Van Pelt residents plant outside dorm

While most students were sleeping Saturday morning, about two dozen Van Peltians braved the morning heat to participate in a house landscaping project. Students and faculty members living in Van Pelt College House assembled outside the dormitory's north entrance -- facing campus -- with shovels, pick axes and dirt. The workers were ready to plant trees and flowers, which come summer time will beautify the house's surrounding landscape. The idea for improving Van Pelt's exterior aesthetics came early last semester when Associate Vice President for Campus Services Larry Moneta noticed the conditions outside of Van Pelt College House. "[Moneta] just walked through [the area outside of Van Pelt] and the playground area caught his attention. He said he could set aside money for this project," said Wharton sophomore Nick Hayes, who ran the project. In mid-February, after Moneta came through with the promised money -- $5,000 -- students from Van Pelt met with University officials to draw up blueprints and outline the project. Hayes noted that the landscaping is designed to mirror the greenery found outside the Modern Languages College House directly opposite from Van Pelt. Since the two houses will merge into Gregory College House next year, a uniformity of appearance will "hopefully add a unifying dimension to the two houses," Hayes noted. College sophomore Barbara Duker, a member of the Van Pelt College House Council and the landscaping committee, said residents of the house should be the ones who perform the basic re-landscaping duties -- planting new greenery and digging up old trees and flowers. "When we put a hand in it, it puts all the more importance into the project," Duker explained. "One of the first things we agreed on was that the students had to have a hand in it." Van Pelt Faculty Master Al Filreis added that such a project "models what college houses are about." By having students do most of the work, the committee and faculty hope to better preserve the new plants and trees. "There would be less of an interest in the house [landscape] if the University fixed it, it's called ownership," Filreis explained. Although students jokingly commented that "if it weren't for the beautiful weather and free lunch" they would not be there, most were happy to lend a hand. "When I was a kid I used to plant a lot and I liked it. So I thought it was a great idea to make our house beautiful," College freshman Kei Yamamoto said. The 2,000 ivy plants and 500 flowers planted Friday are likely to transform the cul-de-sac housing Van Pelt and the Modern Languages House into a scenic enclave, detached from the noise and pollution of University City, noted Hayes. Yamamoto added, "I would say that West Philadelphia is not that attractive, at least from what I've seen so far. We're hoping to make it a more attractive place." The flowers and trees planted on Saturday are only the first step of a project to beautify the entire area surrounding the house, Hayes explained. In the future, the asphalt playground right behind St. Mary's Episcopal Church at 39th Street and Locust Walk will be transformed into a park filled with grass, trees and benches for students to enjoy.