Down and dirty: Volunteers take to streets

Stressing education and personal responsibility, nearly 25 University students braved the cold yesterday afternoon, lending a hand to the local community in its efforts to clean up the streets of West Philadelphia. Part of a new group called the Penn Friends and Students for Neighborhood Involvement, the volunteers spent the day removing trash from sidewalks and streets between 40th and 47th streets and Spruce and Walnut streets. They also distributed flyers about trash collection and recycling. "Most people don't even know that the trash collection day is on Wednesday -- or about any of the available recycling programs," said co-founder and College senior Danny Gerber. According to co-founder and College senior Tamara Dubowitz, the group was founded in September in order to "change student perceptions of West Philly by getting involved in it as a community." Yesterday's event was a team effort from the beginning, with the Center for Community Partnerships providing refreshments for the volunteers and Physical Plant contributing brooms and garbage bags. Additionally, local residents from programs such as the Spruce Hill Community Organization dropped by to offer support and advice. "I can remember back to when Locust Walk was all private houses," said Rose Amendolia, a local resident who has lived in West Philadelphia since 1944. "The neighborhood wasn't messy then, and there's no reason why it has to be so messy now." Many of the volunteers stressed the importance of taking responsibility for their neighborhood. "It's sad that it's all student trash," said Nikki Wengovsky, a local resident. "I don't know why everyone can't just clean up in front of their own building." College senior Philippe Visser added that events such as Sunday's are important "to raise consciousness about the neighborhood." "You begin to realize the importance of your own actions when you see what a community can do," he said. Dubowitz said she agreed. "People won't really feel responsible or connected unless they're out there suffering and working," she said. Major Barnett, a graduate student in the School of Social Work and a representative of the University's Office of Community Relations, explained that "when it comes down to it, students are responsible for the neighborhood." "Its appearance reflects on them," he said. "Little things, like clean streets, can snowball into bigger things. The whole mood of the neighborhood can begin to change." As the students swept and cleared the streets and sidewalks, many noted that they had had no idea of how beautiful some of the houses were. "At things like freshman orientation, all you hear is about how horrible and ugly West Philly is," College sophomore Chantal Dunn said. "Then they take you out here, and you see that it's not so horrible after all." For all their idealism, the students were realistic about the effect that their efforts would have in the short term. "This is not going to cause a systematic change," Dubowitz said. "But if it changes students' perceptions about getting involved in the community, then it's a good first step."