Week #3

I used to think of citizenship as typical community service:  Volunteering at soup kitchens, picking up litter, tutoring little kids, etc.  Now, I see citizenship as a broad spectrum.  Most people think of citizenship as direct service; that is, giving personal time and energy to address immediate needs.  However, citizenship also includes advocating for the community, voting, creating sports leagues, etc.  The best way to practice citizenship is to pursue what you are passionate about.

I'm being a more effective citizen because I'm spending more of my time involved in the two organizations that I am passionate about:  SLG and Unplugging Society.  Instead of dibble-dabbling in a slew of organizations on campus, I'm moving my focus to these two organizations, which I think is a more effective way to approach citizenship.

Members of my colony still think about citizenship in the traditional sense.  They understand that citizenship means donating funds, personal time, and energy to address immediate concerns.  This semester, SLG is going to be focusing on academics and community service.  Whenever we get on the topic of community service, people still suggest blood drives, can drives, walks, etc.  In fact, we're signed up to host a blood drive this month.  We could do a better job of engaging in different aspects of citizenship, such as "Socially Responsible Personal and Professional Behavior" and "Advocacy and Education".  Although the blood drive we have planned is a great idea, we could do something out of the ordinary.  For example, many of the women in SLG are passionate about women's rights.  We could do a showing of MissRepresentation on our university's campus.  This would address the "Advocacy and Education" category.