EDITORIAL: Getting involved

If the University is seriousIf the University is seriousabout its commitment toIf the University is seriousabout its commitment toWest Philadelphia, it mustIf the University is seriousabout its commitment toWest Philadelphia, it mustincorporate a service-If the University is seriousabout its commitment toWest Philadelphia, it mustincorporate a service-learning component intoIf the University is seriousabout its commitment toWest Philadelphia, it mustincorporate a service-learning component intoexisting academic programs.If the University is seriousabout its commitment toWest Philadelphia, it mustincorporate a service-learning component intoexisting academic programs.___________________________ Administrators have promised more cops, more guards and more blue light phones. The city has offered more of its police officers and is considering installing more lights on streets like Walnut and Spruce. But increasingly, letter-writers have begun to demand that students and administrators do something, too -- something more long-term and meaningful than simply giving one Saturday each semester sweeping streets. One answer is the institution of a service-learning requirement. We're not suggesting that another course be added to the College's already-onerous load of 10 General Requirement courses. And we're not saying Engineering or Nursing students should be out painting curbs or picking up trash in the area once a week. What we're suggesting is far more substantial. Similar to Management 100, the management-application class all Wharton freshmen take during their first semester, this new requirement would mandate that more departments incorporate service-learning components in their classes, to both encourage and force students to apply what they're reading about and hearing in lecture. Nursing students, for example, could work in and make recommendations to optimize operation of community clinics. Engineering students could use their knowledge to help get neighborhood schools on the Internet or to rebuild playgrounds, making them safer. Education majors could study and then work to alleviate the difficulties of reaching kids in overcrowded, underfunded urban school systems. Biology majors could work with Design of the Environment students to plan and create community gardens. Political Science majors could work on voter-registration drives. History and Statistics majors could gather oral histories and and analyze census-style data from West Philadelphia residents. And the list goes on. This new requirement would challenge professors to rethink the limits of their classrooms. It would help students see how they can cooperate with peers from other disciplines and use their book learning in the real world, fulfilling the University's unique tradition of uniting theory and practice. And a service-learning requirement would allow students to come down from the ivory tower and become comfortable with the urbanity that is one of Penn's best features. If the University truly views itself as a partner in the West Philadelphia community, it can demonstrate the depth of its commitment by funding the creation of more service-learning classes and the addition of service-learning components to existing classes. Then, it can require students to select one of these options in lieu of a lecture or seminar otherwise used to fulfill core requirements. After all, to paraphrase an ancient rabbi: If we don't begin reaching out to the neighborhood, who will? And if not now, after a month-long crime wave and shooting, when?