Penn Undergraduate Assembly - Your Student Government » Housing, Sustainability, and Facilities

What is Your Student Government Doing for You?- October 2

wsmith — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:00:57 +0000

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

Frosh Gender Neutral Housing

wsmith — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:34:52 +0000

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.

New Mail Options!

wsmith — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 05:35:07 +0000

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.

UA Funds PennApps Labs Pilot

Chris Cruz — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 05:53:00 +0000

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!

End of Mandatory Phone Services, Save $30/semester!

Cynthia Ip — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 18:19:27 +0000

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.)

Urban Garden Creation

Mark Pan — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 04:58:45 +0000

After months of discussion, the Penn Garden has been given a semi-permanent location on campus: directly west of Rodin College House. Interested students have been working to start seeds for transplant as soon as the garden is completed, as well as other students discussing other operational aspects of the Garden. Furthermore, the Garden committee plans to submit a Management 100 project application for a group of freshmen to work on the Business and Organizational Plan for the Garden next fall. Project members are currently working to ensure the garden is staffed over the summer, and are installing a leadership structure for next year.

Recycling Bin Distribution Kick-Off!

Mark Pan — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:00:44 +0000

Last December, the UA funded a recycling bin pilot program, providing all residents of Fisher-Hassenfeld with a free recycling bin. The distribution kick-off party was held just last Sunday abuzz with free food, rubber ducks, and bins. If gauged successful, it is our goal to implement this on a much larger level. Stay tuned!

Dirty Dorm Bathrooms?

Mark Pan — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:30:02 +0000

After meeting with Housing & Conference Services to address bathroom cleanliness, agreement was reached in principle to have adhesive stickers printed and put in the corner of bathroom mirrors in the Quad with the emergency number by which a number of different issues can be addressed. In the long term, we are working with Facilities to improve Facility Focus and explore the feasibility of a UA online form, in tandem with FacilityFocus servers, that would allow a more simple and intuitive submission of bathroom issues.

Omnibus Recycling, ASL at Wharton, Bylaws Amendment

Mark Pan — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:52:57 +0000

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.

Check out the meeting minutes here!

UA Releases its Annual Report

awebley — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 01:22:28 +0000

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!