Selective service.

• Position: Letters - Letter to the Editor

I wish to take exception to the manner in which Joshua Green's article ("The Other College Rankings ..." January/February 2002) listed Warren Wilson College as "one of the worst" when it comes to national service. The reason why we did not show a large percentage of service through the work-study program is because service at Warren Wilson is not a paid endeavor, but given in the spirit of volunteerism by all our students. Each year, our small student body of 800 contributes over 30,000 hours of service to such projects as Habitat for Humanity, homeless shelters, environmental cleanup, tutoring in schools, and many others. We probably allocated a larger percentage of the total institutional budget for service-learning than any other campus. Your ranking system is way off the mark for an institution such as ours that does not fit neatly into your "work-study funds" methodology.

DOUGLAS M. ORR, JR. President, Warren Wilson College Joshua Green accuses schools of having abandoned their commitment to community service because they do not use federal work-study funds to assign students to paid community service. What he fails to note is a difference of perspective on the issue. Not all schools believe that paying students for community-service work is the best way to encourage them toward service. Our university is founded upon and committed to Franciscan ideals, including the value of community and the dignity of all. We encourage our students not only to learn these ideals, but to live them. We have never had a service requirement, yet are deeply committed to service, as are our students. However, that's the key: They volunteer; they choose to serve. We consider voluntary service to be true service; if you are paid, it's a job. America's best colleges aren't its worst; we simply choose to approach service differently.

ROBERT J. WICKENHEISER President, St...