Mortar Board unites seniors for service

The country's first female senior society has come a long way since it was founded in 1918. Although the Mortar Board Society was created nearly eighty years ago at the University of Chicago, the group's Penn chapter, established in 1921, is currently open to both sexes. The group is still named for the shape of the gold pins its members once wore. Combining social activities with community service, members say the University's chapter -- one of four senior societies at Penn -- is trying to make its mark in the University community. "The main purpose [of the society] is community service," social chairperson and College senior Lisa Ohebshalom said. "It's another way to help Penn and the Philadelphia community." For example, the society "informally adopted the Ronald McDonald House [and] helped them out in any way we could," said community service chairperson and College senior Chantal Dunn. Last semester the society held a coffee house fundraiser at the Castle, which was "the most successful coffeehouse in Castle history," according to Mortar Board president and College senior Ananda Sen, who estimated that 450 people attended the event. "The coffee house epitomized what we're all about," Sen said, explaining that the event included both entertainment and charity. The $500 raised by the event was donated to the West Philadelphia chapter of Habitat for Humanity. The fundraiser was one of the main volunteer events the society organized last semester. It was intended to fit into this year's theme, chosen by Mortar Board's national organization -- "learning across boundaries" -- since the group donated the proceeds to an organization outside of the University, Ohebshalom said. She added that the Quaker chapter bases each year's fundraising events on the national theme. Although the group is heavily invested in the goal of community service, Mortar Board also has a social component. The group holds gatherings for its own members and members of all University senior societies. Sen explained that these events allowed him "to meet a lot of people I otherwise would not have met because the criteria [for admittance to the group] is so wide open." Unlike other senior societies across the country and at Penn, Mortar Board is not allowed to "tap" -- or select -- specific members because the society's national rules mandate an open application process for all rising seniors with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Although the only requirement for application to the group is scholarship, Sen explained that members are selected according to additional characteristics, such as how active they are in their respective niches around the University. "It also has a personal element," Sen said. "We get to meet [prospective members]. It's not just off the paper." Mortar Board "rush" for upcoming seniors will begin in late March or early April. At that point applications will be available in the Office of Student Life in Houston Hall. For the first time, applications will also be offered online this year, at its new Web site, http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~mortarb.