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Citizenship Requirement

The Honors Forum holds that all Honors students should use their talents to contribute to campus and/or community life. Therefore, all HF members, beginning with the Class of 2009, are required to complete a Citizenship project. This project will give you the opportunity to pursue a passion outside of the classroom or as an extension of a classroom experience, and to involve a larger community within or beyond Skidmore College. Your project should be both process- and product- oriented, as well as intellectually rigorous; it will require initiative, planning, organization, leadership, and personal reflection. The Citizenship project should stretch you creatively and intellectually beyond the scope of a normal academic or extracurricular undertaking; you can use this opportunity to pursue your interests and passions.

To submit an application for this semester, click here.

For the Fall 2008 term, proposals are due by September 30th at 4:00 p.m.

To see some examples of past projects, click here.
To read some guidelines from the Leadership Activities Office on how to plan a successful event, click here.

Two information sessions will be held this semester:

Requirements for completing your Citizenship Project:

1. Proposal. Fill out and submit the proposal form before the fourth week of the semester in which you wish to begin your project. The Citizenship Committee must approve for your project to count toward the Citizenship Requirement. The Committee may ask for revisions before approving your proposal.

For the Fall 2008 term, proposals are due by September 30th at 4:00 p.m.

2. Timeframe. Your project must be completed within the period you specify in your proposal.

3. Final Reflection. At the conclusion of your project, compose a reflection piece covering, for example, major accomplishments, outcomes, analysis, personal reactions, and self-critique. Your reflection piece could be a short essay, a journal, a presentation, an album, a film, or another creative medium. If you choose not to do an essay, you should include some analytical writing in the form of an introduction, an afterward, or annotations to your piece.

For the Fall 2008 semester, the final reflection piece is due without exception on December 10th by 4:00 p.m. to the Honors Forum Secretary. If you submit it by December 3rd, the Committee will give you feedback, and you may have the opportunity to revise it if the Committee finds it unsatisfactory. If you submit it after December 3rd, we cannot guarantee feedback, you cannot revise it, and the piece will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis.

The Committee expects high standards of writing and will be happy to assist you if you are experiencing difficulty. The Committee also recommends the Writing Center as a resource.

4. Gatherings. In order to foster a sense of community among members, the Honors Forum will offer three gatherings for everyone completing their CR in that term, of which you must attend two. The Citizenship Committee will invite students to speak about their projects on these occasions.

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5. Paperwork. All paperwork must be submitted to the Honors Forum secretary.

You must satisfy all these requirements in order to pass.

Things to consider when designing your project

1. Community Involvement. Your project must benefit a group or community, inside or outside Skidmore College. Any events or services you offer must be not-for-profit.

2. Intellectual Rigor. Your project should challenge you to reflect, think critically, and demonstrate initiative, and should be designed to challenge the intended audience as well. Mindless or clerical work is not acceptable.

3. Coherent Theme. Though your project may have several components, all pieces should be united by a single overriding theme.

4. Hours. Your project should involve at least 15 hours of work, including planning, preparation, and execution.

5. Clubs and Organizations. You may use a student club or organization as a platform from which to launch your project, but you must extend your endeavors beyond the normal duties of a member. Simply acting as a club officer or an SGA senator, for example, will not suffice.

6. Group Projects. Consider a project that involves working with one or more fellow HF members. Such projects often prove to be the most fun and fruitful. The Citizenship Committee can help you find like-minded students, if you wish.

7. Reflective Log. Throughout the course of your project, you might find it helpful to keep a reflective log. It should include significant self-reflection: your personal reactions to the work, what is going well, what might be improved, how the project is progressing. The reflective log can help you as you put together your Final Reflection piece. It is worth noting that the students who have produced the best projects have usually kept a log.

8. Academic Credit. Though your project cannot receive academic credit, it may relate to a course. In fact, expanding upon coursework may help you get the most out of the experience. Moreover, you can use your project as the basis for your final Capstone Project, for which you will receive academic credit.

9. Financial Support. Should your project require a budget, you can apply to the Dean of Studies for Student Opportunity Funds. The Honors Forum also has some limited funds, for which you can apply when you submit your proposal (with this form).

10. Professional Agreement. If your project involves work within a professional organization, you must sign an agreement with your supervisor, detailing the expectations and commitments of both parties.

Evaluating your project

• Citizenship Committee. Your project proposal will be reviewed by the Citizenship Committee. The Citizenship Committee consists of three members drawn from faculty, staff, and students from the Honors Council, the Honors Forum Executive Committee, and at-large Forum members. The Committee rotates its membership annually.

• Case-by-Case Consideration. The Committee will review and approve projects on a case-by-case basis. It may make recommendations and ask for revisions. You must submit any changes you make to the original proposal for the Committee’s approval.

• Project Evaluation. The Citizenship Committee will review your Final Reflection piece and evaluate the success of the project. For the Fall 2008 semester, this is due without exception on December 10th by 4:00 p.m. to the Honors Forum Secretary. If you submit it by December 3rd, the Committee will give you feedback, and you may have the opportunity to revise it if the Committee finds it unsatisfactory. If you submit it after December 3rd, we cannot guarantee feedback, you cannot revise it, and the piece will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis.

Possible citizenship projects:

There are hundreds of possible projects out there; the following list is merely a sample.

• Starting and facilitating a reading group on campus

• Bringing a speaker to campus and organizing related events

• Organizing a special events week in the context of a club

• Original and significant initiatives in SGA; leading a committee in a special project

• Organizing and performing music or drama (free admission)

• Organizing and putting up an art exhibit (free admission)

• Doing a special tutoring/mentoring program at the Maple Avenue Middle School or the Saratoga YMCA

• Organizing a special program at Wesley Nursing Home

• Planning and executing a film event for the Skidmore and/or the Saratoga Springs community with the Saratoga Film Forum

• Peer Tutoring (coordinated through Student Academic Services)