Conway's UA draws high marks for activism in '98-99 term

Having stepped aside to make way for next year's representatives, the 1998-99 Undergraduate Assembly is getting positive reviews from members and other student leaders. Among the body's positive actions from the past year cited as positive were the "Am I A Target?" safety sticker campaign, the work on lobbying for renovations to the Rosengarten Reserve Room and numerous surveys and co-sponsorships with other campus groups for such events as Loveline and the Training for Intervention Procedures alcohol-education program. "We set pretty high goals for ourselves at the beginning of the year as far as exposure and projects but we worked hard and we were able to satisfy [those goals]," outgoing UA Chairperson and Wharton junior Bill Conway said. "Admittedly, we were a fairly reactive body but there [were] a lot of events that happened that forced us to react." This past fall, the UA concentrated its efforts on the "Am I A Target?" campaign, prompted by the November 8 attack on a female sophomore in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall. A 16-year-old was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and robbery as a result of that knifepoint attack. The UA passed two resolutions in response and mounted a massive public awareness campaign which included the distribution on Locust Walk of over 4,000 bull's-eye stickers emblazoned with the words "Am I A Target?" In its resolutions, the UA urged the University to require students to display their PennCards in University buildings open after 10 p.m., install extra lighting on campus and keep the first floor of Van Pelt Library open 24 hours a day. The University later adopted several of these proposals. "The goal of the campaign was to raise awareness about public safety and get people to realize that sometimes they have to be responsible for their own safety," said UA member Theo LeCompte, an Engineering sophomore. Another major initiative this year was the UA's Rosengarten resolution, which made securing $2 million in funding for renovations to Rosengarten Reserve the body's top priority. University officials later announced that it had secured $1 million in donations for the renovations and that work would begin this summer, leading the UA to claim it had, for the most part, achieved its goal. "Having the renovations done in phases is a start, even though we wanted it done this summer," UA member and Wharton sophomore Jonathan Glick said. "It makes both [the UA and the administration] happy." UA members said they felt the body commanded more respect from the administration this year, citing their input on such issues as the Rosengarten renovations, the expansion of Gimbel Gymnasium and the joint student-faculty alcohol task force. The UA also actively solicited student opinion through its surveys. As a result of those surveys, the body published a guide to off-campus living, a report on campus computing and a proposal to make SEPTA transit services more accessible to students. Attendance problems improved over past years. The UA had fairly regular attendance this year, averaging about 25 out of 33 members during the spring semester. Still, several members -- most of them seniors -- were consistently absent. Although members stressed that the body was not divided this year, it was not totally unified either. "There was a working relationship that existed [among UA members] but there really wasn't unity," newly elected UA Chairperson and College junior Michael Silver said. "It had to do with the fall-out from the election the previous year." Last year's UA executive board elections were fraught with controversy when several members claimed that then-College junior Jeremy Katz, a Zeta Beta Tau brother and candidate for UA chairperson, had encouraged his fraternity brothers to run for the UA in order to ensure his election to the body's executive board. Katz lost after five ballots to Conway, a Phi Kappa Psi brother. Despite the controversy surrounding that election, the body's majority being did not overwhelmingly affect the agenda this year. The UA's discretionary fund, used primarily to fund InterFraternity Council budget requests this year, was officially opened to all student groups this spring, a move which pleased many student leaders. "While I don't entirely see a need for the UA discretionary fund, I'm pleased that it is at least open to everyone," said Student Activities Council Chairperson Jared Susco, a Wharton junior. As Silver said, "People honestly saw [the discretionary fund] as a cash cow for the IFC and they didn't want to see that happen again. We're not unwilling to give money to the IFC if they have a good, legitimate proposal." And Tangible Change Committee Chairperson Samara Barend -- a UA member and College senior -- added, "[in the past] the discretionary fund excluded a whole section of campus and gives an impression of the UA that's biased.? The UA's goal should be to represent all [students]." Other student government leaders commented favorably about this year's body. "I think the UA did a good job of getting their name out this year," said Junior Class President Lisa Marshall. "I think people were able to identify more UA activities and see where they had an impact." And Susco added, "I felt that they were a strong, active body that showed genuine concern for students' interests and issues."

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