SECOND DEGREE: Hidden Asset

Often overlooked, the School of Social Work is at the forefront of training students to deal with society's problems. But there is a small building on the Walk which often goes unnoticed, or at most remains a curiosity to passers-by. Students might bump into this red brick building if they get lost leaving neighboring Stiteler Hall. The School of Social Work, however, houses approximately 300 University students who have decided to dedicate their professional lives to counseling, aiding, serving and empowering others. Of the University's 12 graduate and professional schools, the School of Social Work is perhaps the least well known by students and, according to some Social Work students, the least recognized by the administration. According to Bruce Weiss, a member of the Social Work School's Student Council, there is a story, probably apocryphal, that former President Sheldon Hackney was asked about the Social Work School's location last year. "We have a school of social work?" Hackney is rumored to have responded. Although much of the University community doesn't take note of the school, its students are on the frontlines of some of Philadelphia's most intense and challenging social problems. The school's approach to education is unique from other schools of social work. Reinforcing in students the prevalence of racism and prejudice in almost every aspect of modern society, the program of study emphasizes social change as an active and functional role in the study of social work. So much so, in fact, that master's degree candidates are in the city more than they're in the classroom. But while the master's program requires students to spend just two days a week in class, they must devote an additional three days in a field placement internship with an agency that provides social care. The first year's course of study concentrates on building up a foundation of courses dealing with issues of social work practice, social policy, human growth and development, research and institutional racism. During their second year, students must choose to specialize in either family or health, linking the previous year's groundwork to other electives and their field placement program. Orneice Leslie, the assistant dean and director of admissions for the school, accounts for the school's social change philosophy partly as a function of the University's location in the city. "We're on the cutting edge of human suffering and human misery," she said. And while many schools of social work may emphasize a more therapeutic role for the social work professional, "At Penn," Leslie says, "we say you get out there and help. You go to the client." An issue key to life as a professional student of social work is resolving the dichotomy between working to change the social conditions around campus while working within the social structures on campus. In a field where empowering clients is the central mission, addressing issues of empowerment within the school and at the University becomes a key concern among students. "We're out in the trenches," said Nate Prentiss, who is in the second year of the master's program and the first year of the Ph.D. program. "It would be nice to get a little more recognition." Many students feel strongly about the perceived distance between the school and the rest of University, and even other professions at large. Social Work graduate student David Wohlsifer said he feels students are very alienated. "Social workers are treated like less than professionals, and it's wrong," he said. "People don't recognize our value and our usefulness." It is easy to peer into the lobbies of Steinberg-Dietrich and the School of Social Work and note the obvious differences, but those differences are felt by social work students nonetheless. "We're paying as much money as everyone else, and we don't know where the money goes," said Social Work Student Council member Leslie Lipson. "It's frustrating." Social Work graduate student Tricia Bent said she also feels a certain financial neglect. "They need to make a firm commitment to financially support us – everybody who wants to needs to be able to serve," Bent said. "The University needs to take a close look at us." One of the Student Council's main missions is to develop and expand the roles of inclusiveness of those already at the school. From a practical standpoint, social workers need to be prepared for any type of client from any kind of background, and be prepared to table whatever prejudices they bring with them. Since diversity is found everywhere within the profession, students must be able to cope with the different situations they will undoubtedly face over their careers. "It's not enough to be bright and kind," said Lipson. "When you work with the different aspects of the environment, there are so many components – you need the ability to wear a lot of different hats." Prentiss said dealing with prejudice is an aspect of the profession no one can escape. "Everyone has some degree of racism and sexism, and coming to terms with that is difficult," Prentiss said. "You can't do much good if you're a racist." The school, with little more than 300 students, has a surprisingly diverse student groups for its size. Whether Latino, feminist, Jewish, black, Asian or gay, many student groups are part of nationally-recognized organizations and are attempting to address issues of racism, sexism and homophobia – issues pertinent to their professional lives as well as their academic lives at the University. "Penn is very political, and I'm lucky that I'm here to see all the pluses and minuses," said Bent, who is president of the school's chapter of the National Association of Black Social Workers. Bent also cited a need to diversify the faculty. "I'd like to see more African-American full-time faculty members," she said. Many social work students see opportunities for change within the school as well as the chance for that change to spread into the University as a whole. "It's a microcosm of the University," Bent said. "The school can change." A few weeks ago students staged a protest at the school in which they demanded to speak to Dean Ira Schwartz about the large class sizes which often leave people sitting on the floor. "Students want to make sure that they get heard," Weiss said of the protest. "Social work students definitely have the belief that we will be heard, even if we're told that we won't." Social work students are also interested in obtaining representation on the dean's five-year planning committee so they can have a voice in the future of the school. As the students have established more of a collective voice for themselves, they have also broken misconceptions of the profession as a whole. "The average person thinks of the social worker as just do-gooders and idealists," Associate Social Work Professor Louis Carter said. "They simply believe in social institutions and collectively know they have to act." Nor is the field dominated by women and gay men, another common stereotype. "Many of the assumptions attached to the field of social work just aren't true," Weiss said. Overcoming the various societal stigmas associated with the profession often requires students to examine their own values and sense of place in the society. Bent said she finds strength within, instead of relying on outside institutions. "As social workers, we can't be empowered by something else, by the school or University. It's a process you do on your own," she said. "If we can't do it for ourselves, then nobody can – the school helps with the fundamentals, but you have to take control of your own education." The factors which bring someone to make a career out of social work are as diverse as the students who attend the school. And while most students seem to have a common desire to get involved and help people "on the fringes," as Leslie puts it, they by no means see themselves getting locked into a dead-end job at the city welfare office. "As a profession, social work goes beyond the people who work in welfare offices," Bent said. In fact, politics, policy making, administration, legal and judicial issues all relate to a professional social worker's efforts in the field. "The problems are a lot larger than just what clients bring into a service agency," he said. "They're symbolic, and through research geared to those who effect policy changes, you can improve access for larger amounts of people." Many students agree that a degree in social work yields more professional flexibility than do some other programs of study. In addition, students said they perceive the profession as being in a state of change and improvement. "Social work is so broad-based – there are a billion things you can do with the degree," Prentiss said. "It's a growth field, and in the future it should be higher-paying," he added. Although social worker's salaries are improving, it is obvious that students haven't come to the profession for the money. The reported salaries of the 1991-92 master's level graduates ranged from $17,000 to $33,000, with an average of $28,402. "If they'd pay us by our value, they would have to pay us as much as doctors get," Leslie said. But that doesn't seem to phase any of the students. Their satisfaction stems from making a career out of helping others. "It's not like Wharton," Prentiss said. "The major rewards have to do with values. There's a whole side of America that people don't see, or don't let themselves see and we see it everyday – those are the people we serve."

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