Students clean West Phila. community

Sweeping and picking up trash was the order of business for nearly 150 students from the University, Haverford and Bryn Mawr colleges who participated in the seventh annual Hunger Cleanup in West Philadelphia on Saturday. The event raised money for both local and international groups working to build communities and reduce poverty. Equally important, according to organizers, was the promotion of interaction between students and the West Philadelphia community. Project Coordinator Aletha Daniel, an Education graduate student, said the interaction with residents was crucial because many University students unfamiliar with outlying areas of West Philadelphia perceive the area to be a ghetto, a belief Daniel maintained is not true. Daniel and Todd Waller, the director for student-community involvement for Hunger Cleanup, cited statistics that show that problems of rape and substance abuse are as prominent in the University community as among neighboring communities, but that the University community fails to "look inward" at its own problems. Waller, Daniel and community group members added that the University community sees crime and substance abuse as unique to the neighboring lower income communities, a view with which they strongly disagreed. In addition to fund raising and community-student interaction, groups are working with students on building a playground and petting zoo for local youngsters, hoped that such sites would serve to bring often dislocated south east Asian, Indian and black community members together in the future. Existing community group leaders praised student involvement in the community, something organizers said they were concerned about. Organizers said that they were more successful in interacting with and being accepted by community members this year, and attributed this to extensive communication with existing community groups prior to the event. "This year we got involved with the community before the event," said College junior and volunteer Kimberly Colton. "We are working with community members and there is a better chance for more community involvement with these groups after today. Last year it wasn't like that." Community leaders said they were very pleased with the student involvement and hoped it would be an ongoing relationship, citing the hope and valuable time that students can offer these communities. Although most who were involved said that the logistics of the event went well, some students were slightly disappointed with the turnout from West Philadelphians. "There could have been more community members out," College freshman Abby Wittenberg said. University volunteers, however, attributed the lower than expected community involvement to the Cambodian New Year, the celebration of which was in time conflict with Saturday's cleanup.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.