Got textbooks you still need to get rid of? Or do you still need to get textbooks?

This semester, the Undergraduate Assembly is partnering with the Interfraternity Council to bring you Penn Book Bazaar (http://pennua.org/textbook/) – an online textbook marketplace by students for students. The website connects buyers with sellers by listing textbooks that are needed or offered on campus. Through this service, you will be able to buy and sell at market rates and avoid middleman costs. Penn Book Bazaar is eco-friendly, convenient, and safe as it allows you to reuse textbooks and trade locally with your peers.

Sept 4 NSO Late Night Student Government Mixer
11:00PM – midnight, Houston Hall Reading Room

Sept 6 Activities Fair
10:00AM – 12:30PM, Locust Walk

Sept 8 Penn Student Government Information Session
8:30PM – 9:30PM, Claudia Cohen Hall G17

Sept 9 5B/PSG Information Session
8:00PM – 9:00PM, ARCH

Sept 12 UA Information Session
time and location to be determined

Sept 12 First UA General Body Meeting
9:00PM – 11:00PM, Houston Hall Ben Franklin Room

Click here to view the embedded video.

(P.S. In case you didn’t realize, this is a joke. Have a great summer, boys and girl!)

(Rumor has it that Lady GaGa and Beyonce created this song in celebration of this new policy change.)

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.

Communications Director: Chris Cruz
Academic Affairs Director: Faye Cheng
Civic & Philadelphia Engagement Director: Jake Shuster
Housing, Sustainability & Facilities Director: Amanda Young
Student Life Director: Tyler Ernst
Speaker Pro Tempore: Grant Dubler (confirmed by acclamation)

The UA body also elected the following members:

Budget Committee: Emerson Brooking and Hunter Horsley
T-Change Representative: Andrew Jakubowski
Council of Philadelphia Student Government (CPSG) Representative: Emily Shaeffer

The UA representative to NEC will be appointed within the next 2 weeks.

On Friday April 23, 2010, about 40 students from Shaw Middle School will become honorary college students at Penn’s campus. Throughout the day, we will have a keynote speaker, a mock management class, lunch at 1920 commons, a tour, and a student panel on college life.

The primary goal of the event is to excite students about the college experience, in the hopes that they will be motivated to work harder in middle/high school and strive for a college education. The secondary goal is to bring students from a variety of groups together for a University-wide service project.

We are inviting students and student groups to co-sponsor our event. There are one-hour shifts from about 9am to 2pm, but we encourage students to sign up for as many shifts as they can. On top of that, we hope that our co-sponsors can spread the word about the event and help with the actual planning if they’re interested. Click HERE to sign up for a volunteer shift.

Speaker: G.J. Melendez-Torres, Nursing & Wharton ‘11
The Speaker chairs UA meetings and facilitates all internal business, including serving as a link between the executive and the body and managing the associate member process.

Treasurer: Ryan Houston, Wharton ‘11
The Treasurer is responsible for the UA’s own operational funds, the Student Government Budget that appropriates over $1.9 million for all undergraduate government branches at Penn, as well as the UA’s $20,000 Contingency Fund.

Secretary: Cynthia Ip, College ‘12
The Secretary is responsible for record-keeping, communicating to the student body on the UA’s progress through the website and the press, as well as other administration necessary for our operation.

Melendez-Torres, Houston, and Ip will join President Matt Amalfitano and Vice President Mark Pan to form the UA Executive Board.