UA earns high marks for activism in 1998-99 term

Elizabeth High School '97 Elizabeth, N.J. Among the body's actions from the past year praised by students were the "Am I A Target?" safety sticker campaign following the November 8 attack of a female student in the basement of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall; the effort to secure renovations to the Rosengarten Reserve Room in Van Pelt Library; and numerous surveys and co-sponsorships with other campus groups. "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]," said former UA Chairperson Bill Conway, then a Wharton senior. "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 knifepoint attack of a female sophomore in a Steinberg-Dietrich Hall bathroom. A 16-year-old juvenile was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and robbery after being arrested by Philadelphia Police. The UA passed two resolutions in response to the incident and mounted a massive public awareness campaign which included the distribution 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, then an Engineering junior. 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 they 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. 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. 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 University's new alcohol policy. 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," said newly elected UA Chairperson Michael Silver, then a College junior. "It had to do with the fall-out from the election the previous year." The elections for UA executive board in 1998 were fraught with controversy when several members claimed that Jeremy Katz, then a College junior and a Zeta Beta Tau brother, had encouraged his fraternity brothers to run for the UA to ensure his election as chairperson. Katz lost after five ballots to Conway, a Phi Kappa Psi brother. 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 newly elected Senior Class President Lisa Marshall. "I think people were able to identify more UA activities and see where they had an impact."

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