The service learning system of documentation serves only to frustrate students, promote dishonesty, and make students dislike the chore that serving people becomes in this system.

Service learning has been tossed around as a calling card used by the Admissions Office to dazzle prospective students and their parents, but it is now time to come to terms with the reality.

The system is confusing and tedious. Some service hours are considered direct and others are community. Direct service hours are done for the “poor, infirm, or homeless.” These get doubled. A student could only actually do 30 hours of service, but he or she will get 60 hours of service credit.

Community service opportunities are not considered to be direct, even if it seems they would be. For example, working in a soup kitchen could be considered direct service as opposed to teaching sunday school.

The current service learning requirement in order to graduate is 60 hours of community service, but 40 hours must be completed in order for incoming seniors to get their schedule. These hours must be labouriously documented and turned in to the Service Learning Coordinator. The process includes printing the form off the website, finding the supervisor to sign the form, and handing in the form within 30 days of the service being completed.

I think this process will sound mildly familiar to anyone who has been paid hourly. Service is not a job, and it should not be treated like clocking in and out of work. This form is just another stressful and frustrating homework assignment.

Another fact of life is that students cheat on homework. If people cheat on homework, then they will, and do, cheat on service forms. It is blatantly easier to have someone sign a piece of paper saying you did hours of service when you actually showed up with a shovel and stood around all day which I have seen people do.

Service is about helping people who need it and helping yourself in the process. It should not be another chore to check off the list so that you can be handed a diploma in May of your senior year.

Unfortunately, this is the traditional approach to service requirements. This is because it is hard to devise a system which provides incentive for everyone without making it seem like a chore.

The solution to this problem lies within requiring service trips for every student, similar to that of the junior retreat.

There should be several different options of trips ranging from week-long trips, similar to the Dominican Republic service trip, to day trips which would go to Our Daily Bread or similar places. Obviously the first option is a much larger time commitment, so several one-day trips to Our Daily Bread or other charity organizations would be required for the students who chose that option.

These trips are a much better alternative than our current service requirement. Chaperones could be sure that meaningful service is being done, while students will have more fun and enjoy serving more if they are doing it with their friends. It will also eliminate the homework stigma, since it would be more like a field trip.

Service should be a fun rewarding adventure with the person providing the service getting just as much out of it as the person who is receiving it. Not a tedious process to slog through.