Do colleges and universities exist to promote learning and citizenship or to produce skilled workers? New York Times columnist Frank Bruni took readers to this gulch in two recent columns. In one column, Bruni reflects on a particular lecture on Shakespeare’s “King Lear” as transformative. But many politicians dismiss such learning as superfluous. Bruni mentions Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s recent proposal that state universities shift their missions toward “work force needs.” This debate is not new — but the divide between the two sides seems to be growing. “In a democracy,” writes Bruni “college isn’t just about making better engineers but about making better citizens, ones whose eyes have been opened to the sweep of history and the spectrum of civilizations.”
As a current college student, I see the merits in both sides. Politicians have a point: for many students, college is explicitly pre-professional. However, Bruni is also correct: liberal education exists to develop citizens. I’d expand on Bruni’s argument. The role of colleges in fostering citizenship extends beyond simply opening students’ eyes to history. College years function as a pivotal time for civic engagement.
College campuses cultivate political engagement outside of the classroom. For many students, higher education offers their first exposure to activism. I will never forget my first college club fair. Beyond a few sports clubs, my campus’ halls teemed with young idealists bent on changing the world. I learned that activism — either to offer support or resistance — was an option. Not much for rallies, I gravitated toward service learning. Through activism and service, campus activities encourage students to improve their communities. This encouragement molds citizens.
When certain students cannot find their ideal civic organization, they start their own. There are countless examples of college students creating youth-led civic movements. Furthermore, college students now have access to a litany of organizations to promote civic participation. My involvement with the Roosevelt Institute Campus Network in particular has bolstered my citizenship. The Campus Network offers substantive civic education to college students around the country. Consider New York University, whose chapter encourages the university to invest in local impoverished neighborhoods — chapter member Eugenia Kim even presented this proposal at The White House. Thousands of miles away, students at Santa Monica Community College organize around solutions to support the college’s significant homeless population. Such activism teaches the process of political change outside of the classroom.
The Campus Network even reaches beyond campus boundaries, as it provides students with tools necessary for future democratic engagement. Through a seemingly endless supply of training resources, students learn everything from how to dissect complicated tax forms and data to how to motivate members of a group project. This is an integral part of a holistic college education — learning skills at college that are essential to responsible engagement in the world beyond it. These trainings lead us to converse with school administrators and navigate the rocky tides of college bureaucracies — a microcosm of finding our way through state or federal ones.
These experiences force me to think differently and to ask harder questions. I credit this to my coursework and — just as importantly — my extracurricular activities. As a columnist for the school paper, I investigate the activities of my college and debate the administrators’ motivations. I frequently write about the purpose of higher education and the line between work force preparation and learning for learning’s sake. I learned firsthand the challenges of operating a college in the 21st Century through a stint in student government. Moreover, my work with the Campus Network has expounded upon my understanding of our democracy. As a result of college activities, my mind has become — in Bruni’s words — much more “nimble” and “adaptable.”
The goal of a liberal education is, as Bruni writes, “making better citizens.” Colleges form citizenship within and outside the classroom. Now more than ever, campuses have ample opportunities for substantive civic engagement. We can join activists, start organizations, or even bring existing ones to our home campus. Our civic participation in college can be the beginning of a lifetime of engagement.
