Two students and a professor are debating mandatory volunteering for graduation. Noah (Student) I think introducing volunteering as part of graduation makes total sense. It gives us a way to give back and connect with the community beyond campus. I mean, a few required hours could really make a difference and it's a valuable experience too. Ella (Student) I'm not so sure about making it mandatory. Volunteering is meant to be a choice. Once you force students to do it, it loses that spirit. Plus, not everyone has the same time or resources some people work jobs or have family responsibilities. We need to be careful not to overburden students. Prof. Thompson (Professor) You both raise important points. From an educational standpoint, structured community service can be incredibly formative. It builds empathy and civic awareness. But Ella, your concern is valid—any requirement must consider students' circumstances. That's why we'd need clear exemption guidelines for those with legitimate constraints. Noah (Student) Right, and we could structure it so students have flexibility different volunteering options, maybe even on campus roles for those who can't travel far. But I still think we should treat it as a graduation requirement to show the university values engagement as much as academics. Ella (Student) But what about impact? Shouldn't we focus on how meaningful the volunteering actually is? If people are just ticking a box, it could become a shallow experience. Wouldn't it be better to create incentives like recognition on transcripts or awards so students want to participate instead of being forced? Prof. Thompson (Professor) That's a constructive suggestion. And to inform any policy, we should start with impact assessments track outcomes from current volunteer programmes, see what actually benefits students and the community. We could also run a student referendum before implementing anything compulsory, to ensure broad support. Noah (Student) Okay, maybe incentives are a good compromise to start with. If we encourage people through positive reinforcement and highlight the benefits, participation might rise naturally. Then we could look at whether a requirement is even necessary in the future. Ella (Student) Exactly. Let's give students the chance to opt in first. And if participation is strong, there’s no need to make it mandatory. We just need to design the incentives well certificates, networking opportunities, or maybe tie it to course credits. Prof. Thompson (Professor) I agree. Let's move forward with optional volunteering incentives well structured, well promoted and use that trial to evaluate interest and impact. We can revisit the idea of mandatory volunteering only after we’ve collected data and heard from students directly through surveys or another referendum.