College students as catalysts for social change: a case study

The “It” of SLP

One of the things that’s really tough in SLP, that it’s been almost impossible for us to get our hands around, is like, ‘What issue are we solving?’ Like, ‘What social change are we actually making?’ Like, ‘What problem are we solving?’ Because it seems like every other non-profit is out to solve a problem and they’re focused on like, you know, curing AIDS or ending breast cancer or this or that. You know, we aren’t out there, you know, cleaning up the environment, we’re not out there just to focus on one problem, we’re focused on people, I guess, and that’s not a problem…So its been really tough to like, say we’re making social change in this, in this area or that area and that’s something that we have been kind of fighting with for a long and getting, trying to get a grasp on it.

SLP is about helping students set goals and achieve them. It is about revealing leadership and offering opportunities for students to develop tangible skills such as public speaking and managing budgets. This happens through organizing trips, camps and campus events. It also has provided support for the dreams of other students such as the video crew for the “Everything Intangible” video. The name of this video about SLP itself is reflective of the elusive nature of the experience.

An example of the complexity of understanding the organization is presented next. Their campus advisor had asked the students to present at the American College Personnel Association National conference about SLP.

They came in and presented, and I said, ‘I finally understand what your group is about’, because I think that this is how they market or promote themselves, that you get the idea that it is about community service. A couple years ago I was talking to Roy about, you know, SLP, what they are doing he said, ‘This should be the University’s leadership program’ and I am, ‘What are you talking about?’ You know you have a student group, and that is great, but that is not a leadership program. But what I would describe SLP is: it’s a group that encourages students to live with passion and follow their dreams but at its core it provides good leadership opportunities for the people who are actively involved in planning the events…The side benefit is the community service part which is kind of a means to an end, but it is not the core mission, is not to get people to go out and serve. It is a, it’s a hook to get people in the group.

In asking how long between beginning work with the group and the presentation he said, “I began working with the group in approximately January, 2004. Their ACPA presentation was in March of 2006.” More than two years had gone by before their advisor who met with them regularly understood their mission. Mackenzie commented, “My parents still don’t understand it.”

In my observation with the board the whole issue of trying to define the intangibles of the organization also came up. The board chair, after spending two days at the winter retreat with the group said, “Whatever the magic is, whatever the ‘it’ is, it was extraordinary to see it, the sense of wonder I had about it. I hope I can share that.”

He then used the following terms in a PowerPoint presentation to the entire board.

What do we do with “it”?

Understand it.

Replicate it.

Package it.

Distribute it.

A board member stated: “I believe in what they are doing, although I also don’t feel I can articulate exactly what they are accomplishing in its power. But I think they have something very magical.” The founders had at one time suggested that all of the board members participate in a trip as part of their involvement on the board, to help in understanding the intangible.

I was asked to be part of a small focus group held to discuss this same issue. One of the topics was what attracted students to the MAD trip. Pete commented, “The travel and the service are major. We don’t talk as much about reflection and leadership in recruitment.” Another student participant said, “It’s hard to sell reflection, it scares people off, they think it’s a cultish thing.” This dissonance in how the trip is marketed and expectations may be one of the reasons that Jane, whose story I shared earlier, had issues with the trip. She did not expect as she called it the “model of self-disclosure.”

SLP is “self-referential” in nature; by this I mean that I heard over and over that you have to experience the program to understand it. One student described it as, “A feeling that I had never felt before, I can’t explain it.” He went on to say “The things that make the tour special, you can see why recruiting is hard--how do you translate special moments on the tour to others?” Due to the emotional connections that are made and the experiential nature there is almost a religious type of connotation. For many of the students the experience of SLP will be “definitional”-a reference point throughout their lives. A college staff person that attended the trip made this comment, “I have found that people who attend a tour are on such a high after the trip and speak so highly of the experience that there is a huge let down on return to ‘normal life.’” These are similar feelings that might be evoked from a church camp experience with students feeling an emotional high. This could be a result of the religious retreat aspects introduced by Mackenzie or as Roy said the model of Fellowship of Christian Athletes without the prayer element. O’Lauglin (2007) in her research of SLP made a similar observation when she said, “SLP follows the same patterns of a traditional religion, there are weekly meetings, there is music, there is an emotional connection, and a belief in a greater good.” The dedication that students have to the organization does reflect some of the elements of religious zeal. From my own observations and participation with the trips many of the exercises that are shared during the tour evoke such strong emotions for students that they are changed. Students are asked to share at a very deep, emotional level. The bus core members model the sharing and many students talk about struggles and issues that are seldom shared with others. I heard students share about suicide attempts, eating disorders, the death of a parent, concerns over siblings and a whole host of very deep issues. This is where the tension regarding the concerns about SLP crossing over into a therapeutic model is expressed. At the same time this depth of intimacy is what I believe has created the long lasting bonds that participants have with each other. At the same time the group has a shared experience in making a difference and being challenged in their own comfort zone. The combination of sharing and experiences leaves a great impression.

In summarizing the “it” Nickers posed this question to me.

Like, have you ever thought that, possibly that, that whole what is “it”, is that whole mass customization thing? And “it” is basically to whomever that person …whatever, they think the “it” is? Then you could say each individual will almost have, like they understand “it.” They might understand “it” in different ways. But ultimately they understand “it”, like they understand SLP. What it means to them is what they think “it” is.

In asking the founders about how they describe the “it” and the existence of SLP the following comments were made. Roy said, “SLP exists to house the energy and to capture the movement. It’s a gateway experience, it’s an entry level, it’s a feeder.” Roy went on to say, “I also think the ‘it’ is the taste of the hope becoming a reality, because the hope becomes possible. The hope is realized for a short amount of time.” Mackenzie contributed, “We provide an opportunity, a potentially transformational opportunity.” In trying to define the “it” further Roy says, “I think it’s one of the strengths that we have something that is so special, it’s intriguing.” Pete chimes in, “My favorite is when people say they don’t understand it, but they acknowledge that obviously there’s something special going on.” Roy says: “Where would we be without ‘it?’” In further trying to define the reasons as to why SLP is here the founders used an analogy of trying to explain the “it” of religion. Mackenzie comments, “Religion is to SLP as faith is to ‘it.’ I’m not even joking. So you cannot define faith, but religion is our attempt to organize and structure it, to house it.” In identifying that this inability to describe what SLP is can be perceived as a weakness. Mackenzie responded:

Perhaps our biggest weakness is, as humans, not just SLP, is that we constantly want to define instead of just accept. So we go, ‘Okay, love, faith, hope. Okay hope. What is above hope? Perfection. Okay what is above perfection?’ Well, what’s above perfection? You know what I’m saying? That’s why we as an organization have grown, but perhaps that can be one of our biggest downfalls…at one point, if we don’t know where the line is to just accept, we would just keep pushing ourselves, pushing, pushing, pushing, to a point beyond what might actually be healthy.

Roy says, “So we can solve the weakness, create the box, and then we can just jump in it.” Mackenzie, laughing says, “As long as you put some wheels and make it a band wagon!” This perhaps best summarizes SLP. The founders didn’t accept the lines that were imposed on them and have kept pushing. An issue for the founders will be what is healthy for them as individuals in the future. Regardless, they have taken their ideas to create a band wagon that people have jumped on. How to explain the “it” well enough to donors, to achieve financial support may also be a challenge. What has intrigued so many others regarding SLP is “Everything Intangible” that taken all together has proven to be a catalyst for social change within the lives of the participants.

Recommendations for Future Research

Future research on the SLP program could include a study of the impact of the MAD trip on the participants in relation to volunteering and civic engagement. Does being involved in a MAD tour increase their commitment to volunteer after the trip? Does it impact other civic engagement after the trip? SLP engages students in community service and a follow up study could be conducted of participants to see what impact this might have on future participation in public service.

Additionally the preliminary studies of SLP post-survey results indicate that students feel more self-efficacy as it relates to leadership but how does this carry itself into actual practice? A study could be done to see if the students take the skills they learn and apply them to other settings. The group right now just has anecdotal stories to share about the program impact.

At this time SLP does not follow up with any students that indicated dissatisfaction with the trip. This might be more of a programmatic evaluation but things could be learned from those who do not find the trip beneficial.

As briefly explained in the Detroit example the whole new area of involvement that SLP has just launched with students of color and religious differences could be a fascinating study to see what type of long term impact might be realized.

Another study could take programmatic elements such as the Core Model and apply them in another type of setting to assess effectiveness and see how transferable the model is.