Annual State of the School tackles mental health and sexual violence

On Monday night, students filled the Harrison Rooftop Lounge to hear Penn student government leaders answer questions about their current projects and future goals.

The event began with the presentation of the Penn Student Government State of School Awards. Jessica Mertz, Penn’s director of student sexual violence prevention and education, won the administrator award. The student award went to Wharton and Engineering senior Alexandre Kleis, president of the Assembly of International Students.

The meeting continued with the Nominations and Elections Committee President Devin Grossman, a Wharton senior, delivering pre-submitted questions from the student body to a panel of representatives from the six student government committees.

An important question that many committees discussed was about mental health and how the student government groups are addressing the issue on campus.

Undergraduate Assembly President and College senior Jane Meyer discussed the creation of Penn Wellness, an umbrella organization for different wellness groups on campus as well as other communities like religious or Greek groups in order to ensure there is collaboration between all types of students on mental health. College senior and Student Committee on Undergraduate Education Chair Laura Sorice mentioned SCUE’s efforts to address the academic and educational side of mental health, which are currently being looked into through public opinion surveys from students. 2019 Class Board President Toto Nguyen added that there will be an event for freshmen on Dec. 10 to try to reduce stress before finals begin.

Another important issue was the recent Association of American Universities sexual violence survey results. Meyer mentioned the new Penn Anti-Violence Educators program, which trains peers to go to lounges or General Body Meetings of any group on campus to deliver information about what to do in situations involving sexual assault or how to help others facing similar issues. The UA is also focused on trying to make sure that sexual assault resource information is reaching freshmen and that the recent sexual assault resource guide is accessible for them as well as for other students.

Sorice responded to a question regarding daily racial aggression in classrooms by saying that SCUE is currently engaging with the administration to make sure that the students know there are individuals who they can talk to if they ever feel as if their academic experience is being compromised due to a marginalizing situation in class.

Sorice also brought up the Academic Resources Project that seeks to ensure all students are being rewarded proper resources regardless of whether they are first generation, low-income or from a minority group, as these groups of students often do not receive the same academic resources as others.

Wharton senior and Social Planning and Events Committee representative Victoria Zhao discussed SPEC’s efforts to make programming more affordable and to try to repurchase tickets from students who cannot attend events in order to try to make sure resale prices are not too high.

The event ended with attendees choosing between four different breakout sessions. The topics that attendees could discuss were “How to Improve the Academic Experience at Penn,” “Increasing Diversity and Access in Representation, Academics and Beyond,” “How Can Student Government Fund My Club, Event, and Initiatives” and “Creating Inclusive and Innovative Clubs, Events and Programming.”

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