It’s 2 p.m. A group of freshmen walked through White Plaza, which was plastered with “Apply for Camp Kesem,” “Be a Hero” and Dance Marathon countdown signs. Trailing behind was a short girl in a Greenpeace T-shirt, holding brochures, poised to deliver her spiel.
In a matter of minutes, the girl stopped the freshmen, convincing them that they were not doing enough social good and persuading them that the world needs to be saved. She then hinted that the group should donate to the cause of “Save the Oceans.”
At the start of a Stanford experience, students are encouraged to join in on the public service trend. As a freshman walks through the Activities Fair, he is greeted with messages of “Stop violence against women,” “Support children in Africa” and “Dance for 24 hours to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS.”
“The millennial generation is very motivated by the feeling of responsibility and the feeling of wanting to make a positive difference,” said Abby Conover, the Haas Center post-graduate public service coordinator.
Throughout their years at Stanford, students are encouraged to perform service. In fact, social good has become ingrained in students’ minds, even as they pursue post-graduation careers.
“There is a definite trend with students now wanting to have an impact on the greater good regardless of what specific field they are in,” wrote Kristin Connor, Career Development Center (CDC) career counselor, in an e-mail to The Daily.
The save-the-world syndrome has been around for a long time, but the intensity of interest didn’t spike until recent years.
“We are definitely seeing an increased interest in public service,” Conover said. “Students are definitely checking out their options.”
The increased interest in public service can be attributed to several factors, but the myriad ways of doing social good could be one reason.
“I heard a phrase that really applies,” Conover said. “Students are ‘savvy altruists.’ That’s what Frank Benest, former city manager of Palo Alto, described it as.”
Stanford puts a great deal of emphasis on bettering the world, both in and out of the classroom.
Many public service focus classes are becoming incorporated in curricula, including an Asian-American community class to be offered in the spring that provides hands-on service experience, as well as the political science department’s Ethics and Politics of Public Service class. Thomas Schnaubelt, executive director of the Haas Center, wrote an e-mail to The Daily about how ideas of working for the social good are indeed becoming more incorporated in academics.
“Public service can take place both inside and outside the classroom,” Schnaubelt
said. “Only in doing so can students explore deeply, taking full advantage of our outstanding scholars, the exchange between theory and practice.”
The Haas Center is a large proponent of encouraging social good. For the last 25 years, the option of pursuing social-good-type careers can be explored at this center.
According to Jeff Hawthorne, fellowship programs director at the Haas Center, there are usually 250 to 300 applications for 120 funded Haas fellowships.
“Our fellows are able to articulate both personal and academic reasons for their interests in specific areas of public service,” Hawthorne wrote in an e-mail to The Daily.
According to Lance Choy, the director of the CDC, there are 3,700 subscribers to the public service newsletter and 5,000 subscribers to the business opportunities newsletter.
“What I realize is that public service is becoming a more intellectual academic professional career path,” said Tristana Pirkl ’10.
Public service is also seeing an upsurge because it jives with student interests–for example, the upcoming Hack-a-thon and Dance Marathon (DM).
Bill Loundy ’10 said that his involvement in DM was his pathway into public service. According to Loundy, his previous motives were to “beef up [his] resume.”
Lauren Platt ’12, a member of the DM core, agreed that DM was a way of channeling Stanford students’ vitality into a better cause.
“It’s building the Stanford bubble and popping it at the same,” she said. “We’re gathering a bunch of Stanford students. But we’re also opening eyes to the global and larger picture.”
To Hack-a-thon founder and ASSU President David Gobaud, the Hack-a-thon was a smart way of getting techies involved with public service.
“In computer science, I think there is a lot of slant toward industry,” Gobaud added. “I hope that the Hack-a-thon will increase people’s interest in public service.”
Sam King ’12, one of the current organizers of Hack-a-thon, agreed with this concept.
“I feel like, particularly in engineering, there are a lot of people interested in service but don’t think of it as a possible career path,” King said. “One of the things we’re trying to work against is to change it so we use CS for social good. Like the Haas Center says, service is for everyone.”
Public service postgraduate opportunities are also being offered left and right. Teach for America (TFA) programs, the Peace Corps and Haas fellowships are growing programs that are becoming increasingly popular.
TFA received 35,000 applications in 2009, compared to the 32,000 applications to Stanford for the Class of 2014. More people are interested in Teach for America than attending Stanford.
“People are thinking more creatively,” Conover said. “Obama made public service a clear part of his agenda. I think the national conversation also plays a part.”
But the move to social good is also individually driven. As New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof put it, “Helping others may be as primal a human pleasure as food or sex.”
“We are in a privileged place and we have a duty and obligation to society to use our privilege to benefit more people and bring opportunities to people outside of us,” said Lia Bonamassa ’10, one of the DM coordinators.
“On some level it’s a selfish thing,” Platt said.
Guilt from privilege is another factor in student giving. To Sugoon Fucharoen ’12, it’s the idea of passing the privilege forward.
“I guess it’s like giving someone a really, really good Christmas gift,” Fucharoen wrote in an e-mail to The Daily. “When you see the person laughing with exhilarating joy of getting that special gift, you just somehow feel… fulfilled and even more happy than getting one yourself.”