UA project offers 'Spring Clean'

The Undergraduate Assembly is planning its second annual "Spring Clean" -- scheduled for Saturday, April 5 -- dedicated to beautifying the parts of West Philadelphia which surround the University. The first community service day took place last spring and was deemed a "huge success" by Director of the Office of Community Relations Glenn Bryan. Project Coordinator and UA University Council representative Meredith Hertz said she is confident this year's event "will be bigger and better," and expects approximately 500 students and community residents to attend, as opposed to last year's 65 volunteers. Participants will meet at Superblock for a bagel brunch and then divide into groups to destroy "eye sores" in the surrounding community. They will remove graffiti and trash, sweep streets, plant shrubbery and work with sanitation in what Hertz called "a project to bridge the gap between Penn students and members of the community." Hertz -- who also helped organize last year's Spring Clean -- said the project aims to counter a lack of student responsibility for the outlying community coupled with little community spirit within West Philadelphia. "We leave [the University] in four years, but the community always stays," she said. "We walk on the streets everyday, and there is so much we, as Penn students, could be doing. I couldn't not do this service project." Hertz added that cleaning the community would allow more traffic into the area and decrease crime. In order to increase interest and gain volunteers, the UA plans to meet with the leaders of student organizations to discuss the "common cause of bringing the communication gap between the University and its neighbors." And the project will also serve to help unify several student groups -- many of which engage in their own community service projects -- through a charitable act. The InterFraternity Council expects a large showing at the event. IFC Vice President and Tau Epsilon Phi Chancellor Jason Judd called the project "a politically good thing." He said he would like to see each fraternity send 10 percent of their membership for a total of 450 Greek volunteers. "I can imagine the great amount of good we could do," the College junior said. Members of Panhellenic Council, the class boards and the Kite and Key Society are also expected to participate in the initiative. Additionally, Spring Clean '97 will involve members of West Philadelphia community organizations such as the Spruce Hill Community Association and the West and East Powelton Associations. Bryan said the program will play an integral role as part of a University-sponsored community service month during which students are encouraged to clean the areas in which they live. "This is just one more example of Penn students' commitment to community service," he said. "And clean streets translate into safer streets." The high-ranking University and community officials that will address the volunteers before the clean-up have not yet been determined, but University President Judith Rodin is the Undergraduate Assembly's first choice for the event.