By Kiara Catanzaro
Associate Editor
St. Bonaventure University focuses on giving back to the community, which stems from its Franciscan roots. Whether it promotes campus-related volunteering such as The Warming House or Bona Buddies, or volunteering in the Olean and Allegany community, giving back plays an important role for students.
With this emphasis on volunteering, you would think that students would be able to choose what cause they want to give back to for academic requirements. However that is not the case.
All students have to complete Senior Forum, a Clare College course that covers the theme of globalization. Students need 10 volunteer hours to fulfill a community service requirement for the class. However, students are limited to what is allowed for the service requirement.
Some professors don’t allow students to volunteer with the SPCA because they believe it doesn’t relate to the theme of globalization in the course. I understand that it’s up to the professor to determine what is and is not allowed for certain requirements, but I don’t think it’s fair to completely rule out a cause or organization based on their opinion.
The SPCA in our community is in need of help and volunteers. With minimal staff and many dogs and cats who aren’t getting the attention and care they need, students should be allowed to have this count toward service hours.
One of the arguments made regarding the decision is that volunteering with the SPCA doesn’t relate to the theme of globalization in Clare Forum. However, Chris Brown, a Clare Forum professor, said students could make the argument that it does relate. Brown said that it’s easy to connect experiences with the environment and care for creation, which relates back to the theme of the class.
Brown also said that as long as students can connect their service experience with the course, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be able to volunteer with the SPCA. He went on to say it’s a professor’s job to help the student make the connections with service requirements and coursework.
A solution to this problem is to compromise with the number of service hours students can volunteer at the SPCA. For example, if a student needs 10 hours for the class, they should be allowed to volunteer five of those hours to any organization they choose. This way, professors will give leeway to students who are passionate about animals without a student dedicating their full 10-hour requirement to the SPCA.
Another solution is for professors to help students connect their volunteer efforts with the SPCA to academic work in Clare Forum. Students would have more opportunities to work with organizations that they are passionate about. Also, this would help out the SPCA or other local organizations that need volunteers.
Regardless of one’s opinion or academic standards, the need for volunteers should take precedence in determining what should and should not be allowed as a service requirement for a class.
catanzka12@bonaventure.edu
