To be clear, I don’t have any skin in this game anymore (I already commited to UC Davis PoliSci), but this has been on my mind and I am curious what the answer is.
I’ll get right to it - I am an admin on a Discord server of over 5,000 members. The server is themed around getting support towards members who are LGBTQ. My responsibilities include event organization, server setup, rules drafting and enforcement, and user support, to name a few. The activity takes about 2 hours a day at a minimum and involves working with the three other admins, twenty moderators (who answer to admins), as well as the other 5k members. It involves lots of leadership and discretion, plus communicating with members who are in a crisis or are otherwise having a very difficult time. You have to be a positive representation of not just the server leadership, but the LGBTQ community as a whole.
Anyways, I know this gets a lot of attention as a non-activity, and for good reasons, but backed with a good explanation of its details and impact, would this be a reasonable thing one could include on a college application as a extracurricular (or essay) or on a resume? I’m fairly certain I know what the answer is, but I am intersted to hear what other people have to say about this.
If it’s an activity that you participated in outside of assigned school coursework, it is an extracurricular activity. I can’t think of a reason why it could not be included in a college application.
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The big reason that I’ve thought of is that it’s often not considered an activity by those who aren’t that familiar with the internet (or who are a bit too familiar). Essentially, their argument is that my time would be better put to use in the “real world.”
From a college admissions pov, the key is the story: your involvement presumably grew over time, as you accrued more responsibilities. There were probably challenges, perhaps as you stepped up to a role of authority over previous peers? calls you had to make that were complex, with no easy/clear resolution? moments when you saw the difference that the right voice at the right time could make to somebody in isolated situation? perhaps putting yourself in a role where you could ease the way for others helped you deal with your own situation? even your own question: is helping somebody you know only virtually “real life”? etc.
As a discord user myself I laughed at this. But it’s a good question. I say it depends on how you frame it. “Mod for discord” means nothing. “Organizer and Moderator for an online LGBTQ community” is better. I would say it’s ok to do online activism, but I wouldn’t put this above real-world type activities. If you have to cut one, online stuff will always be cut.