Freshmen head 'Into the Streets'

For about 1,300 freshmen, Saturday was a day of sunshine, sharing and good old-fashioned elbow grease. As participants in the fourth annual "Into the Streets" program, freshmen volunteered their time and energy to a variety of community improvements -- including neighborhood clean-up and reading to the elderly. Students rolled up their sleeves as early as 8:30 a.m., toiling alongside their hallmates and residential advisors in over 45 different sites in West Philadelphia. Habitat for Humanity, the Anti-Graffiti Network and Philadelphia Housing Authority were all recipients of the student's efforts. The Schuylkill River Development Council drew the most students, according to College senior Dana Brakman, who helped organize the event on behalf of the Penn Program for Student-Community Involvement. Volunteers who worked at this site mowed the area along the Schuylkill river in order to help develop it into a park, she said. The event was concluded at 4:30 p.m. with brief speeches by Mayor Ed Rendell, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and State Senator Chaka Fattah. "This is a terrific thing to do for the city," said Rendell, who graduated from the College in 1965. "I hope you will allocate a little of your time to to the city you chose to make your home for the next four years." As students sprawled out, exhausted, on the Quadrangle lawn listening to the speeches, many said they enjoyed their day of community service. "I liked the manual labor," said College freshman Adrienne Hembare, who helped paint over graffiti on a trailer. "It made me aware of how easy it is to do community service." College freshman Rita Rource said she was happy that she was able to make a difference by volunteering. "A lot of problems in society today can't really be helped by politics," she said. "People have to do it themselves." Brakman said "Into the Streets" is a way to "spark an interest in first-year students in community service." "If a couple of students get turned on to community service, then it's worth it," she said. "[It is important] to get students to get to know their community on a regular basis." Brakman added that the Annual Volunteer Fair, which will take place on Locust Walk Wednesday, is also aimed to show students the many ways they can give back to the community.