Those seeking a bachelor's degree in the state's public and private colleges and universities would be required to spend 20 hours a semester tutoring or mentoring students in public elementary, middle or high schools if legislation introduced by Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand becomes law.
Rand's legislation seeks to honor two students recently killed by gunfire in the Triangle: UNC-Chapel Hill Student Body President Eve Carson and Duke University graduate student Abhijit Mahato. The community service program would be named after them, Dan Kane reports.
Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat, said the legislation would serve a twofold purpose: to instill a sense of community and responsibility in college students and to provide help to struggling public school students.
"In our public schools, we always say if we could get the family involved how much better everything would be," Rand said. "Well, some of our children in public schools don't have families. Sometimes the family doesn't want to be involved. And so programs involving these college students in the schools would be a real boost."
More after the jump.
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The legislation would require colleges to begin the program quickly. By Jan. 1, 2012, all bachelor's degree recipients would have to have completed the community service requirement.
The state's private colleges and universities would have to impose the same requirement if they wanted to continue participating in two financial aid programs that the state provides to North Carolinians attending those schools.
One is a grant given to any North Carolinian who attends an in-state private college or university; the other is a need-based scholarship fund. Both funds bring millions of dollars to the private colleges.
Rand said he has talked to UNC and Duke University officials about the legislation but did not say whether they support it.
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Re: Bill would require student tutoring
I am a student at Western Carolina University, which is a part of the UNC system. I'm sorry--last time I checked, I hadn't broken any laws or been found guilty of any crimes. So, Mr. Rand, why should I be demoted to the level of a convicted criminal and be ordered to do community service? I will gladly tack that on to my sixteen course hours and student government involvement as well as my three--yes, three--part-time jobs, not to mention all of the community service I already do with my fraternity and leadership programs. It won't affect you or any of the other people who vote yes for it; just something else you can add to your great voting records. Also, I would like to see you approach a professor who has been tenured the last thirty years and tell them that they need to suddenly start incorporating community service into their curriculums. ...nothing but another self-serving, haughty, and completely unreasonable initiative that will probably pass because it looks good on record and helps people like Senator Rand sleep with the clear conscience that the world is a better place because of their selfless, civic-minded actions.