Texas lawmakers must not think college students are nice enough.

 The House Higher Education Committee has approved legislation that would require students beginning college this fall or later to perform 28 hours of public service during any one semester they are in school.

 The bill, sponsored by Representative Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, mandates community service for students seeking bachelor degrees or associate certificates. Institutions would be allowed to decide what counts as public service, although students could petition for additions to the list.

 The truth is, Texas students already are civic-minded. The University of Texas Campus and Community Involvement Office identifies 75 student groups as service organizations. Thousands of students are involved in those groups. In addition, many other volunteer their time in a wide variety of ways off campus.

 Rep. Gallego's legislation isn't just philosophically misguided; it has practical problems. The bill discriminates against students who don't have time to volunteer. Many students must work to make ends meet. Given that those students need time for studying, too, cramming 28 hours of community service into any semester might not be feasible.

 Although Texas would be the first state to mandate community service for college students, forced "volunteerism" already is trendy in secondary schools.
 
 

Washington, D.C., requires each student to complete 100 hours of service before issuing
a diploma. Maryland asks for 40 hours, while Illinois expects 24 hours.

 The Ayn Rand Institute has been the only organized voice against what it calls "drafting" students into public service. After volunteerism earned an executive go-ahead at the President's Summit on Volunteerism in 1997, the institute launched a "campaign against servitude."

 Speaking out against public service is difficult. After all, public service is a good thing when it is voluntary. Yet even with the stigma of being labeled coldhearted, parents, students and reasonable people everywhere have filed suit against forced servitude programs in secondary schools.

 Thus far, all have been unsuccessful. Courts have upheld compulsory service programs in New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania under the logic that they are relevant to school districts' educational missions.

 Mr. Gallego's legislation is a toothier version of a bill offered by Rep. Jesse Jones, D-Dallas, in 1997. Mr. Jones' bill, which died in committee, would have obligated colleges and universities to establish a mechanism by which students could earn elective credit for performing community service.

 Rather than pass Rep. Gallego's bill, the Legislature would do well to revisit such an opt-in system as a more ethical alternative for promoting volunteerism.