Onyx unites black student-leaders

As the lone African-American senior honor society on campus, the Onyx Society is important for more than its recognition of the academic and service achievements of Penn's African-American students. Its greatest service, according to many members, is the unique opportunity it provides for African-American student-leaders with a range of interests to meet and share their ideas and activities. The 29-member organization serves as a forum for students to meet other leaders while learning about the variety of activities that members participate in both on campus and in the West Philadelphia area. "There's a whole lot of things that [Onyx members] do on campus that I wasn't aware of," said Wharton senior and Onyx President Jean-Pierre Lespinasse. "It's nice to hear how people are getting involved." Founded in 1974 by seven African-American Penn students, the society's formal goals are to "acknowledge and encourage the academic success and community service of African-American students at Penn." In the past, Onyx has sponsored guest speakers, conducted forums and coordinated a Homecoming reception for its alumni, but its primary emphasis is on community service. The society's activities "vary from year to year," according to Lespinasse, "but we try to stay active in community service." Since members are selected on the basis of their contributions to the University community -- specifically to the African-American community at Penn -- there is no lack of community service involvement within the group. But because its members are so active, problems arise when the society tries to organize a group service event. Nursing senior and Onyx member Dakara Rucker explained that "it's hard for everyone to do something [together] when everyone has their own outside projects." But Onyx is trying to coordinate a community service activity that the organization can undertake as a whole, possibly after spring break, she added. Onyx members hope to realize a variety of goals by the end of the year. One of these is to formally revise their charter to hand down to next year's members. Lespinasse described the present charter as "more of an oral tradition," and said that he hopes to have a more definitive document to present to future participants. Onyx is also strengthening its alumni's ties to the society. The organization will publish a newsletter at the end of the year, detailing the future career plans of the graduating seniors so that upcoming members will be able to establish contacts with Onyx alumni. For Rucker, the most important activity of the year is the introduction of the Onyx Society to incoming freshmen during Minority Scholars Weekend, which begins tomorrow. Rucker herself first learned of Onyx through the pre-freshman event, and she said it inspired her to excel in her time at the University. She said she hopes that present Onyx members can "be African-American role models for the freshmen" so they can realize early in the college experience that "they can have high GPAs in addition to being leaders on campus." "It's easy to get high GPAs, but it's a little more difficult to be leaders as well," she said. For both Lespinasse and Rucker, membership in the Onyx Society fulfills a vital need for social interaction among African-American leaders at the University. Rucker, who sees the organization as an important support network, explained that "it's good to have a social outlet of other students who are [also] doing a lot of things on campus, and who understand what you're going through." For his part, Lespinasse enjoys the camaraderie that the society has engendered among its members. "We're just one big happy family," he said.