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. Read more…
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 announced by President Gutmann in a campus-wide email, and approved by the Board of Trustees a few minutes ago, Vincent Price is Penn’s new Provost! Provost Price has worked with generations of undergraduates as Faculty Senate Chair and the UA believes he will live up to and exceed Ron Daniel’s reputation as a great advocate for undergraduates. He will be a superb Provost!
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.
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!
The Undergraduate Assembly is the elected, representative branch of student government at Penn, charged with improving life for all students through funding, services, and advocacy.
The UA produced a column in the Summer Pennsylvanian today! Find it below:
As announced by President Gutmann in a 
