Students take four years to create the ideal resume for their desired college. An average high school student’s life is consumed with having an impeccable GPA, maintaining a social life, and being involved in extracurricular activities. Although this seems to be nothing but imperative for college admissions, it has, in reality, sparked up quite a few controversies. One of the main controversies is mandatory community service. Community service is emphasized to cultivate compassion, as well as create a well-rounded individual. Unfortunately, it also unnecessarily stresses students. Furthermore, many people use this opportunity for the sole purpose of diversifying their resume. This exemplifies that forced volunteerism is not beneficial to the community; no ethics are being incorporated into these decisions.
Mandating community service is perceived as highly stressful, especially for students in a rigorous academic environment. High-school students are already aggravated by the amount of schoolwork given to them each week. Those who play sports or are already heavily involved in other extracurriculars would have to lessen their involvement in these activities to complete another requirement. Students should not be forced to do an activity of no interest, as it eventually becomes a burden on their schedule.
Many people insist upon the fact that community service can help better a person; nevertheless, the logic of forced service goes astray from the main purpose. The definition of volunteerism is someone donating their time to something they are genuinely passionate about. However, forced volunteerism takes the soul out of the cause. When students believe that they are being controlled externally, the natural human response is to lose enthusiasm for the project that is being promoted. Students will only achieve the bare minimum and just log hours so that they can check a box to graduate. Rather than falling in love with helping others, the participants lose...