Background
One of the core values of Grinnell College is its commitment to social responsibility, and indeed the college’s own 2008 Reaccredidation Self-Study stated that, “…in order to produce effective leaders for social justice the college must model the values that it seeks to inculcate in its students.” This commitment is enshrined in Grinnell’s history; as former college President John H. T. Main proclaimed in 1906, “If the end of life is service, as we believe, it is the duty of the college to do more than hold up an ideal of service.” Despite difficult economic circumstances, it is of utmost importance that Grinnell College fully honor this duty to service and social justice by actively supporting students as they seek to develop and actualize social justice projects and service learning experiences.
As reflected by the views of students, faculty, staff, and the official statements and core values of the college and administration, Grinnell is meant to be a place that supports the training of students in the practice and values of social justice, yet for years there has been a lack of institutional support, specifically a lack of funding and staffing, for students who want to pursue projects for social justice and community service. We need to provide resources that not only enable, but also encourage, support and guide, students in their efforts to work for social justice.
The college currently provides the Center for Religion, Spirituality, Social Justice and other college resources with a nominal amount of funding for student social justice projects, but this amount is meager when compared to student demand. There is no full time staff member dedicated exclusively to the support of community service; this position has been continually decreased over the past four years, going from a 20-hr/wk position, to an additional duty for a Residence Life Coordinator, to the present situation where the position is shared by the Director of Service and Social Commitment. Four years ago, there were public conversations about creating a fully funded and staffed Community Service Center, capable of providing both information and funds to students interested in doing community service projects. In contrast, the present lack of support is illustrative of the disconnect between the values the college espouses as an institution and its actual practices; the college capitalizes on student community service and activism to recruit prospective students and garner national recognition while hypocritically not providing the students with the support and resources fully engage in those areas.
Currently, student groups working in the field of community service do not receive sufficient funds from the CRSSJ, and are forced to raise funds for themselves or appeal to SGA in order to fund their work. Given that a large part of SGA’s operating budget comes from student activity fees, students are effectively financing their own community service and social justice projects. This limits the number of students who can participate in social justice work, yet activism and experiential social justice are essential for the kind of “creative and critical” education the college aims to provide. For the college to truly “produce effective leaders for social justice,” it must take concrete steps to support its professed values.
In order to provide this support, the college administrators must meet the following requirements.
OUR DEMANDS
We demand a fully funded and fully staffed Community Service Center that is able to provide enough money, resources and training to enable all students, regardless of socioeconomic background, to participate in experiential community service and social justice activism. A plan for the expansion of the CSC should be included in the budget to be adopted at the meeting of the Board of Trustees the weekend of April 23rd, 2009.
We demand more resources in the Career Development Office that specifically encourage and fund internships and experiences in the field of social justice or social entrepreneurship. A plan for increasing such resources should be announced by of these resources should be announced by May 1st, 2009.
The No Limits Project 