GUEST COLUMNIST: Build a community service center

Michael Cunningham Michael Cunningham Crumbling row houses and a weak public infrastructure are only the surface indications that West Philadelphia has been disinvested from by society. Too many residents confront their circumstances with a mediocre education system and vastly circumscribed employment prospects. How University policies have contributed to the current state of affairs is debatable but pause for a moment to consider the consequences of how the University will be organized not too far down the road. The construction of Sansom Common does provide some jobs, even if only short-term ones. But despite qualms about the direction Penn is moving, it is true reversing the fortune of West Philadelphia cannot be done single-handedly by the University. Nevertheless, as you progress though school and graduate, is Penn's future legacy -- indeed, yours -- one that you can be proud of supporting? Reducing the number of decent jobs available directly undermines Penn's interest in fostering a healthy and secure community. The plans the University has publicized in the last year, however, do offer some reason for optimism if implemented correctly. The key is to ensure that as the University reorganizes itself to save money, it must reinvest that money, and probably should invest much more, to counter any detrimental impact on the community. One valuable first step Penn can take to show its support for the community is in the creation of a Community Service Learning Center. A proposal has been drafted by the an ad hoc Community Service Center committee with input and support from numerous campus organizations including the Penn Volunteer Network. As envisioned, the center would provide centrally located space for community service groups to hold meetings, store belongings and provide a library resource room for tutoring. As an integrated center for community service, it could provide an office for the Program for Student- Community Involvement. In addition, it will hopefully aid in Penn's work as a leader in academically based community service classes by providing high quality seminar space for classes and conferences. Most importantly, the center will be a vital resource facilitating interaction between service groups while encouraging and enabling all organizations on campus to carry out more effective projects. The idea of a Community Service Learning Center fits neatly in the direction the University is moving with the creation of the Perelman Quadrangle, themed college houses and the preservation of the Castle living-learning program. If Penn needs an added incentive, most other Ivy League schools already have central locations for community service. For example, Harvard University has the Philips Brooks House and Yale University has Dwight Hall. If nothing else, a Community Service Learning Center might encourage Penn students through their interaction with community residents to gain insight and a critical consciousness of West Philadelphia, its problems and potential. Finally, and crucially, those who participate in the center experience may remember when they leave Penn, that they have an obligation to consider what is needed and what really matters for urban neighborhoods like West Philly in their economic and political decisions. If you would like to assist in the formation of a Community Service Learning Center, e-mail comhub@dolphin.upenn.edu

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