UA begins gearing up for the year with second meeting

The second Undergraduate Assembly meeting of the year was spent mostly on member suggestions for improving student life and internal business.

With freshmen elections around the corner, many students who are running for a seat on the UA attended the meeting to learn more about its work.

As usual, the meeting began with an open forum for both students and UA members to raise issues.

One student expressed a desire for better cleaning in the Quadrangle and UA members brought up the following topics for discussion:

n Talking to SEPTA about the feasibility of using PennCards for public transportation

n The lack of blue light phones in many areas on campus

n Creating a system to rent grocery carts in order to carry food back to dorms

n The effectiveness of the recent change of tray locations in the dining halls

n What topics should be discussed during Ivy Council, the annual meeting of Ivy League student governments

The meeting then moved into a new segment called Penn Student Government Spotlight, which showcases one branch of Penn's student government on a regular basis to strengthen the relationships between branches.

Sunday's spotlight featured the Nominations and Elections Committee, with College juniors Brittany Stark and Callan Smith briefing the UA on its work.

Other internal UA business included passing a proposal that would create an entirely new Web site for the body, since the existing site has been criticized as difficult to navigate.

It also elected two members to the budget committee. Eight members ran and after a Q&A; session, Wharton sophomore Ryan Houston and College and Wharton junior Sakina Zaidi were elected.

The executive board appointed the following UA Committee chairs: College sophomore Matt Amalfitano will chair the Academic Affairs Committee; College sophomores Albert Pak and Adam Bloch will chair the Student Life Committee; College sophomore Alec Webley will chair the Sustainability, Safety and Facilities Committee; College junior Benny Laitman will chair the Housing and Dining Committee; and College sophomore Mark Peter Pan will chair the Civic and Community Engagement Committee.

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