It is with enormous pleasure that I announce that MATT AMALFITANO will serve as the very first President of the Undergraduate Assembly! In addition, MARK PAN will serve as the very first Vice-President of the UA.

In addition, your UA Governing Body for 2010-2011 will consist of:

UA Executives

MATT AMALFITANO – President of the UA (president@pennua.org)
MARK PAN – Vice-President of the UA (vp@pennua.org)

SAS Representatives

Webley, Alec
Shuster, Jake
Dubler, Grant
Cruz, Chris
Sexauer, Zeke
Jakubowski, Andrew “A.J.”
Monfred, Jon
Young, Amanda
Shahin, Mo
Chen, Mike
Lum, Andrew
Levenstein, Michael
Ip, Cynthia
Pak, Albert
Huberlie, Ali
Bloch, Adam

Wharton Representatives

Houston, Ryan
Cheng, Faye
Horsley, Hunter
Pierce, Michael

SEAS Representatives

Shaeffer, Emily
Sternberg, Matt
Ernst, Tyler
Staniforth, Andrew

Nursing Representative

G.J. Melendez-Torres

It has been a privilege and a pleasure to serve you as your UA Chairman this past year. We now begin the process between transitioning between the old leadership and the new.

This process will conclude at the UA Transition Meeting, which will be held at 6pm on April 11 in Huntsman 350. There, Matt and Mark will officially take office as President and Vice-President of the UA, and the UA will proceed to elect the Speaker, Treasurer, and Secretary that will round out the UA Executive Board. The public is warmly invited to attend!

Best wishes,

Alec Webley

Outgoing UA Chair

Question 1 (Direct Election of UA Chair, etc):

YES: 1770 (77.02%)

NO: 528 (22.98%)

Total turnout: 2298 (23.06 percent of the student body)

Question 2 (Representation, Technical Changes, etc):

YES: 2032 (89.52%)

NO: 238 (10.48%)

Total turnout: 2270 (22.78 percent of the student body)

This means that the UA will, effective next academic year, be led by a President and Vice-President elected in the Spring from the entire student body, while the UA General Body will elect a Speaker to chair its meetings and manage its internal operations.

In addition, the UA will expand to 37 members next year, including one more College student and one more Engineer (the other 2 new members are the UA President and VP who have ex officio seats), and, in Fall 2010, Transfer students will be able to vote and run for the UA with other new students for the first time.

There are many more changes, so check them out! Please find a copy of the newly revised UA Constitution here (link: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgfz5j3b_1441gnkfx9g7). Also please find a copy of the new UA Bylaws here (link: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgfz5j3b_1443dv434rhq). These are both available – as always – on our website at www.pennua.org.

Over the next three months, the NEC and the UA will work diligently to transition to the new system. You will be getting updates from the UA and the NEC through email and the DP about procedures for our first directly elected student-body-wide UA President race!

Finally, I wish to congratulate Natalie Vernon, Zac Byer, Dennie Zastrow, the Class Presidents, and the many, many people who worked hard to make this a reality. Thanks are also due to the NEC, who ran an appropriately fabulous turnout campaign, members of the UA for their scrutiny and democratic spirit, and the many others inside and outside of student government who contributed to this moment.

Thanks are due most, of course, to you – our constituents! I hope that the new structure of the UA will build upon the great achievements of the old, becoming a better representative body, and delivering more tangible change than ever before.

Many thanks, and best of luck with Finals,

Yours sincerely,

Alec Anthony Webley

The 37^th and last Chairman of the Undergraduate Assembly

1. Providing for the election of the UA Chair and VC External from the whole student body rather than just the UA,
2. Substantially updating and streamlining the Constitution to make it more flexible and operational.

This is a major initiative, one which will reverberate throughout the student body for years, and so we seek as much public comment as possible before its consideration on Sunday. Next Sunday will be open to the whole student body – as all our meetings are – and you will have a chance to have your say!

If the UA votes in favor of the Bill, a referendum will be called for the week of Monday December 7. The NEC will have more details on the referendum closer to the time. To be approved and incorporated into the Constitution, a change would require 20% of the entire undergraduate student body to vote (2084), with an absolute majority (50%+1, or 1043) of students voting in favor.

You may also find it useful as a reference to see what the UA Constitution or UA Bylaws would look like if both referenda were approved.

It is with great pleasure I announce that the following individuals have been elected to the UA to represent the Freshman Class:

Jake Shuster (UC Seat)
Chris Cruz
Zeke Sexauer
MJ Gitter
Kasia Klasa
Hunter Horsley
Alex Amaniel
Michael Levenstein
Lulu (Lucia) Xiong

I look forward to working with all of these fine freshmen – and their many peers already part of the UA as AMs – in our eternal quest to improve our University!

Congratulations to them and everyone who ran!

Alec
UA Chair

A Hard Summer’s Work

When you arrive on campus this fall, either for the first time or (tear!) the last, you likely will start to hear about the Undergraduate Assembly (again). Some may ask: what is the UA? What does it do? Why does it use so many acronyms? For others, the only question will doubtless be, in the immortal words of King of Spain Juan Carlos II: “¿Por qué no te callas?” Why won’t we shut up?

In this column, we hope to answer all of those questions – because who we are is much of the reason we can’t shut up about Penn.

The UA is the elected, representative branch of student government, charged with improving student life through services, funding, and advocacy. We work with everyone in our community to make tangible improvements to the lives of undergraduates.

This summer has been no exception.

While most of you have been taking a well-earned break – or not, as the case may be – the UA has been hard at work realizing old projects and launching new ones.

So, what UA-advocated changes will you see as you return to our fair campus?

Many of you have already seen the amazing new Penn InTouch; at last, a system that lives up to 21st-Century expectations! Significant upgrades to the course registration system and Penn InTouch interface came about through the determined lobbying of the UA, in partnership with a cadre of dedicated students.

Thanks to UA advocacy, Penn has made strides towards better religious accommodation. In response to two different UA resolutions, Diwali will now be included in the official University Policy on Religious and Secular Holidays and Muslim students with meal plans will be able to get pre-packaged breakfasts to help them celebrate Ramadan.

Pre-Orientation Programs, always a highlight of many freshmen’s fall semester, have been expanded once again thanks to an expansion of UA funding for PennGreen and PennArts. Now, even more freshmen will be able to get a head start on their Penn adventure!

Moreover, thanks to the efforts of the UA, the Provost, and the Vice-Provost of University Life, New Student Orientation has become even more comprehensive, with the addition of 14 new night-time activities. Now you’ll have the opportunity to pick up some smooth dancing moves with premier Penn dancing groups, meet student leaders at the Penn Student Government Mixer or check out Greek Life with the Panhellenic Council. And all of these events are free and open to upperclassmen, too!

After years of work by the UA, UMOJA, the United Minorities Council, the Asian Pacific Student Coalition, Lambda, and the Latino Coalition, as well as many dedicated students, faculty members, and administrators, DuBois College House has finally been renovated. Residents will immediately benefit from major changes to student rooms and public spaces, and all passers-by may appreciate the renovated exterior of this historic College House.

Penn’s public safety infrastructure continues to improve. After determined lobbying from off-campus residents and the UA, the lights between 40th and 44th Street, from Market to Baltimore, are being brightened and light-occluding trees are being pruned. Plus, the Division of Public Safety is activating a new outdoor siren system that will help ensure the safety of our community, its implementation guided by advice from the whole community, including the UA.

Booking a room in Perelman Quad has gotten easier thanks to changes made by the UA. Now, if you book a room in advance, your booking is locked 16 days before the event; not even an administrator can bump you. Management 100, you’re welcome in advance.

And while there’s no more space left in this column, believe us when we say there is plenty more in store. That’s why we have launched a news hub at our Web site, www.pennua.org, which will be updated daily by the expert lobbyists who work day, night, and summer to improve student life.

So, why won’t we shut up? Because we don’t want you to. The more you know and the more you care about your university and the UA’s advocacy, the more your university will care about you. So we invite everyone – freshman through senior – to get involved in the UA and the other branches of student government; from subscribing to the UA blog to running for UA Representative; from applying to the NEC or SCUE to helping out SPEC.

Don’t shut up. The more students speak their minds about their Penn experience, the more power we all have to change Penn for the better.

Let me join the chorus welcoming you to Penn! I’m Alec Webley, this year’s Chair of the Undergraduate Assembly. The UA is the elected, representative branch of student government at Penn, charged with improving life for all students through funding, services, and advocacy.

To give you an idea of what we do and why you should care about us, check out this nifty YouTube video!

The UA is the only student group at Penn that represents all undergraduate students, lobbies the whole administration, and has a budget of $1.8 million to distribute to the other branches of student government to improve student life. If you like advocacy and the independence to pursue your own projects to improve the lives of your peers, then we’re the branch for you!

Best of all, although 8 freshmen will be elected to the UA in the Fall semester, you don’t need to run for election to get involved with the UA! Just visit our website for more details!

That being said, you should check out this website – even if you don’t care that much about student government. Why? Because on an almost daily basis we post news and information that will help keep you up to speed with what’s happening at your University.

As well, be sure to check out the other five branches of student government, all led by brilliant and dedicated people to improve different facets of student life – from academics to social planning to class unity to elections and nominations to funding student groups.

See you at NSO,

Alec
Chair of the Undergraduate Assembly

Provost Price’s installation brings to an end the process of his selection, and at the heart of the search process were two undergraduates, Wilson Tong (UA Chair 08-09) and Zach Fuchs (SCUE Chair 08). Wilson and Zac were the undergraduates sitting on the Provost Search Committee – it’s pretty intimidating to think that they went through 180 applicants in just a few months! The quality of the search and the eventual choice is testament to their enormous dedication and advocacy for us. It is also a testament to Penn that in searches like these they ensure that undergraduate voices are heard throughout the process. Congratulations to Provost Price and, of course, to Zach and Wilson on their graduation!

Welcome to the latest and greatest iteration of the Undergraduate Assembly’s website. With this new site, the UA leads student governments nation-wide in transparency and relevancy. Why? Well:

• Every other day, our front page blog will be updated with what’s actually happening at Penn. What we know, you’ll know – not only about what we’re doing for you, but what’s going on in your community.
• You can have a conversation with us about what’s going on, what we’re doing, or whatever you want – either by commenting on our stories or on our Online Open Forum. For the first time, this is your website, where you can tell us what you really want. Plus, you’ll see us act on it, or at least tell you why we can’t.
• When you want to use one of our services like our Airport Shuttle, or our $20,000 Contingency Fund, or just want to know where the free NY Times are, this site will quickly set you in the right direction.
• Want to look beyond the UA? Fair enough. Our new UA Steering page lists every major campus leadership group that exists – so you can see everyone working to shape your life here at Penn, and know how to get involved.
• At election time, or at any time, every one of your elected representatives will be held accountable with new representative profiles that list the promises they made, the votes they cast, and the speeches they made before they voted. For the first time, the people you elect are completely transparent and accountable.
• You can sign up for our weekly newsletter anywhere on the site – just the top right-hand corner. Plus, we’ll be sending any juicy news, like free stuff or special deals, to that list alone, so stay in the loop and join!

Of course, this is just one piece of the puzzle. Next year, all year, the UA will be continuing the conversation – whether through this website, or our Cross Campus meetings, where we come to you and you can tell us what you want in Open Forum, or our listening campaigns in dining halls to get your feelings on food, life, and serving you better.

Check our site out and stay tuned for more great things from your student government!

Peace and rainbows,

Alec
Chair of the Undergraduate Assembly

P.S. Heartfelt thanks to Cynthia Ip, our webmaster, for making this site a reality!