College students as catalysts for social change: a case study
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Definition of TermsDefinitions are presented here as a basis to understand the background of the research question. A student movement is a group of students who work to create an organization that has a national impact. Catalyst is a person or thing that precipitates an event or change or something that causes an important event to happen (Dictionary.com, 2008). Change is defined as a “fundamental transformation of some activity or institution from a previous state” (Martel, 1986, p. 22). A change agent is an individual attempting to lead and create the change (Conner, 1992). Founders are those who initially create an organization. Servant leadership encourages leaders to serve others while staying focused on achieving results in line with the organization's values and integrity; this term is the one the founders of SLP most often referenced. Researcher PerspectiveI was first approached by Pete, one of the founders of SLP, about the Make a Difference tour in 2004. SLP was trying to expand the MAD tours to other campuses. I was working in Student Affairs on a different campus and oversaw the service learning and student activities areas on my campus and so was the logical contact. Prompted by his passion and enthusiasm for this trip, I personally participated in two of the college tours. As an educator with over 20 years of experience, I have had the opportunity to work with many outstanding student leaders. I was intrigued by the style of leadership I observed within this group. They operate out of a paradigm that I was not accustomed to seeing with college students. SLP uses a collaborative leadership style referred to as the “Core Model.” The founders do not believe in a hierarchical structure and formal leadership titles, but rather a shared model where all are equally valued. One of the documents that I read summarized the Core Model in this way: Make a Difference Tours, campus events, and the Chapters are coordinated, organized, and developed through the Leadership Core Model. Dividing power, deliberating ambiguity, and developing relationships, a Core is a small group of people (three to five) who challenge the process and each other to become better leaders while working toward a common goal. In the end, it's the experience of peer-to-peer learning that empowers SLP participants to become better servant leaders. The Core Model will be explained in further detail in chapter four. In describing my study of this group I am adapting an analogy used by Heifetz and Linsky (2002) of getting on the balcony. They state, “you have to move back and forth from the balcony to the dance floor” (p. 73). When I am able to stand in the balcony at a dance, I can look down on the patterns that are made of the dancers. If you are on the dance floor, you are caught up in the music and the movement. I found myself at that place with this group early on when I started my research and had to remove myself to start seeing the patterns that I believe are more than the four individual founders and the unique qualities they brought to the creation of the group. The patterns I will present in my findings and conclusions are practices that I believe represent an emergent leadership style common to this generation of students. Program ModelI will briefly provide an overview of SLP and some of the tenets of the group. To give further context to the study, these will be explored in greater depth in chapter four. SLP differs from other organizations that respond or react to one specific social cause or disaster such as genocide in Sudan, the environment, or at-risk youth. Rather, SLP takes an intentional approach in exposing students to a wide variety of issues. This occurs in the context of the Make a Difference tours. As Pete, one of the founders, stated, “SLP’s social cause would be the students that participate.” SLP wants to expose students to as many issues as possible so that participants find their own passion and then are able to contribute to it in the fashion that best fits their personality. For example, a young woman who recently returned from a trip set up a “Knitters for Peace” group because she is passionate about knitting and also wanted to provide clothing to children in war-torn countries. Another young man returned from a MAD trip to Mississippi and now plans to work for Teach For America. SLP uses the immersion experience of a bus trip as its primary program model. Levine & Cureton’s 1998 research on college students revealed that when asked what they did for fun, “travel and trips” (p. 98) has increased in the percentage of students participating, so having a travel model might explain the increased interest by students in this experience. The concept of a community service trip is not a new idea. Break Away (2007), a national organization, started these types of trips in 1984 and serves as a clearinghouse for institutions interested in planning community service projects during spring breaks. However the term Volunteer tourism, or “voluntourism”, is growing in popularity. According to a new survey sponsored by msnbc.com and Condé Nast Traveler, more than half (55%) of the 1,600 respondents expressed an interest in taking a volunteer vacation, with 20% having already taken at least one volunteer vacation (Lovitt, 2008). The SLP tour has three components: education, action and reflection. Students are educated on various issues such as homelessness, domestic abuse, hunger or Alzheimer’s depending on their particular service projects. Each project site is asked to do an orientation about the organization and educate the students about the importance of the service project. The bus core also puts together a binder of information including demographics about each of the communities they serve. A typical day on the trip generally included waking at 7:00 am and boarding the bus by 8:00 am for transportation to the work project. The service starts with an orientation to the project and organization you are working for and usually goes until noon. Many work sites provide lunch for the participants and a chance to share over a meal about the project and their lives. After lunch the students generally get back on the bus to go to the next town. The bus rides are from four to six hours of travel time. Each trip incorporates two surprise sightseeing visits. These might include visiting the CNN Tower, Mt. Rushmore or Niagara Falls, depending on the trip route. Some more unusual locations have included the UFO museum in Roswell, New Mexico or the Vinegar Museum in Roslyn, South Dakota. The bus ride includes debriefing the day’s experience, snacking, watching movies and planned icebreakers and conversation starters initiated by the bus core. After arriving at the next town students unload the bus and set up sleeping bags. The location might be a YMCA gym floor, a church basement, or an armory. The end of each evening has a planned closing time—the week starts with introductory exercises intentionally developing the group cohesion. The exercises move to more intimate sharing and group bonding as the week progresses. SLP also encourages students to “reveal” their leadership and commit to making a difference in their own communities and lives once they return from the trips. This commitment happens through goal setting and being assigned an accountability partner during the trip. Each participant also writes a “letter to themselves” that is mailed out approximately 6 months after students have returned as a reminder of their commitments. For Pete, one of the founders, “the trip is what we use to get people energized about making service part of their life.” Bandura (1997) states that “enactive mastery produces stronger and more generalized efficacy beliefs than do modes of influence relying solely on vicarious experiences, cognitive simulations, or verbal instruction” (p. 80). Thus, being involved in hands-on projects such as what occurs during the trip may significantly impact the self-efficacy of participants. The group sometimes uses the trip as a way to establish a chapter at a particular college or create a high school affiliate. The goal of the tour is for students to return with a passion and commitment to take action and make a difference in their communities. Not all students are altruistic in their reasons for involvement with groups like SLP. There are students who are involved in service to add to their resumes and to get into college. “Admissions officers demand not only perfect grades but also prodigious extracurricular or athletic achievements, and community service. Insiders like to call this mix ‘the triple S,’ for ‘scholarship, sports, and service’” (Ramos, p. 46, 2008). There is a whole generation of students that are encouraged to take a “gap year” between high school and college to be involved in something that will set them apart to get into some of the more prestigious colleges and universities in the nation. In reviewing a blog site for students applying for medical school, the admonishment was to be involved in a community service spring break trip as “it looks good on the resume.” “Students interested in graduate schools, professional schools, and prestigious fellowships and scholarships are also advised to document their do-gooding” (Ramos, p, 47, 2008). Regardless, one of the SLP bus leaders commented, “It doesn’t matter why they get on the bus, whether to pad their resume or see New York, the SLP Core Model works and they will get off the bus a different person.”
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