "Major" Problem on Their Campus
All
Institutions
Greek life
problem
Source:
Research &
DoctorateGranting
54'
Comprehensive
Liberal
Arts
34^
2b\
Two
Year
3%
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
and the American Council on Education, National Survey
of College and University Presidents, 1989.
/
~
Recently, the Board of Directors of the American Councl
Education adopted guidelines for Greek Organizations On The
Campus which stated:
"As colleges and universities intensify
their efforts to make their campuses hospitable to all groups,
Greek organizations must take an active role in ensuring that
their values
ues and behaviors contribute to a positive campus
r
.ife." ffte conclude that unless Greek organizations sustain an
/,
—
.
:——
educationally purposeful, just, open, disciplined, and caring
community, they have no place in higher education.
The modern campus wii^-tee intellectually and socially
diminished if students separate themselves from one another, -endearing institution cannot permit arrangements
*st -jUL. //xdf^'dLbJU flJL+<A far- ftfytCji'l^ Crrr^
on rnmpu-s that e'ven—inairectly perpetuate separation and
. p ^ j u d i ce. (While fraternities and sororities may fill a vacuum,
offering a sense of belonging and shared purpose, such groups,
g
all too often, ar-e.,~d4viEiye-> undermining-rather than a f f i r m * ^ the
principles proposed in this report
„
—
rf ci}**
To counter social fragmentation a wide range of act
t'iviti es
are needed to help students feel that they b e l o n g ^ It is not an
exaggeration to say that students who get involved stay
enrolled.
Alexander Astin reports that participating in almost
any type of extracurricular activity, in honors programs, or-in
undergraduate research projects are factors,significantly
af f ecti^ag students' persistence^ in col
l
e
g
e
.
^
H We
mC found, -howoverT" on many campuses~"*fc>hat 'student
participation in campus events is poor.
We were surprised to
liscover that over three-quarters of college presidents rated
this "lack of student involvement as one of the most se
campus life problems they confront.
colleges are especially disturbed.
Presidents at two
Table
Percentage of Presidents Who Rate
Nonparticipation by Students in Events a
"Moderate" to "Major" Problem on Their Campus
All
Institutions
Few students
participate in
campus events
Source:
Comprehensive
Liberal
Arts
Two
Year
52%
78*
70'
825
76%
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
and the American Council on Education, National Survey
of College and University Presidents, 1989.
,
~
for
Research &
DoctorateGranting
^
7/ *
- r -
V 7
^
^
J
^
Building a
community
uniLy takes
LctKes on
un sjjeuidi
special biyiiiLitdutt;
significance
A
Q/tUs > p^tt***
nontraditional/students
Older part-time students now come
to- a mpu g.J_n_ 1 axtfe -numbigrg
l a . TBey ' r-e
arrcf productive, "e ven
as^thoy juggle work and. rone^youag
r—/)
JL—. ,
9/tC^i
%% AjvQ.IH/' J^ScTttT^JJ***
-fe^/U
iLgiiy Whayoldar^tudents in his G-"
sal-d
uruiexg-raduQfce, in detsd
IKw
wit|L-A-ja-iKture of envy and f-euotrafeion
cirnre^-) note):
F a c u l t y " i r T C ^ i i i f e -elder• s t udento-4irbe-e3raiss
p_rechisely because^gfiey are ^reliable and directed":
"^^^part-tiiners l , ^re, as one'administrator put it,
ihe edjge
of campus life." Not long ago, older women wer
f rh'>>ln\vl\
led Jrretreadsl,£/tfy younger peersf. The irony—4-3—trfoa£ w-fcvil-e
colleges often afH-tv;piy rprnrit nIHpr-prxr^
founa~tTnod~-wa^s to serve them. ^ At an urban university in our
study, offices close at 5:00 P.M. and at a rural community
college, where almost all students commute, the counseling center
is-open in the evening, but the cafeteria, the bookstore, and the
business offices
not.
One student spoke of this lack of
caring when she said, H h e y seem to be worried only about my
money."
nJ
^
QjJ^
+ O L
*
kLf
^fctO^,
'
(J
President^, we fobnd, are concerned about their inability to
c
/^erve/cOTfuTTTrteT students, many of whom are older and part-time.
v
—tn
rated a problem by about 60 percent of presidents at all
four-year institutions.
Even at community colleges-^-where
virtually all students commute-^-about one-third of the preside
defined service to commuters as a problem.
Table
Percentage of Presidents Who Say
Service to Commuter Students Is a
Problem on Their Campus
All
Institutions
Inadequate
services for
commuter students
Source:
45%
Research &
DoctorateGranting
Comprehensive
Liberal
Arts
Two
Year
58%
56%
60%
32-
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
and the American Council on Education, National Survey
of College and University Presidents, 1989.
Student affairs officers are worried, too.
Thirty-six
percent of those we surveyed said that "inadequate facilities for
commuter students" was a greater problem today than di—was five
years ago (note).
And 68 percent rated "expanded services for
nontraditional students" as very important for improving campus
BiU-~tliBX«-&~^aQd_aaws-r--too. Matvy---eeii-eges—a-t.e extending» .
__ - "
^TVoffice hours, offering counseling services, and providi-rrg day-_
^ fnrfbi*- wh /W. (MiL,
_
—.
—
<are centers. At California State University, Dominiquez Hills
an administrator, describes their program this wayr >^We have
-tfc JJns^ifitj
lot of support systems to ensure graduation, such as a free
learning center with computers for everything from math and
physics to English. (K)ur campus is open from 8 in the morning to
and- we also have advisement from the Educational
Opportunity office on Saturdays.
We -are designed to help the
student^
."
Piedmont Virginia Community Colle'ge keeps ffSEvJce offices
open until 7:00 P.M.
Administrators also serve on rotation so
that one is available until 9:00 P.M
values to live by.
These were the instructors who, as one
student put it, "truly cared."
A young woman student, at Montgomery County Community
College in Pennsylvania, told a member of our staff:
came, I was told you will love MCCC.
terrific.
"Before I
The professors are
They spend a lot of time with you.
That is so true.
ypu will never find such a family environment as you will find
here. The faculty have been very helpful.
turned away when I went for advice."
I have never been
,
^ jit, ^
m p n ^ e s f ^ i s - i t e d w e found student affairs staff, 'j^Jf^j
providing -eirrotioiidi support, especially
students on the
IjLxJy
These professionals are community builders; wgo often
/
put a human face on the institution.
And many of the programs
they c r e a t e — i n student unions, residence halls, and counseling
centers—ffiTTrmg
fuT caring outside the classroom.
We
urge that such services be expanded and well supported by the
institution.
^ i k W
Finally, in a caring community, students should make a
connection between what they learn and how they live.
Specifically, we urge that every student complete a community
service project—involving volunteer work in the community or at
the c o l l e g e — a s an integral part of his or her undergraduate
experience.
The goal is to help students see that they are not
only autonomous individuals but also members of a larger
community to which they are accountable.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
declared that, "Everyone can be great because everyone can
serve."
And, we believe the young people of this nation are
ready to be inspired by a larger vision.
in^Vnfi
f/jMr
^
A' search Tor-cOTrnrrarrity is inadequate without a—commitmeat- to
car>ftg-i
A college or university is, after all, a human
enterprise and it is more than mere sentiment to suggest that
it's quality depends upon the heads and the hearts of the
individuals in it.
The importance of the heart is illustrated by
the observation of a Dean of Student Affairs when he told a
Carnegie researcher:
them.
"Alumni always say that someone cared for
We don't walk around saying we want to build a sense of
community, but we do go around saying we want to care for
students"
(note).
Caring at a university means making every individual feel
wanted, including part-time and non-residential students; it
means providing counseling services for students who need help on
whatever level:
academic, social, spiritual, emotional; it means
providing healthy support for the formation of social groups,
while at the same time ensuring than those groups as part of the
university, become disciplined, open, purposeful, just, and
caring; it means providing opportunities for interaction with
faculty and administrators; and it means a chance to engage in
service projects with the larger civic community.
A college, as a caring community, not only prepares
undergraduates for careers, but also enables them to have lives
of dignity and purpose, not only enabling students to gain
knowledge, but helping them channel that knowledge to humane
ends.