Brooks 1

Michael Brooks
Thomas Howarth
LBST 2215-H74
11 May 2016
Final Reflection
When I signed up for this class, I didnt think much of it. It was a requirement for
the University Honors Program and it came with a certain number of community service
hours. Upon reading that this class was to be about citizenship, I braced myself for
lectures full of legal jargon and discussions about politics, especially given the current
election and the importance and focus on immigration. However, this class has not been
what I expected it to be. We have spent almost no time discussing what it legally means
to be a citizen and a lot of time on what it morally means to be a citizen. Our discussions
about community service, racism, and homelessness have really engaged my thinking
about not only how to handle these situations, but what lies at the root of the problems.
In the past, I havent been the best with earning community service hours. I was
always focusing on either school or work and maybe throwing in some social activities. I
just didnt see how I was supposed to have the time to help others when I felt as if I
couldnt even help myself with my problems. I was continuously forced into thinking that
I was somehow in the wrong for not making time for those less fortunate than myself.
And when that didnt work I was bribed with acceptance into better schools and
threatened with the promise of increasingly competitive admissions pools. Even as a
member of the University Honors Program, the idea of community service is pushed in
my face as a requirement because Im supposed to be in an upper class of students here

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on campus. This course, however, made me realize that community service and
volunteering has become increasing flawed. The good intentions are no longer always at
the forefront of everyones minds as they ladle soup or pass out used clothing. Sometimes
its the promise of a better school or the ability to place a certain number on a rsum. I
have come to the conclusion that I would rather volunteer for a cause that I truly believe
in, when I happen to have the time, than to make time for any service opportunity that
shows up just to impress people that I dont like to begin with. I am not a servant to the
community. I want to help people learn how to help themselves, and in order to do that
efficiently, I may need to focus on both myself and my education for a while. This class
has helped me to accept the fact that self-service inevitably has to come before aiding
others.
When we began the discussion of racism in class, I had extremely high hopes. As
a minority woman, its a topic that relates directly to my everyday life and can become
frustrating when people either ignore or deny its existence. However, I soon became
disappointed with the resources that we were assigned to read and watch during our
discussions. We spoke a lot about White Privilege and the concept itself seemed to be
prevalent in our classroom. All of the articles that we read, videos that we watched, and
people that came in to speak to us about the systematic racism plaguing our country were
people that have never had to experience this type of racism first hand. Everyone was
white. The Caucasian community has a large role in this play that we call society and thus
are an important aspect to the discrimination faced by minorities every day. However,
when discussing the history of racism and how it has gotten to the point of systematically
oppressing one group over another, I would prefer to have someone of that race teach me

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about their personal hardships. The fact that we did not read a single article or watch a
single video that was written or hosted by a black or Hispanic person just proves, in my
mind, how far away we as people are from true racial equality.
Our section on homelessness really made me think deeper into the root of the
problem. I was always taught to sympathize with the homeless and do what I could to
help because you never know what could happen and that could be you some day if
youre not careful. But at the same time, I was taught to be wary of the people standing
at corners asking for money. They posed a potential threat because they could misuse the
money that I was giving to them. These conflicting ideals really surfaced and showed
themselves as truly conflicting during our talk at Moore Place. I could appreciate the fact
that there was a safer option where people understand the struggles of homelessness first
hand and can give real, experience-based opinions and advice to those struggling. What I
didnt necessarily agree with was the fact there was no factor that forced the residents to
overcome their homelessness. There was no time limit to how long they could stay. This
point bothered me because I worried that there would be people to take advantage of a
system that could be a great resource for those that really want to start their lives over and
better themselves. While thinking about how this resource should or shouldnt be used, I
realized that there are also expectations put on the non-homeless about how we should or
shouldnt treat them. This was what bothered me the most about my role in helping the
homeless. I hated that I was being judged on whether or not I helped those in need or how
I chose to help them. This feeling hasnt changed but has instead become amplified. I
now realize that I need to spend some time figuring out and accepting how I feel about
the homeless community, and then turning those feelings into a useful form of aid.

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I spent a lot of time contemplating how our oral history assignment applied to my
life and became extremely frustrated when I came up blank. I didnt appreciate that I was
working with people that I didnt know about a cause that I wasnt aware of. It seemed
like an extremely unorganized system of students trying to balance their own work and
school schedules as well as the schedules of their volunteer interviewees. The entire
assignment just felt like a hassle to me. And then the paperwork at the end of it just made
me feel even worse about the whole situation. I understand that everything had to be
legally in order to use the interview, but it all seemed like it was way too much. But it is
in this area that I feel like I have grown the most. Now that I think back on the oral
histories, I realize that this isnt for me as a student or for the interviewees in their current
lives. Its about the future generations that my need some guidance and wisdom from the
past. Many people look to the past for an anchor to their present. Its a way of
establishing who we are as people based on the actions of our ancestors. This assignment,
though seemingly useless and tedious at the beginning, has made me realize that we dont
always have to do things in order to benefit our lives today. Sometimes its good to think
of those that dont have a voice yet because they havent been born yet. Our future can be
so bright, and I was able to be a part of educating them about their city and potentially
their heritage.
Although I worked with a partner during my oral history, I was placed in a small
group in order to combine the works of both the oral histories and the individual history
assignments. My group focused on making a newsletter that could be printed and passed
out by the Optimist Park Community Association. I feel especially proud of this
newsletter because I feel like I was finally able to think of the residents of Optimist Park

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as regular people. Prior to this I found myself thinking of them similar to lab rats. They
were to be used for an assignment that I would then be graded on. I did not think of them
as individuals who had their own interests, hobbies, or even lives. I am a person that
generally prefers to do individual assignments especially when Im being graded. But the
newsletter forced me to both work with others that I didnt know very well, and also to
think of the residents and what they may or may not be interested in. I thought about the
fact that it was summer, so they may want a lighter dessert as the recipe included on page
three. I thought about the fact that they may have children so theyll want some family
friendly event options. Throughout the formation of this six-page newsletter, I began to
realize that everyone is a person. They have their own stories and their own histories, and
this is something that I wish I had truly believed before I walked through the door of this
class. I would have gotten so much more out of the oral history project.
I may not have agreed with everything that was said or done in the class, but I
now realize that I wasnt expected to. We discussed many controversial topics in this
course that were meant to engage students in heated debates because nothing can be
resolved without serious discussion. As I approach the end of the semester and try to
reflect on my views of citizenship, I cant help but think that the title of this course
should be renamed. I feel that the purpose of this class was less to teach about how to be
a good citizen, but how to be a Good Samaritan. Anyone can legally be a citizen, but that
does not mean that they have the intention of bettering their communities, now or for
future generations.