There's nothing like waking up early on a Saturday morning to rake leaves or clean bathrooms.
But approximately 40 Penn students did precisely that on Saturday, when they devoted their day to community service as part of the third annual National Gandhi Day of Service.
The South Asia Society, Hindu Students Council, Young Jains of America, Sangam and the Bengali Students Association sponsored the event, which aims to honor Mohandas Gandhi's spirit and message through a day of community service.
"It was a great experience, and it's unfortunate that we only do this once a year," said South Asian Society Outreach Vice President Robby Sikka, a College sophomore.
The day began in the Amado Recital Hall in Irvine Auditorium, where History Professor David Ludden spoke to students about Gandhi and how his beliefs relate to community service.
"In thinking about Gandhi in relation to the kind of work that you're doing, it's important to realize that voluntary labor or improving conditions... is actually part of a much larger philosophy," Ludden said.
"Voluntary labor was conceptualized as a kind of mechanism for social change," he added.
After hearing Ludden speak, students separated into two groups; one headed to Barkan Park in West Philadelphia to beautify the park, while the other assisted West Philadelphians Concerned About Housing by contributing to house clean-up and renovation.
College junior Nina Vaid helped at the park.
"We just cleaned up around the park," the South Asian Society member said. "And we put new fertilizer on the dry parts."
"We had some little kids come by and put their handprints on this red walk that was right outside the park," she added. "They put their handprints with paint all over the brick."
Hindu Students Council member Sadashiv Santosh also worked at Barkan Park.
"It was really a lot of fun," the College senior said. "It was good for me to meet some of the Indian people here that I [usually] don't."
"It was a good thing to do on a Saturday rather than studying," Santosh joked.
Wharton freshman Samantha Arabolu, a South Asian Society member, said that traveling to the West Philadelphians Concerned about Housing site marked her first time going past 50th Street.
"We went to their computer lab," she said. "We broke into groups and we cleaned."
"We played `Simon Says' with the kids," she added. "I had fun."
National Gandhi Day of Service takes place on a nationwide level. This year, all the participating East Coast schools organized community service projects this weekend, and West Coast schools will hold the events next weekend.
"This is done across the nation to celebrate Gandhi's birthday," Sikka said.
He added that throughout the day, he thought that one of Gandhi's sayings applied perfectly to the mission of National Gandhi Day of Service.
"Gandhi said that you must become the changes you want to see in the world," Sikka said.
Karthik Anbalagan, South Asian Society president and chairwoman for Gandhi Day at Penn, was pleased with the outcome of the day's events.
"The day went fantastically," the College junior said. "Everything went smoothly, both sides were great."
