At yesterday’s Sunday General Body Meeting, the UA passed three documents. You can find the full minutes and meeting packet here!
Muslim Chaplain Resolution - the UA hereby:
1. Recognizes the need for an Interfaith Fellow and Campus Minister to the Muslim Community.
2. Commends the Chaplain’s Office for its strides towards meeting the needs of Muslim Students.
3. Calls upon the University to establish the Interfaith Fellow and Campus Minister to the Muslim Community as a permanent, full time position.
4. Strongly Urges the University to expand the benefits and Institutional Support of the Interfaith Fellow and Campus Minister to the Muslim Community.
5. Supports the incorporation of as diverse a range of views and opinions into the University as possible.
6. Signs the letter of support found in the Appendix (see meeting packet).
IFC/UA Textbook Exchange Resolution – the UA hereby:
1. Requests the creation of a website for Penn students, and Penn students only, to exchange, buy, and sell, textbooks with no middleman.
2. Requests the implementation of a system similar to the one at Princeton which identifies books using ISBN number or course number and compares book prices to the buyback price and sale price (both new and old) available at the bookstore.
3. Suggests that the UA promote the new trade via all-school emails and other marketing techniques.
4. Encourages professors to post book lists by the beginning of add/drop period to ensure that the book exchange is a viable option for students.
5. Will work in conjunction with the IFC to set up and manage the website.
The New York Times Sponsorship Money Reallocation Authorization Resolution – the UA hereby:
1. Commits to extend the conversation of funding electronically over the summer and holding a straw poll after substantive online debate.
2. Grants the UA Executive Board the ability to determine whether to allocate the $12,400 to funding the New York Times based on straw poll.
3. Requires the UA Executive Board heavily consider the straw poll and the body’s opinions.
At today’s weekly GBM, the UA funded $951 of Penn’s sole undergraduate Lunar New Year celebration, led by a team of dedicated individuals, including UA member Amanda Young. The organization that has traditionally hosted the event pulled out at the last minute, and upon learning of this, an ad-hoc group of students immediately met to ensure that the most important celebration in many countries makes a strong presence at Penn.
Authored by Vinay Rao, Sakina Zaidi, and G.J. Melendez-Torres, the UA also resolved to improve the academic environment for students within testing situations by making a few changes such as ensuring left-handed desks, increased invigilators, adequate desk space, and clear time displays.
Finally, Associate Member Colin Kavanaugh and the Student Life committee is working with the University to prevent identity fraud by promoting the opportunity for students to change their PIN numbers away from the current Social Security Number-based PIN.
Please tell us your thoughts, and check out the full meeting minutes.
Categories: Academic Affairs, Finance and Budget, New Business, News, Student Life Tags: Amanda Young, Budget Committee, Colin Kavanaugh, GJ Melendez-Torres, Lunar New Year, Ryan Houston, Sakina Zaidi, Security, Testing Environments, Vinay Rao, Zac Byer
At yesterday’s Sunday General Body Meeting, the UA passed three documents. You can find the full meeting minutes here!
Through the Omnibus Recycling Resolution, the UA:
Supports efforts to fortify the student infrastructure for recycling,
Supports efforts to standardize recycling systems as well as material regarding on- and off-campus recycling,
Encourages University departments and centers to purchase recycled and recyclable plastics and paper,
Encourages the University to make use of its scale,
Encourages implementation and improved usage of Greek-recycling programs,
Encourages the University community to consider the true cost of products in their decision-making process.
Directs collaboration with other groups on ongoing recycling efforts.
In the ASL resolution, the UA
Affirms that American Sign Language is equivalent to spoken languages in complexity, cultural richness and educational value, and
Calls on the Wharton Undergraduate division to allow all foreign languages, including American Sign Language, to fulfill the language requirement.
Finally, the Bylaws Amendment:
shifted the duties of allocating certain seats amongst the NEC, SCUE, and the UA.
Categories: Academic Affairs, Housing, Sustainability, and Facilities, New Business, News Tags: Alec Webley, Andrew Roberts, Becca Elman, Dan Sanchez, GJ Melendez-Torres, Matt Amalfitano, Mike Chen, NEC
The UA has released its 2009 Annual Report, a comprehensive overview of its work over the last year in general and last semester in particular. This website will be updated in the next weeks with the complete text of the Report, but check out the consolidated and printable publication here!
Over the summer and into Fall semester, the Provost’s Office will be searching for a new Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs (Provost Price’s old job). This position is not directly responsible for student affairs, but does interact extensively with the faculty that teaches us!
The Vice Provost for Faculty reports directly to the Provost and is a member of the senior leadership team for academic and strategic planning. They oversee faculty life and the academic personnel process at Penn, including recruitment, retention, and retirement; appointments, tenure, and promotions; enhancement of faculty diversity and gender and minority equity; and resolution of individual faculty issues, including grievances.
If you have any thoughts or suggestions on this position or the faculty in general, comment below, or get in touch with us or SCUE, the academic policy branch of student government.
