LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 29, 1996 - 5 *U' to use $3M to expand community service progamns By Jodi Cohen Daily Staff Reporter About 4,500 undergraduate students participate in community service pro- grams each academic year. But new initiatives in community rvice learning - including an addi- onal $3 million allocated by the Uni- versity to fund these programs - may mean more opportunities for student participation. "We have as many, or perhaps more, undergrads andgrads involved in learn- ing through service than almost any other university in the country," said Barry Checkoway, director of commu- nity service and service learning. In line with the University's position a frontrunner in community service, Provost J. Bernard Machen plans to distribute the state funds to University programs that support community ser- vice activities. "I will fund $3 million in an effort to fulfill our commitment to service learn- ing in the state," Machen said. He said the funding will allow the University to expand its outreach ef- Wrts to communities across Michigan. "This University does a lot of things in support of the state of Michigan," Machen said. "There are more things we could do if we had the funding." Machen said individuals must sub- mit program proposals, which either can outline a new program or expand an existing activity, by May 15 to receive a portion of the funds. Psychology and social work Prof. Lorraine Gutierrez, who co-directs the etroit Initiative in Psychology, said e funding may create community ser- vice programs that previously could not exist. "It has the potential to greatly expand different ways we might do these kinds ofthings," Gutierrez said. "There could be service learning thattakes place in different cities. That kind of funding will make it easier for students to get to those locations." * Students in the Detroit project travel to neighborhoods in the city to perform demographic and social research on various issues. The participants then present their findings to related organi- zations. Machen said programs, such as the Detroit psychology project, serve as examples of the University's commit- ment to community service projects in Michigan. "I think the University has done a lot *ore community service than we are given credit for," Machen said. "But I think we should be doing more." Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Lincoln Faller said it is diffi- cult to estimate the number of classes that currently include community ser- vice. The grant may make it easier to keep track, he said. "This will be the first chance we will Gave to have something of an inventory of what, in fact, is going on," Faller said. There are other projects currently underway to coordinate the University's many community service learning pro- grams. The Center for Learning Through TECHNOLOGY Continued from Page I. Oakes language study more practical. "We look at the news in Hebrew on the Internet for that day," Coffin said. "The news is not for students of He- brew, but for speakers of Hebrew." Schoem said the use of technology will continue to increase during the next few years. But he said the best type of education still integrates interper- sonal communications. "Even with all the technology, there is a need still for face to face contact," Schoem said. "That kind of balance will need to be emphasized more." The recent opening of the Media Union on North Campus indicates a Universitywide commitment to tech- nological advancement. "It is a place to experience new ways that higher education will occur," Uni- versity President James Duderstadt said an interview earlier this month. "It is place where students can do things." After he steps down as president in June, Duderstadt's office will be lo- cated in the Media Union. "(The Media Union) is a place where students will be fairly unrestrained," Duderstadt said. Still, Milne warned against depend- ing too much on new technology. "Sometimes we tend to think that q hen we have a new way of doing something, we have a better way of doing something. That is not necessar- ily true," Milne said. "Unless we take advantage of the power computing has to make studying more interactive, then we are probably just buying expensive review books." Community Service, to be located at 1024 Hill St., will be the central loca- tion for service projects. "The new center should be a meeting place and an activity center for service and learning," Checkoway said. He did not know when the center will open. Faller said community service projects prepare students for work after college. "If they can find ways that the skills have real-world applications, they are in a better position to learn the best way to work in the world," he said. LSA senior Mona Kumar, who has participated in many community ser- vice projects, agreed that students re- ceive invaluable experiences from these opportunities. Among her many activities; Kumar goes to a juvenile detention center ev- ery Thursday. Kumar, along with other students in the English 319 class on theater and social change, spends time there each week working with the inmates to de- velop a theater production. The goal is, she said, to help them learn ways to express their feelings. "We do theater workshops with them," Kumar said. "We want them to have an empowering experience while they are in these institutions. One way to do that is to get people to express themselves in ways they might not usu- ally do." She said the workshops, which give inmates a forum to talk about their experiences, also build relationships between the two groups. The plays fo- cus on a variety of issues, including the inmates' lives, their families and the reasons they are detained at the center. "The relationships are really power- ful and really unique," Kumar said. "For me, this is about creating change and really making a difference in terms of striving toward justice for marginalized people." She said community service learning is not only a valuable experience in itself, but also makes class discussions on issues such as racism more poignant. David Schoem, assistant dean for un- dergraduate education, said that each semester a greater number of students receive credit for participating in com- munity service activities. "There is continuing to be an in- crease in courses integrating the two," Schoem said. Political Science 300, a course on contemporary issues in American poli- tics, gives students the option to partici- pate in community service. "Students learn about many of those topics by being involved in some kind ofcommunity-based organization," said political science Prof.Gregory Markus, who teaches the course. "It supplements the abstract, theoretical stuff they hear about in the classroom with concrete, practical experience." Markus said the students who per- formed community service did better academically. "Community service has a definite academic benefit to it," Markus added. "Students learn more about the subject matter and it seems to motivate thern more." Faller said some LSA programs, like the Latino Studies Program in the American culture department, require students to participate in community service before graduating. Although Faller said community seri vice programs are growing, he does not expect them to become a general LSA requirement. "I don't see it as a general require- ment, but I see it as something everyone will want to do," Faller said. "It is the college's goal to develop a situation where every student will have a chance to have a significant learning experi- ence outside the classroom." They shelled it out for your orthodontist bills. ~ugh~ted it up for your car insurance. And forked it over for that fish tank accident. Yet they still insi1st you call COleCt. Touched by their undying love, you spare them further expense. You dial 1800 CALL ATT. Know the Code. 1 800 CALL ATT. That's Your True ChoiceS.