The UA produced a column in the Summer Pennsylvanian today! Find it below:

A Hard Summer’s Work

When you arrive on campus this fall, either for the first time or (tear!) the last, you likely will start to hear about the Undergraduate Assembly (again). Some may ask: what is the UA? What does it do? Why does it use so many acronyms? For others, the only question will doubtless be, in the immortal words of King of Spain Juan Carlos II: “¿Por qué no te callas?” Why won’t we shut up?

In this column, we hope to answer all of those questions – because who we are is much of the reason we can’t shut up about Penn.

The UA is the elected, representative branch of student government, charged with improving student life through services, funding, and advocacy. We work with everyone in our community to make tangible improvements to the lives of undergraduates.

This summer has been no exception.

While most of you have been taking a well-earned break – or not, as the case may be – the UA has been hard at work realizing old projects and launching new ones.

So, what UA-advocated changes will you see as you return to our fair campus?

Many of you have already seen the amazing new Penn InTouch; at last, a system that lives up to 21st-Century expectations! Significant upgrades to the course registration system and Penn InTouch interface came about through the determined lobbying of the UA, in partnership with a cadre of dedicated students.

Thanks to UA advocacy, Penn has made strides towards better religious accommodation. In response to two different UA resolutions, Diwali will now be included in the official University Policy on Religious and Secular Holidays and Muslim students with meal plans will be able to get pre-packaged breakfasts to help them celebrate Ramadan.

Pre-Orientation Programs, always a highlight of many freshmen’s fall semester, have been expanded once again thanks to an expansion of UA funding for PennGreen and PennArts. Now, even more freshmen will be able to get a head start on their Penn adventure!

Moreover, thanks to the efforts of the UA, the Provost, and the Vice-Provost of University Life, New Student Orientation has become even more comprehensive, with the addition of 14 new night-time activities. Now you’ll have the opportunity to pick up some smooth dancing moves with premier Penn dancing groups, meet student leaders at the Penn Student Government Mixer or check out Greek Life with the Panhellenic Council. And all of these events are free and open to upperclassmen, too!

After years of work by the UA, UMOJA, the United Minorities Council, the Asian Pacific Student Coalition, Lambda, and the Latino Coalition, as well as many dedicated students, faculty members, and administrators, DuBois College House has finally been renovated. Residents will immediately benefit from major changes to student rooms and public spaces, and all passers-by may appreciate the renovated exterior of this historic College House.

Penn’s public safety infrastructure continues to improve. After determined lobbying from off-campus residents and the UA, the lights between 40th and 44th Street, from Market to Baltimore, are being brightened and light-occluding trees are being pruned. Plus, the Division of Public Safety is activating a new outdoor siren system that will help ensure the safety of our community, its implementation guided by advice from the whole community, including the UA.

Booking a room in Perelman Quad has gotten easier thanks to changes made by the UA. Now, if you book a room in advance, your booking is locked 16 days before the event; not even an administrator can bump you. Management 100, you’re welcome in advance.

And while there’s no more space left in this column, believe us when we say there is plenty more in store. That’s why we have launched a news hub at our Web site, www.pennua.org, which will be updated daily by the expert lobbyists who work day, night, and summer to improve student life.

So, why won’t we shut up? Because we don’t want you to. The more you know and the more you care about your university and the UA’s advocacy, the more your university will care about you. So we invite everyone – freshman through senior – to get involved in the UA and the other branches of student government; from subscribing to the UA blog to running for UA Representative; from applying to the NEC or SCUE to helping out SPEC.

Don’t shut up. The more students speak their minds about their Penn experience, the more power we all have to change Penn for the better.