Accomplishments from the week of October 23

Flu Vaccine Clinic- The UA co-sponsored the 2011-2012 Penn Flu Vaccine Clinics. Thus far, SHS has administered flu vaccines to nearly 2,000 students via 3 successful mass immunization clinics. They hope to vaccinate about 1,000 more faculty, staff and students at their last clinic on Thursday, October 27^th at the ARCH. The UA, through marketing and “working the Walk” was key in spreading the word about the flu clinics and helped to significantly boost attendance. This collaborative effort, which involved student volunteers, student- and campus-organization co-sponsors, and Student Health staff, will likely serve as a model for future public health interventions at Penn. Questions about this project? Contact our Student Life Director, Jon Monfred, at studentlife@pennua.org

Holiday Absence Policy Resolution- This resolution encouraged professors to observe the University’s policy on religious holidays. Working with PRISM and the Council of Undergraduate Deans, this resolution created a letter to be sent to the faculty reminding them of the policy at the beginning of each semester. Questions about this project? Contact our Academic Affairs Director, Abe Sutton, at academics@pennua.org

Federal Government Pell Grant Funding Support Resolution- The UA affirmed support for the Federal Pell Grant program and sent a letter to Sen. Pat Toomey and expressed to him the importance of Pell Grants to students at Penn. Questions about this project? Contact our President, Tyler Ernst, at president@pennua.org

As always, you can find everything discussed at this week’s meeting here: https://docs.google.com/View?id=dnhzxtk_153x2hgdf

Major Changes Coming to Penn Dining

After listening Penn students voice their concerns about dining , the UA is thrilled to announce that after much lobbying and advocacy on behalf of the student body, changes are coming to the way YOU dine. Here are four major points:

1) Taste of Penn Dining Event- This event sponsored by Penn Dining and the UA will allow students on dining plans to vote for foods that they would like to see in our dining halls. This is a great gesture on the part of Penn Dining and it will truly be your voices being heard.

2) New Dining Plans! Based off of student feedback from the UA and focus groups, there will be a major restructuring of dining plans. Plans will now be reduced, more customizable, and incremental additions will be available. Here are the plans:

Freshman Plans

• EAT Plan (Eat AnyTime)- Unlimited meals and $100 dining dollars
• BEN Plan (Balanced and Eating Naturally)- 370 meals and about $425 dining dollars total
• BFF Plan (Best Food Fit)- 200 meals and $800 dining dollars

Upperclassmen Meals

• OMW Plan (One Meal Works) – 175 meals and $1,150 dining dollars
• CAP Plan (Club and Activities Plan) – 100 meals and $1200 dining dollars
• FIT Plan (Food In Time) 75 meals and $700 dining dollars
• GTG Plan (Good To Go) 50 meals and $2,o00 dining dollars

3) New Dining Hall in McClelland- In partnership with the College Houses, Penn is creating a new and expanded dining experience at McClelland which will expand dining options for over 1400 residents of the Quad. The renovations of McClelland occurred during the summer of 2011 and will open on Thursday, September 7th. Cafe hours are below:

Full service: Monday – Friday 8 am to 8 pm

Express and retail grocery: Monday through Thursday 8 am to 10 pm; Friday 8 am, to 8 pm

Saturday and Sunday, Full service, express and retail grocery – Noon to 6:30 pm

Options include:

• Staff to prepare food while you wait (crepes, omelets, pasta toss, etc.)
• Continental breakfast (waffles, fresh fruit, yogurt)
• Toast and bagel bar
• Salad bar and soup station

There is also be a grocery and express food section with grab and go salads, sandwiches and sushi.  Also created is new soft seating and additional tables and dining space designed for maximum flexibility to accommodate a variety of uses.

4) Dining Advisory Board- Thanks to student feedback and the hard work and dedication of our student life committee, the UA recently passed the Dining Advisory Board Resolution. The DAB is composed of students from different organizations and stakeholders such as Hillel, MSA, RAB, and the College Houses who will meet regularly with representatives from Penn Dining, Bon Appetit, and Business Services. The dining advisory board will improve the quality of dining for student at Penn so that you can have it your way.

Want to get involved with great change like this at Penn? Have any ideas you want to share? It’s easy! The UA wants your feedback, so please make sure to check out pennua.org/outreach and get involved!

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.

1) T-shirt Design Contest

WHAT? Awesome, flashy, glamorous, design submissions are needed for this year’s Spring Fling T-Shirts! Be creative and use this years Fling Theme (required): ‘Some Flings Do Come True’
WHY? Winner receives: $100, 2 FLOOR PASSES to the Spring Fling Concert, and the chance to have YOUR design featured on all Fling related merchandise!
WHEN? The contest runs from February 1st-February 22nd
HOW? Submissions should be sent to fling@specevents.net. Files must be in .tiff, .jpeg or 300+ dpi format. No alcohol or drug references are permitted in potential designs.
For more information please contact fling@specevents.net.

2) Upper Quad Student Vendor Applications

If your student group would like a venue in the Upper Quad during Spring Fling, please fill out the application and return it to the Office of Student Life (2nd floor of Houston) by 2/17.

3) Submissions to perform in the Quad

SPEC Spring Fling has officially opened up for submissions to perform in the Quad during Spring Fling! We are looking for dance groups, bands, singers, and any other fun performers to participate. If you have an account with SonicBids we prefer that you submit through our Gig Listing http://www.sonicbids.com/UPennSpringFling! However, if you don’t have a SonicBids account you may email Talisa De Carlo at talisa@specevents.net with your submission or drop it off in the OSL of Houston Hall. This submission should including a Demo CD (or website) and contact info. The Deadline is March 3rd with no exceptions. We look forward to looking over your submissions!

4) Guest Passes

Guest Passes for Spring Fling will be sold from 3/29 to 4/14 from 11-4 pm, outside the Office of Student Life on the 2nd floor of Houston Hall. Each student will be able to purchase up to 2 guest passes, at $20 a pass.

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!