Despite a small audience, UW-Madison Dean of Students Luoluo Hong discussed the importance and ethics of community service over cookies and milk in Memorial Union Wednesday night as part of a series sponsored by the Community Service and Contemporary Issues Committee.
Hong stressed the value of classroom knowledge, but said the broader issue is to educate students so they are prepared with needed life skills.
\What I hear from a lot of employers is that students come with the book smarts from the university setting, but not necessarily the life smarts,"" she said.
Hong compared the campus to an amusement park.
""People are moving around, things are still real, but when you leave, you realize the world doesn't operate on rides that you pay for,"" she said. ""So it's very valuable for students to volunteer or get an internship.""
Abbie Wood, UW-Madison junior and coordinator of the community service committee, said students should become more aware of the Wisconsin Idea.
Hong explained the Wisconsin Idea is about reciprocity.
""We get contributions, but we have to give back to society-to better standards of living and to improve education,"" Hong said.
""Cookies and Milk"" was introduced this semester as a way of facilitating conversation among administration, faculty and students regarding pressing campus issues.
""This provides students the chance to talk with administration and people that have a role to play in shaping this institution,"" Hong said. ""For a campus this big, these are the things that help make it smaller.""
Although Hong said it was not the quantity but the quality of the group that mattered, concern was raised over why only one UW-Madison student not affiliated with media or program promotions attended.
Marc Kennedy, publicist for the Wisconsin Union, said there simply was not enough time to publicize the event.
""It just started this semester, so it's a new program. I think they have a great lineup of speakers. It's just a matter of coordinating the publicity,"" Kennedy said.
""Hopefully this will be remedied in the future,"" he said.
The next and last ""Cookies and Milk"" of the academic year will take place April 19 and will feature Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk. Previous guests have been Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Chancelor John Wiley.
