First of all, we have to ask the question, "Is the student doing these services for the better of the community, or just so they can graduate from their class or school"" If we require them to volunteer then even though they do help the community, it is not with the best intentions, and it does not accomplish what is intended in the first place.

Serving the community, especially when working with or caring for children or the elderly, is a very serious matter and it should be one's personally decision to contribute their time, skills and care to the service which they pick. Requiring students to give up their time and work to their community may not bring the same kinds of benefits that would be yielded by individuals whom make a contribution to the community because they care immensely about issues or needs of that community. The last thing any community would want is to have volunteers that don't care about what they are doing and aren't enthusiastic about giving their time. There are plenty of people that are willing to give generously to the community, and there always will be. So we shouldn't force students to.

Lastly, the student may suffer from this requirement. Volunteering, like I stated earlier, is a very serious task and requires time, effort and thought. If the student cannot afford to give the required time, or cannot meet the needs of the recipients, then the hours are not met and the student's academic future could be at stake.

To conclude, students should be encouraged to offer service to their community, but most definitely should not be obligated to do so. It would be neither be a service to the community nor the student.