Every year, Notre Dame students spend hours volunteering, tutoring or helping out at school-hosted admission events, all to meet the graduation requirements of 80 total service hours. Although many students agree with the statement that giving back to the community is a great way to learn and hold onto important life lessons, others can see it as a large weight on their backs as they are balancing it on top of all of their schoolwork and extracurricular activities.
This all leads back to the same question: Should NDB service hours be mandatory, or be a personal choice? Sophomore, Charley Flynn and senior Avery Jones, both share their opposite perspectives on the schools 80 hour service graduation requirement.
Charley Flynn, views the 80 hours of mandatory service more as a burden, rather than something she wants to do. “I feel like some people don’t have the opportunity to complete the service hours, and I feel like if there were more opportunities within the school, it would be easier to complete.” Flynn says, as she explains how many students don’t have all the time on their hands to go out of their way to complete the service requirements, and how it would be a lot easier to complete if there were more ways to get them done through the school.
When asked the question, “do you think that it is fair for every student to have to complete 80 hours of service throughout their 4 years at NDB?” Flynn states her outlook on the fairness of the situation; “Personally, I don’t believe that it’s fair for every student, because some people don’t have transportation, and it might just be harder for them to participate in things like drives where they don’t have the money to spend.”
The idea that service hours are just another thing people have to do before the year ends supports another big question…are students just logging the hours to get them done, instead of finding specific causes that they actually care about? If the purpose of NDB’s service is to learn lessons, leadership, have fun doing it and find causes that you enjoy working on, then why do some students not see this point, and still see it as something they don’t necessarily want to do?
Flynn explains that she believes that “trying to complete a certain amount of hours within a certain amount of time takes away the real meaning of why we’re doing it, and it feels harder to complete.” She makes clear that when being forced into something, it takes the joy out of the action and also takes away the true meaning behind your actions. For example, a student could only be participating in a service event, just to get the hours to log, instead of doing it to contribute to a good cause.
On the other side, a senior and NDB service club member, Avery Jones explains her perspective on why she believes the service requirement is beneficial for all students.
“Honestly, I think it’s really helpful for college applications and honestly, just to shape you as a person, and I think it’s a great thing to have as a Notre Dame student.” Jones explains how since it is a mandatory requirement, it makes college applications that much easier, because it is something you have to do before graduating. Compared to other schools where this requirement doesn’t exist, where they have to choose if they want to do it and find time in their schedule.
Since balancing schoolwork, extracurriculars and service is most students’ biggest issue, Jones explains how she deals with it; “ The hardest part about these service hour requirements is just balancing it all. But I think if you have good time management and prioritize your mental health and get enough sleep and get everything done, it honestly makes everything so much easier.”
Many NDB students would argue with the fact that 80 hours of service is way too much, but some will also say that it isn’t; “Honestly, I don’t think it’s too much, because it’s really only 20 per year, which is way easier to get because Notre Dame gives you a lot of opportunities, and outside hours are pretty easy to find, and they’re also fun to do. So I definitely think that it’s manageable.”
Overall, when looking at both perspectives, you can see why many would think it’s too much, and how others view it as beneficial and something you can learn from.
In the end, finding a way to keep service meaningful while still manageable might be the key to dealing with the idea that the service shouldn’t be mandatory. Instead of removing the requirement, students can find ways to serve through the school, if they find it hard to get opportunities out of school. For example, by participating in shadow hosting, admission events and service drives through the school. All of those ways can help you earn more service hours. This can help service feel less of a chore and more like a way to give back in many ways that matter to each person.
By doing this, students can still reach the 80 hour goal, while also gaining knowledge they can use in the real world and the real purpose behind service.
