2008 Woodie Awards
Who exactly is it we say (or think) we are serving?
Andrew Zaleski
Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: Opinion
The other day I was conducting an interview for a news story I'm required to write as part of my journalism course. I figured it would be fairly straightforward: prepare some questions, meet up with the interviewee, ask prepared questions and write down the answers.
It's remarkable the insight a good conversation can bring.
My partner in the class and I chose community service as the news beat that we would be required to cover. We reached this consensus figuring it would be a particularly great beat to work with because of where we go to school.
We are Loyola College in Maryland, a Jesuit institution composed of men and women for others; it was our assumption that digging up news stories relating to community service events on the campus and Loyola-sponsored events in the city would not be a difficult task.
And indeed, the task was not difficult at all. It was quick and easy. I found myself a few days later sitting across from a CCSJ (Center for Community Service and Justice) service coordinator, discussing his role as a service coordinator and the work he does and helps to foster on Loyola's campus.
The conversation took an interesting turn (not that the conversation itself failed to be interesting, because it was both enlightening and informative) when we began discussing the reasons why I had chosen to cover community service as my beat. A myriad of reasons began assembling in my mind.
What I deemed to be the most prominent reason -- and also the most significant one -- was the fact that community service really seemed to be something Loyola prided itself on.
I visited a slew of colleges before finally coming to Loyola as a prospective student in my senior year of high school, and no other schools pushed community service as a main facet of their respective academic agendas.
In fact, I'm fairly certain all the schools I visited, with the exception of Loyola, didn't even mention community service initiatives at all.
It's remarkable the insight a good conversation can bring.
My partner in the class and I chose community service as the news beat that we would be required to cover. We reached this consensus figuring it would be a particularly great beat to work with because of where we go to school.
We are Loyola College in Maryland, a Jesuit institution composed of men and women for others; it was our assumption that digging up news stories relating to community service events on the campus and Loyola-sponsored events in the city would not be a difficult task.
And indeed, the task was not difficult at all. It was quick and easy. I found myself a few days later sitting across from a CCSJ (Center for Community Service and Justice) service coordinator, discussing his role as a service coordinator and the work he does and helps to foster on Loyola's campus.
The conversation took an interesting turn (not that the conversation itself failed to be interesting, because it was both enlightening and informative) when we began discussing the reasons why I had chosen to cover community service as my beat. A myriad of reasons began assembling in my mind.
What I deemed to be the most prominent reason -- and also the most significant one -- was the fact that community service really seemed to be something Loyola prided itself on.
I visited a slew of colleges before finally coming to Loyola as a prospective student in my senior year of high school, and no other schools pushed community service as a main facet of their respective academic agendas.
In fact, I'm fairly certain all the schools I visited, with the exception of Loyola, didn't even mention community service initiatives at all.
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