Graduating to a commitment of service

by Phyllis Walker

This column presents opinions and ideas on issues relevant to higher education. We hope “Viewpoints” inspires discussion among the RIT community. To suggest an idea for the column, e-mail newsevents@rit.edu.

As our graduates prepare to embark on the next stage of their lives in Rochester and beyond, community service plays an important role. This campus has Greek organizations and student clubs that survive at the institute and thrive through community service. We are confident that students involved in the Community Service Center leave this campus with an appetite for civic engagement.

For example, the second annual AltВ•Roc, the Community Service Center’s alternative approach to Spring Break, had twice as many students participating this year than the one before. AltВ•Roc provided these civic-minded students the opportunity to more effectively connect with their community outside the classroom and participate in meaningful service projects alongside their peers. This intensive week of hands-on service projects in diverse neighborhoods throughout Rochester consisted of daily service projects for non-profit organizations, neighborhood associations, citizen groups and government agencies.

Some of the graduates also joined together to help our own. With 20 RIT students affected by Hurricane Katrina, the Rochester Leadership Institute and Community Service Center at RIT worked diligently to help students and families who were relocated to Rochester. The entire campus responded through several of the Community Service Center’s Katrina Relief events. Students donated toiletries over Brick City Weekend, raised more than $200 through donation cans placed at registers in dining halls on campus and raised $150 through water sales at concerts throughout September.

Greeks and clubs also stepped up to the plate to raise money in their own special way. The Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity had a “tent out” at the Eastman Kodak Quad that lasted one week in early September, raising over $2,000 for relocated students.

The support did not end there. While the rest of the county thought about dozing off in front of the TV while watching football after a hearty Thanksgiving meal, RIT students, faculty and staff made sure that the relocated victims of Katrina had a fulfilling Thanksgiving feast.

Members of Student Government, Off-Campus Apartment Student Association, the Center for Campus Life and the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority donated Thanksgiving baskets to nine families in Rochester. These baskets came complete with a turkey dinner, place settings and a Wegmans gift card. This also marks the eighth consecutive year that RIT’s Team Tigers was named the top fundraising team in the education category by the American Heart Association. Over 100 students walked in the annual Heart Walk on April 29 in downtown Rochester. Members of RIT Team Tigers have raised over $30,000 in the past seven years.

Though it is bittersweet to say goodbye to graduates, many of them have raised the bar on community service at RIT. They have set an example of civic engagement that is already rubbing off on their peers, underclassmen, faculty and staff. We have no doubt that the spirit of volunteerism will stay with them for years to come, and that they will actively enrich their new environments through community service.

Phyllis Walker is coordinator of the RIT Leadership Institute and Community Service Center.