What Does It Mean To Be An Active Citizen? Since becoming a student at Virginia Tech and joining the SERVE living learning community, I have had the opportunity to learn about active citizenship, and make progress towards becoming an active citizen. Before I was a part of SERVE and began taking the community engagement class, I had never heard of someone being an active citizen, which I think is something that is common among most college students. While most probably never question what it means to be an active citizen, since joining SERVE, I have learned about what it means to be an active citizen and, how one can make developments towards becoming an active citizen. In class, we have looked at two models which portray what it means to be an active citizen and how to promote positive change in the community around you. The first model we looked at was the active citizen continuum, which explains the process of becoming an active citizen. The process begins with simply being a member, meaning that one does not care about his or her role in social problems. Next, one becomes a volunteer when they have good intentions, but are not very well educated on social issues. Then, one becomes a conscientious citizen once they start to become concerned with discovering the root causes of social issues, and asking why these issues are occurring. Lastly, one becomes an active citizen when their community becomes a priority in their values and their life choices (Active Citizenship Continuum.jpg.) Understanding the active citizen continuum is an important part of being an active citizen because, in order to be an active citizen, one must know what an active citizen is, what they do, and how to become an active citizen. The other model that we looked at in class this semester was the Social Change Model of Leadership Development, which describes the process of developing oneself into a leader. However, one may wonder why leadership is important when considering what it means to become an active citizen. In Peter Block’s “From Leadership to Citizenship” article, he discusses the issues that may be associated with having a leader, such as, the longing for change, in which we search for a new leader in hopes that they will bring change. He then describes how, in reality “The trap we fall into in the face of passivity is to believe the solution is better leadership. Avoiding responsibility, compliance, and caution on the part of employees and citizens is a bigger problem than control and self-centeredness on the part of ‘leaders.’ The solution is not to keep trying to create better leaders, it is to explore how to become accountable citizens” (Block 3). In other words, he is stating that if problems in leadership arise, the answer is not to look for a better leader, but to become active citizens and create change. This leads to the Social Change Model of Leadership Development. The Social Change Model of Leadership Development looks at the development of leadership through many factors. The first is from three different perspectives. The first perspective is the individual, which examines the development of personal qualities, self-awareness, and personal values. The next perspective is the group, which emphasizes the collaboration and interaction between groups and an individual. The third perspective is the community or society, which aims to bring about change for the common good. The next factor of the Social Change Model of Leadership Development is the seven C’s of leadership, which are seven critical values of a leader. The first C of leadership is consciousness, which stands for consciousness of self. This is described as being aware of the beliefs, values, attitudes, and emotions that motivate one to take action. The second C of leadership is congruence, which can be described as understanding and being true to one’s values, beliefs, strengths, and limitations. The third C of leadership is commitment, which can be described as the psychic energy that motivates one to serve, and drives the collective effort. This implies passion, intensity, and duration, directed towards both group activity and intended outcomes, and requires knowledge of self. The fourth C is collaboration, which describes leadership as a group process, and encourages a group to go beyond their individual goals, interests, and behaviors. In order to collaborate, it is essential that group members explore differences in individual values, ideas, affiliations, visions, and identities. The fifth C of leadership is common purpose. This can be described in a group context as, working with shared aims and values, and is best achieved when all members of a group share the same vision and participate actively. The sixth C of leadership is controversy with civility, which can be described as accepting and resolving differences within the group through open and honest dialogue. The seventh, and final, C of leadership is citizenship. This can be described as actively engaging in the community, and assuming civic responsibility to work towards social change. This is key, and needs to occur at every level of the social change model. The goal of the social change model is to promote positive social change within a community or institution, so that it can function more effectively and humanely. Even though the social change model encourages one to actively participate, and be a non-hierarchical leader, many others will see them as having a position of power or status. Lastly, the most important thing to remember while following the social change model is that leadership is a process, meaning that becoming a leader will not occur immediately but overtime, and that the social change model is always being developed and changing (Astin). (Social Change Model Explained.pdf) These two models are important for one to investigate if they are interested in becoming an active citizen because, they explain the whole process of becoming an active citizen. That is, they describe the importance of leadership in the development of an active citizen. As stated before, being an active citizen requires one to take action in resolving issues, instead of finding someone else, such as a better leader, to take care of the issue. An example of this occurs in the reading “Reluctant Activist” by Mary Pipher. In chapter ten, Pipher describes her experience as she and some friends launched the national resistance to the Keystone XL pipeline. “This wasn’t the end of the fight, but something transformative was happening, something none of us had even dared to imagine. At our meetings we looked wide-eyed at each other. One of our most common questions was ‘Can you believe this?’ Our coalition was allowing us to turn our individual anger, fear, and sorrow into something better and stronger. We had begun as a small group of people in my living room and ended up as a force to be reckoned with. As I write, I don’t know what will finally happen with the tar sand, but I do know what has happened to me. I do this work because acting as if I have hope gives me hope. The process of trying to make things better is the healthiest way I have of responding to the world around me” (Pipher 121). This story provides a real-life example of someone who has recognized the social issue within their community, questioned why it was happening and what they could do, and has taken action to resolve the problem, which is the final step of becoming an active citizen. This also provides a real-life example of someone who became a leader. One can see that Pipher developed into a leader through the process of creating her movement to prevent the pipeline, as she states that their meetings began with a small group of people in her living room, and developed into a movement. This corresponds with the article by Peter Block, as she does not look for a leader to make changes, but she takes the initiative to create change. Another thing that Pipher’s writing shows is that leadership takes time. Her story shows this because, it began with her sharing her ideas with some of her friends, and over time it grew to a larger group of people. One thing that is shown by this story, and by leadership taking time in general, is that the more time put into bettering yourself as a leader, the more successful of a leader you will be. In Kouzes’s article “Leadership Is Everyone’s Business,” he states that “Leadership development is self-development… Through self-development comes the confidence needed to lead. Self-confidence is really awareness of and faith in your own powers. These powers become clear and strong only as you work to identify and develop them” (Kouze, 5). This provides evidence that when one takes the time to develop into a leader, they will be more successful because they are gaining self-confidence, and other characteristics of a good leader, which will lead one to be an active citizen. What does it mean to be an active citizen? As mentioned previously, to be an active citizen, one must make their community a priority, meaning that they are engaged in their community for the purpose of creating positive change. It is important that we qualify our citizenship with the word “active”, especially as students at Virginia Tech and in the SERVE living learning community. This is significant because, it means that we have taken the time to develop ourselves along the active citizen continuum, into an individual that makes their community a priority in their values and life choices. It is important for a community to have these types of individuals because, they understand what the community needs, and want to engage in activities that will meet those needs. Here at Virginia Tech, we can address those needs of the community by co-creating new social realities with regards to Ut Prosim. This can be done by working with other organizations at Virginia Tech, or others in the surrounding community, and finding opportunities to do service that will meet the needs of the community in Blacksburg and the New River Valley. This goes hand in hand with Ut Prosim, as it means “That I May Serve”, and by co-creating these opportunities, all organizations involved will be engaged in serving the community. Ut Prosim is an important part of being a student at Virginia Tech, as it encourages everyone to become more involved in serving others. Due to the importance of Ut Prosim at Virginia Tech, I believe that a large majority of students at Virginia Tech are actively encouraged to be truly active citizens. I also believe that Ut Prosim is a way of life at Virginia Tech. I believe both of these to be true because there are so many ways for one to be involved in serving others, and many organizations have service requirements. A few ways for one to be involved with serving others on campus are, The Big Event, Relay for Life, and through VT Engage. First, The Big Event occurs every spring semester where students can sign up to go out into the community serve the needs of families in Blacksburg. Next, Relay for Life is another event that occurs in the spring, where students raise money for the American Cancer Society. VT Engage is also a good way to be involved in serving others as they offer many different types of service trips. Some organizations at Virginia Tech that require community service include sororities and fraternities, both social and service. Members of social sororities and fraternities participate in multiple forms of service, within the community. The service sororities on campus also participate in community service, requiring members to complete a certain amount before getting into the sorority. These are just a few of the many ways in which students can be involved in serving others at Virginia Tech. While there are many opportunities available to students, how can one promote serving others to encourage more students to participate in these opportunities? One way that I can encourage other students to become active citizens in the community is by sharing my experience, as a member of SERVE, and the service I have done, to encourage them to join. I could also just simply encourage others to participate in the service aspect if they do not wish to join SERVE. A way that the university could encourage more students to become active citizens is by creating a club or organization on campus, that focuses just on community service in Blacksburg and completes a certain amount of service every month. This may be a good solution for those who wish to become an active citizen, but don’t want to join a living learning community like SERVE. Another way that the university could encourage active citizenship among more students is by holding more events where groups of students can sign up and participate in serving others, together. These are some of the possible solutions for getting more students at Virginia Tech to become active citizens. Over the past four months, since coming to Virginia Tech, I have had so many opportunities to participate in serving others throughout the New River Valley. Both these experiences and taking the community engagement class have changed how I look at volunteering. In class, we looked at the criticisms of volunteerism, which taught me to look at all the aspects of a service trip or experience, to make sure that the work you are completing is actually going to benefit the community. By looking at the criticisms of volunteerism, we also learned about voluntourism, and how some individuals just go on service trips for the traveling aspect, and don’t really have much of an interest in helping the community. Another topic discussed in class was the active citizen continuum, which showed the different levels of volunteering, based off how involved you are with a social issue. Lastly, I also learned the importance of reflecting on your service experience, to see if you and the community benefited from the service. Learning all of these things from my service experiences, and in class, has opened my eyes to all of the different aspects there are to consider when you are taking part in serving others. Thus, I think I have grown since August, in the way I look at service, by being more open minded while serving others and when thinking about service in general. After one semester of being a member of SERVE and engaging in community service, I think I am starting to become a conscientious citizen. I believe this is where I stand on the active citizen continuum because, I have begun learning more about the social issues that exist in the New River Valley, which has led me to want to be more involved within the community to help those affected by the social issues. I plan to continue along the active citizen continuum next semester, by becoming more involved with one organization within the community, so that I can have an impact on that social issue. The service experience that I enjoyed most this semester was going to the Christmas Store. I was able to go to the Christmas Store three times this semester, twice to help them with preparations, and once on Reading Day when the families came in. Visiting the Christmas Store was when I really felt like I was engaging and having an impact on the community. As I stated in my last writing, “Times I Have Felt Alive,” the first time that I felt “alive” while volunteering in the New River Valley was my first time going to the Christmas store. However, when I went back recently, on Reading Day, I felt even more “alive,” in a way, as I got to see the store in action, the number of families that came in, and how grateful they were for everything at the Christmas Store. Another thing that I really enjoyed while visiting the Christmas Store on Reading Day, was working with, and getting to know other members of the community, which is something that we don’t get to experience very often, as college students. I also really enjoyed this part because, you could see the whole community coming together, through service, to help others. Because I have had such positive experiences at the Christmas Store, I hope to have more opportunities to visit in the future, and continue helping the families in the New River Valley. In the future, I also hope to extend my service to more than just the local community and maybe go on a spring break or summer service trip abroad. Overall, this semester I have learned what an active citizen is, and how to become an active citizen in your community. I hope to continue to learn about other aspects of service and continue to engage in service within the community.
Bibliography "Active Citizens Continuum." Alternative Breaks. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2015. <http://www.alternativebreaks.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Active-Citizen-Continuum-2012-2.pdf>. Block, Peter. "From Leadership to Citizenship." Insights on Leadership: Service, Stewardship, Spirit, and Servant-leadership. Ed. Larry C. Spears. New York: Wiley, 1998. N. pag. Print. Kouzes, James M. "Leadership Is Everyone's Business." The Leadership Challenge. N.p.: n.p., 1987. N. pag. Print. Pipher, Mary. "Reluctant Activists." The Impossible Will Take a Little While. N.p.: Basic, 2004. 113-21. Print. "The Social Change Model." N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2015. <http://www.mu.uri.edu/leadership/pdfs/The%20Social%20Change%20Model%20of%20Leadership%20Development.pdf>.