Report aims to get students involved

By KATE DAILEY
Collegian Staff Writer

Student involvement in the State College community was a main concern of citizens at Saturday's League of Women Voters of Centre County meeting.

Discussion of this issue was inspired by a report entitled "Returning to Our Roots: the Engaged Institution" published by the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities, said Joanne Kundrat, member of the steering committee.

The report calls for public and land-grant institutions to become more involved in the communities that surround them through outreach programs.

Penn State President Graham Spanier serves as the chair of the commission, which is sponsored by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

"Outreach is what ties us to the people of Pennsylvania," Spanier said.

At the meeting, Ron Avillion, director of outreach education, and Jim Campbell, associate director of outreach operations, spoke about the many outreach operations Penn State executes, and the benefits of outreach to both community and university.

According to the Office of Outreach Communications, more than 5 million people are involved in a Penn State program, including 12 percent of Pennsylvania residents aged 12 to 17. Penn State's outreach programs constitute the largest outreach effort in American higher education.

Some examples of outreach, Campbell said, were programs such as continuing education, which includes professional development; non-credit and special-interest classes; distance education and the World Campus; and cooperative extension, which involves sharing the latest technology with community members.

Many community members present were concerned about not just making Penn State resources more accessible, but increasing student involvement in the State College community.

"We understand that the students are temporary," Kundrat said. "But it'd be nice if (students) were more a part of the community."

Kundrat suggested students study issues important to the community in classes, which would not only help the community but also give the students problems to solve with real-life applications.

"The students are a wonderful resource," she said. "It'd be nice to see something meaningful, not just some dumbbell project just to have a homework assignment."

Kundrat said students who get involved in community affairs early acquire skills that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Borough Council member Elizabeth Goreham said students often feel powerless in community affairs, although they make up the majority of the population. Because of this, she said, students often are victims of injustices that could be avoided if students exercised their rights.

"Democracy does not always affect the students here," she said, "because they don't enforce their democratic rights."