Leaders of all branches of Penn’s student government offered various reactions to the Undergraduate Assembly’s 2012-13 proposed budget at a general body meeting Sunday night.
The UA first presented its $2-million budget proposal last week. Among other things, the budget included plans to consolidate Fall Fest and Skimmer into one annual event next fall.
“We’re incredibly grateful and thankful that the UA is giving us the opportunity to collaborate with the Social Planning and Events Committee on Skimmer this coming year,” said College and Wharton junior and Class of 2013 President Jonathon Youshaei.
College junior and UA Treasurer Jake Shuster hopes that the consolidation of Fall Fest and Skimmer will become a campus-wide event centered around athletics and class spirit.
“This can become a great new fall tradition at Penn,” he said. “I don’t think students will be disappointed.”
Students also seem unfazed by SPEC’s decision to increase Spring Fling ticket prices by $5 next year — a plan that was also announced in last week’s budget proposal.
“Since I’m a freshman and an international student, I’ve never really been to a Spring Fling event,” said Wharton freshman Elly Morientes. “I’d pay an extra $5 for the experience.”
“To my knowledge, the Fling concert sells out every year,” Wharton sophomore Jason Lokuta added. “[It is] something that people really look forward to, so I don’t think this will affect sales.”
Although the UA budget committee has proposed a 7.5-percent funding increase for the Student Activities Council — which in turn funds student organizations across campus — College junior and SAC Chair Melissa Roberts said that all student groups will experience funding cuts this coming year.
This past year, Roberts added, SAC’s membership increased by 10 percent.
Although SAC’s 2012-13 budget has not yet been finalized, its body has already laid out proposed funds for different campus groups.
Among other organizations, Penn Latin and Ballroom Dance faces a proposed 80-percent budget cut from SAC.
“Our practice space budget decreased from $10,157 to $2,080. This is an unprecedented amount,” said Engineering junior and PLBD President Michael Borochin, whose contingency funding request of $4,000 Sunday night was denied by the UA.
Contingency funding refers to last-resort requests for one-time costs or costs that are not anticipated during the initial budgeting process.
“SAC encourages student groups to look for the many avenues for funding needs,” Roberts said. “We understand that in this case, PLBD did not meet the UA’s contingency requirements for one-time costs.”
Granting PLBD funding for operational costs could set a precedent in which other SAC groups would come to the UA for contingency funding, Shuster added.
The UA budget for the 2012-13 academic year will be finalized this Sunday, when members will vote on the proposed budget at its general body meeting.
Budgeting was not the only agenda item for the UA this weekend, however. The general body also passed two resolutions — one concerning open education courseware, and another in response to Penn’s investment practices.
The UA unanimously passed the PennApps Labs Resolution on Sunday night. Through the resolution, the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education will be partnering with PennApps Labs to work on “oPenned””— SCUE’s response to open courseware at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University.
PennApps Labs will be responsible for creating the OPenned website and comprehensive user interface, said Engineering junior Amalia Hawkins, the marketing and operations lead of PennApps Labs.
“We want to focus more on uploading TED-talk style of seminars,” Wharton junior and SCUE Chair Scott Dzialo added. “We want to partner with different schools to create tutorials that feature videos to give viewers a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of that topic.”
Sunday night, the UA also passed the PNC Mountain Top Removal Resolution by a vote of 20-4.
The resolution — authored by the Penn Community Against Mountain Top Removal — calls upon the Office of the Executive Vice President to condition the renewal of Penn’s contract with PNC upon the bank’s commitment to issue a plan for reducing its financing of mountaintop removal.
“Under the Climate Action Plan, Penn took a moral stance on environmental responsibility,” said Wharton senior Russell Trimmer, a co-author of the resolution. “This enactment will take those principles and apply it to Penn’s business relationships.”
This article has been updated from a prior version to reflect the SCUE and PennApps Labs project is named “oPenned” not “oPennHouse.”
Also on theDP.com
UA budget proposal looks to consolidate Fall Fest, Skimmer
UA passes resolution to support PennApps Labs, Open Data Initiative
Board of Trustees convenes to discuss University finances, academic policy
Penn targets prospective students with likely letter campaign
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.