Civic House celebrates 10th anniversary

When the West Philadelphia Alliance for Children gathered in the Civic House living room Tuesday night to teach other students how to "step" - a dance form using hands and feet to create intricate beats and rhythms - it was clear a celebration had begun.

The event was just a taste of Civic House Week, a series of activities commemorating the 10th anniversary of Civic House on Penn's campus this week.

To celebrate the week, students involved in one of Civic House's areas of service will collaborate to highlight the different services.

Through movie screenings, workshops and one-time service opportunities - each representing one of the community-service hub's seven areas of service - Civic House marks this birthday by living out the purpose it came up with 10 years ago.

Civic House director David Grossman, who has been there since its inception, recalled that in the 1980s, Penn started a committee and several community-service organizations. These groups began doing some of the organizing Civic House does today but did not have the physical space or infrastructure the hub now has.

In the 1990s, then University President Judith Rodin made an increased commitment to serving West Philadelphia and developed the notion of hubs on campus, starting with Kelly Writers House.

Grossman explained that students interested in service proposed to the administration the idea of Civic House - a hub that would organize and link service programs across Penn and provide participating students with a physical space in which to interact.

"They pointed to the fact that several other [Ivy League universities] ... already had other physical places that supported this kind of work," said Grossman. "They said it's time for Penn to catch up."

At the end of fall 1997, these students handed a proposal to the administration. In January, a month later, Rodin okayed the proposal, saying there was a place for them - the house on Locust Walk that they occupy today.

"I remind students of this because it's helpful for them to realize that the institution is responsive to well-researched, well thought-out student initiatives that work well with what the University's aim is," Grossman said.

Today, the house is still a place where students come together and perform service with the advice and training of a professional staff. More than 50 community service organizations compose Civic House's student body, represented by the Civic House Associates Coalition.

According to Grossman, Civic House has helped groups network, organized workshops to support student work and education, made internship information accessible and integrated service into the classroom through the Civic Scholars Program, which started last year.

"It helps students to envision how they compose their lives," Grossman said. "They don't need to check their conscience at the door when they graduate."

The notion of having this physical house - what Grossman calls "an idea that represents the University's commitment to this work" - adds something unique.

Civic House associate director Suzanne Lyons explained that Penn is lucky to have such a space.

"We went up to Columbia [University] at a conference with representatives from different Ivies' community service centers, and they talked about how difficult it was to get space on campuses," she said.

"Civic House is my house - that's the idea," Nick Eng, College junior and CHAC co-chairman said. "Most people who come through this building will feel like they belong."

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