Students Lack Enthusiasm For National Service Corps Plans

Delegates to the National Student Association's conference last weekend on the proposed National Service Corps were all for the idea. At one point an ad hoc committee composed primarily of Young Americans for freedom introduced a resolution advocating "abandonment' of the project, and suffered an ignominious defeat in the ensuing vote.

A member of the President's study group on "national voluntary services" said that of 10,000 students who had returned questionnaires to his office, 72 per cent indicated they would consider serving in the corps.

But if the delegates supported the concept of a service corps they were not excited about it. In the lunch line, in the lobby of the American University student union, even on the floor of the plenary session, the talk among the students was of other things. The tremendous enthusiasm generated at a similar conference two years ago to study the overseas Peace Corps was no where in evidence.

There were several reasons for the tepid response of the delegates. It is clear the idea of a national service corps lacks the glamour and adventure of the Peace Corps. Innoculating babies in a Philadelphia slum, albeit a desperately needed service, is just not the same thing as innoculating babies in Lagos, Nigeria.

And too, this conference was noticeable deficient in inspiring speechmaking of the type Sen. Hubert Humphrey and Dr. Harold Taylor provided two years ago.

Congress vs. Commitment

But these are superficial reasons. The important problem the NSA conference revealed was that the type of service corps which would challenge and excite young people could never get Congressional approval; and the corps that might pass Congress would remain unsatisfying to students who have spent their undergraduate years deeply involved in such causes as combatting racial discrimination.

There was general agreement among the delegates on the basic themes of the service corps proposal as sketched out by such speakers as Richard Boone, head of the President's study group. Boone emphasized that the program would have limited funds and manpower (probably about 5,000 the first year) and would have to choose projects where it could make a "distinctive" contribution.

He listed two ways the corps could make such contributions. The first would be to increase the "visibility" of chronic problems which do not receive public notice, and therefore little public attention. He included in this group the plight of migrant workers, Indians, and the whole spectrum of evils publicized in Michael Harrington's The Other America, a recent account of poverty in this country.

The second great contribution of the corps, according to Boone, would be as a "catalyst" for local volunteer groups and private agencies. He said that most projects would eventually be taken over completely by local groups and corpsmen freed for new work.

The phrase "catalyst" was used by Dr. Taylor to describe his hopes for the Peace Corps, and the flourishing of overseas teaching projects, scholarship programs, and other private endeavors are testimony that those hopes were not false ones.

But if the delegates subscribed to these general themes, they objected to the vagueness of the speakers on more specific questions, particularly in the aspect of structure and control of the corps and priority of projects.

The basic principle set forth was that the corps would only initiate projects when requested by local authorities. When questioned, Boone extended "local authorities" to include private agencies with no governmental connections. But it was never made clear whether a Congressman or state administrator would have the power to block service corps projects requested by such agencies.

In private discussions during the conference Boone elaborated on his group's current thinking. He said that each project's merits will be weighed against the tenor of local opposition, and then either instituted or rejected. This would mean, in fact, that Congressmen, city councils, or state officials would probably be able to keep out the service corps if they felt strongly enough. And there is little doubt among observers here that projects aimed at changing the social character of their region would meet with insurmountable resistance from the entrenched Southern delegation in Congress.

Some delegates were even gloomier for the prospects of the service corps in the South. They argued that any legislation which did not give the states veto power over local projects would never pass Congress.

Other said that even if certain projects were initiated, not only in the South but in other politically volatile situations, local control could well stifle the volunteers' creative attempts to deal with the problems of the area. The ingenuity of various Peace Corpsmen has received wide publicity and appreciation from host countries. But as one delegate remarked, there were no Congressmen standing over the Corpsmen's heads.

The crucial question is this: what kind of corps will Congress pass, and will it excite the enthusisasm among the volunteers that has marked the overseas Peace Corps and contributed so greatly to its success.

Southern Opposition

This is the year of the tax bill, as 1962 was the year of the trade bill, and many observers here are saying the Administration will sacrifice the bulk of its welfare spending measures if it can secure passage of its tax proposals. The service corps will certainly face opposition from Southern Democrats and conservative Republicans. And it might not receive the vigorous Administration support it needs to pass Congress.

A weak, small corps is better than none at all, but it is difficult to see how this Congress will pass any legislation which would permit projects dealing with politically controversial problems, particularly in the South.

Dennis Shaul, NSA president, told the conference that the Administration should make clear the priority of projects it envisages for the corps, and how strongly it intends to back its proposals in Congress.

He added that if the Administration wants a corps that will deal almost entirely with non-controversial problems, such as health conditions, it should say so. But such a corps, Shaul said, would not be attractive to students concerned with such problems as the improvement of the life of the Negro in the North as well as the South.

Delegates Dissatisfied

The lack of enthusiasm manifested by the delegates to the Washington meeting is an indication that there is dissatisfaction with the content of the Administration's proposals, and the manner in which they have been advanced. Students who have been tutoring students in the Negro districts of Boston, registering voters, or working in similar areas would not join a service corps. And it is this type of politically involved student who goes to NSA conferences. But Shaul is incorrect to equate the political activists with other students and adults who spend time in social service work. Students who participate in the Phillips Brooks House public service projects would most likely be very excited by the service corps.

But just because it can attract volunteers for less controversial projects, this does not mean the Administration should not seriously consider the opinions of the delegates at the NSA conference.

Many of the great social injustices in this country exist not in spite of local efforts to eradicate them, but because of local efforts to maintain the comfortable status quo. At the least, the drafters of the service corps legislation should consider an NSA proposal that "The National Service Corps, without previous requests by local groups shall be able to explore and evaluate areas of need and make itself available to assist local groups in-the formulation of project requests."

It would seem at this time that the only politically realistic proposal by the Administration would provide for a great deal of local control. Of course much can also be said for an effort to change the political climate. For instance Sec. of Health, Education and Welfare Anthony Celebreze has yet to endorse the corps publically and it is possible that the Administration may provide further opposition.

But even if the national service corps never achieves the glamour of the overseas Peace Corps, nor the controversial role some students would like to see, it can become a catalyst for local volunteer action and a publicizer of presently ignored injustice. It would be unfortunate indeed if the Administration chooses to sacrifice the enabling legislation to the fiscal conservatives without a good fight.