Faye Cheng | Advocating for your needs

A lot of people don’t care about student government. And I’m fine with that. As someone who has been on the Undergraduate Assembly for the entirety of my Penn career, I understand that students care about the organizations in which they are involved, the classes that they elect to take and the friends they choose to make. My role on the UA is to engage you through your involvements on campus and, in doing so, make sure that you have the resources that you need in order to maximize your undergraduate years here at Penn.

Student government, then, seems to be a bit of a misnomer. The UA is not a body that governs, but rather one that advocates, and that is what my running mate Tyler Ernst and I hope to do. As president and vice president, Tyler and I will advocate for your needs through realistic goals and tangible results. We are running on “Tyler and Faye: Have It Your Way,” and our platform is based in our firm belief that Penn students should have more control over their experiences here at Penn. We aim to empower you in your academic, community and personal life.

Tyler and I want to give you more control in your academic life through projects such as creating a Penn InTouch waitlist in partnership with the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, integrating Penn Course Review with Penn InTouch registration and pushing forward to achieve real results in minority faculty recruitment and retention along with the 5B minority coalitions and the Penn Consortium of Undergraduate Women. We hope to advocate for you in your community life through restructuring the Penn transit system so that it actually works for your schedule and needs, establishing tech office hours for your club and hosting a funding fair to inform you of funding options for your organizations. Finally, we are dedicated to supporting you in your personal life by expanding resources for mental health awareness and support, bringing you new applications for off-campus housing and dining through PennApps Labs and developing a cross-campus bike share system.

These are just a few of the things that Tyler and I would like to accomplish in the coming year — but we are not limited to this agenda. As the vice president, I will be the leader of UA Steering, a body comprised of the major policy and umbrella groups on campus. Through UA Steering, I aim to facilitate discussions between different communities on campus and the UA and, from these interactions, better understand the priorities of your communities and act upon them efficiently and effectively. The flexibility to be amenable to your needs requires an intense understanding of how the UA and the University work, which both Tyler and I have from our extensive experience on the body. Between our combined five years of UA experience, Tyler and I have been able to achieve real results such as Penn InTouch grade notifications, the establishment of a Dining Advisory Board, new sources of funding for Greek organizations and increased postings of online syllabi.

I have the experience and the track record to effectively engage communities across campus as the vice president, and, in doing so, better serve you and your needs. Tyler and I want to empower you so that you can get the most out of your Penn experience, whichever way you want it. Tyler and Faye — Have It Your Way.

Faye Cheng is the UA's Academic Affairs committee director. She is running for UA Vice President. Check out her candidate page here.

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