Accomplishments from the week of October 2
Fraternity Recycling Completion- The UA is thrilled to announce that OSFA has created the signs to go on all recycling dumpsters and will be distributing them via the eco-reps program along with an information campaign about how to make the most of the recycling possibilities at Penn. Questions about this project? Contact our HSF Director, Sam Bieler at hsf@pennua.org
New Penn Apps Labs project- The UA voted to prioritize the creation of an online funding application, which would let student groups apply for event funding in one centralized location. This will lead to more resources for student groups, less waste of your group’s time, and most importantly, groups will have easier access to more money from more funding sources. Questions about this project? Contact our Online Services Coordinator, Matt Rosenberg, at online@pennua.org
As always, you can find everything discussed at this week’s meeting here: https://docs.google.com/View?id=dnhzxtk_13hfp8c3fw
Beginning with the class of 2016, Penn will offer incoming freshmen gender neutral housing options. This is in large part thanks to the lobbying of the UA, RAB (Residential Advisory board), and Lambda Alliance.
With gender neutral housing already available to upperclassmen, UA members worked with administrators and pushed them to adopt this policy for freshmen. We are proud to say that Penn now has one of the most progressive housing policies in the nation. Around 200 students request gender neutral housing each year, and this number is expected to grow significantly when freshmen begin to take advantage of it. The UA is thrilled to have been a part of this great project that will tangibly benefit so many Penn students!
Questions? Concerns? Check out www.pennua.org/outreach and get involved!
You can go here for more information.
Convenient Summer Mail Options
After lobbying from the UA and other student leaders, Housing Services is pleased to announce a new service designed to meet the needs of students who are leaving the country for the summer months.
Starting this summer, mail services will accept and hold all postal mail-at no charge- for students traveling internationally. This means that any letters you receive during the summer will be securely held until you return and pick them up. This is a perennial concern for many students, and we are very excited about to announce this program.
New School Year Package Holding
Beginning in the 2011-2012 academic year, our mail services will now hold packages for off-campus residents. This includes those living in Greek housing. Packages will be held for these students during the spring and fall semesters, including during breaks. Students will sign up through a simple online form and pay a small fee for each package held. We are very excited to bring this service to all off campus students!
Questions? Concerns? Check out www.pennua.org/outreach and get involved!
For more information, check out this link.
The UA has passed the PennApps Labs Resolution! PennApps Labs allows undergraduate developers to create and maintain web applications that improve student life at Penn. The UA is contributing $2,250 to PAL’s pilot program, which will fund a developer working an average of 15 hours a week over the course of 10 weeks to develop a study space database for Penn students. For more information, read here!
As an indirect result of the UA’s lobbying the past year, Information Systems & Computing (ISC) has reconsidered its position on mandatory phone service in college houses and will no longer be charging students for the ‘10-’11 academic year. This is real savings – the money is going nowhere but back to your own pocket. That means $30 off your student bill per semester (if you live on campus), and if you consider the 7,100 students and residents who were previously required to use the service, that’s a total savings of $426,000 off of required residential billing next year! 
(Rumor has it that Lady GaGa and Beyonce created this song in celebration of this new policy change.)
