COLUMN: "Cool and Commercial-Free"

From Ericka Guthrie's "The Fire This Time," Fall '92 As I was weaving my way between the ghosts and the goblins, I overheard two girls behind me comment on how few black students there were to accompany the children as they made their rounds. This is not the first time I have heard this type of statement, nor do I expect it will be the last. Despite what those two girls think, the future of the children of West Philly is a priority for the black community at Penn. Although the black organizations who sponsor these programs may not be as visible to the rest of the Penn community, they are indeed an active and productive force. As with everything else, though, community service at Penn has also become commercial. Not in all cases, but in some. Perhaps it is a good thing that community service has become "cool." Just think of the implications of a society where not trying to help out your community would be considered a crime, a display of poor social skills, a faux pas. I, for one, would not protest a society where community service was mandatory, so long as it was still done for the right reasons. But if community service becomes too commercialized, it will not be able to fulfill its purpose: to serve the community. It is a sad fact that a good number of Penn students have yet to realize this point. If the interest is not genuine, then the action will not be effective. Some people will argue that it does not matter why you serve, as long as you do. But it is on this point that I do not agree. If your heart and mind are not into it, then you are really of no service to the community. You could just stay home. Volunteering is not just a r sum builder, it involves human beings. And while your weekly tutoring session with a West Philly high school student may just be a way for you add to the "extracurricular" section of your portfolio, for the people you are helping, it is something far more important than just a gesture. Positive Images, a mentoring/tutoring program here at Penn, is a prime example of a group that is very successful, but is, to some degree, low key. Unlike many organizations on campus, Positive Images does not receive funding from the University. Not only is it a student-run mentoring program, but both the mentors and the mentees are black. While some may say that this component will not help the students of West Philly High, or Sulzberger Junior High, the members of Positive Images believe that it will. The whole concept behind Positive Images is that it allows high school and middle school students in the program to see that they can achieve the goals they set for themselves. It is a chance for them to accomplish anything they want in life, such as going to college. It is also a chance for the students to interact with people who are also in the process of attaining their goals. This is done through tutoring and academic assistance, and other programs in the schools. This message of higher education rings true for these students, because the people who are delivering this message are black students themselves. The Youth Forum, which is headed by Sabrina Philson-Skalski, a College junior, is one example of how the members of Positive Images try to let the students of West Philly see that their opinions are just as important as anybody else's. Sabrina stresses that the reason Positive Images is so successful is that when she or any of the other students goes up to the high school, she does not go to talk down to them -- she goes as a friend, as their peer. Each week, the facilitators of the forum present a topic to the students which is of particular interest to them. When the students get together, they not only are able to vent their anger and frustrations on a topic, but they can go a step further and organize their ideas. It is a means of getting them together, so that they can make a difference. While taking a mentee to a basketball game or to the movies would be nice, it really doesn't help the students to deal with the problems they face every day. And it does not get them to help themselves. Brian Peterson, an Engineering senior, and Sabrina's Co-Chair of Positive Images, has been involved in the program since his freshman year. He believes it is important to not only talk to the students, but to listen to what they have to say. "Oftentimes, no one is there to listen to the students, whether it be at home or at school," he said. "The Youth Forum is a chance for the students to be heard by the Penn students who facilitate the forums." "But perhaps more importantly, it is a way for them to listen to each other," he added. While the membership of Positive Images is not as large as many of the mainstream service organizations on campus, it is apparent that there is far more strength in a small group of determined and genuinely motivated people. As Brian explained, "The difference between Positive Images and some of the other mainstream community service groups is that we're not a community service group, we are the community." Perhaps it is this attitude that can help all of us. Ericka Guthrie is a College sophomore from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. "The Fire This Time" appears alternate Fridays.

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