Happy first day of Ramadan!

Muslims are required to fast during the daylight hours of the holy month of Ramadan, which overlaps with Fall semester. This means that Muslims at Penn with dining plans are at a disadvantage; dining halls aren’t open before sunrise.

That’s why the UA, led by UA Representative (now Treasurer) Sakina Zaidi, secured free breakfasts for observant Muslims during Ramadan after unanimously passing a resolution to give Muslims “Fast Food” for Ramadan. The meals will be handed out during the evening meal of Iftar, and are funded by the Office of the Chaplain and Penn Dining Services.

In addition, the MSA has announced its intention to have a memorial banquet on 9/11, to which President Gutmann and student leaders will be invited, as a direct result of this project!

The architectural rending of Du Bois College House by MGA Partners, showing some of the major renovations announced for the four-story building including the large new “picture window” in the Multipurpose Room on the first floor. From the Penn Almanac.

After years of pressure from students, faculty and administrators alike, DuBois College House is undergoing a major renovation!

Student room improvements will include fresh paint and new furniture. Bathroom fixtures and finishes will be renovated or replaced. New lighting, floor tiles, exhaust fans and in-room electrical panels and radiator covers will be installed. Numerous exterior and public space improvements are planned. The building’s exterior will be washed, bricks re-pointed and masonry restored. New windows will be installed with brighter glass, casements, screens and mini-blinds. Additional improvements are planned for the multi-purpose room, first floor common kitchen, first floor computer lab, house office, lounges and public restrooms.

The full announcement was made in the Almanac and the DP. The renovation has already begun and will hopefully be finished by the beginning of Fall 2009.

This major renovation did not come about overnight – rather, it has been the product of persistent lobbying by UMOJA, the UMC, other minority coalitions, individual residents of DuBois, and the UA, which passed a resolution supporting DuBois renovations in 2006(!). Invaluable support also came from key administrators, most notably Vice-Provost Val Cade and Associate Vice-Provost Will Gipson, who is also the Faculty Master of DuBois.

After receiving complaints from student groups whose reservations for Perelman Quad spaces (which includes Houston Hall, Williams Hall, and the ARCH) were “bumped” for other groups, the UA launched an investigation into the reservations process.

The UA passed a resolution on reservations, accepted by the Vice-Provost of University Life, which:

• Mandated the Student Government Info Session be given priority access to the Cohen Auditorium,
• Insisted that Perelman Quad not “upgrade” room reservations without prior notice and consent of groups booking rooms. Once a room is assigned, barring priority-order conflicts, that room should not be reassigned.
• In the case of reassignments, the UA asked VPUL Facilities to not reassign any room assigned to a student group without notifying the affected groups at least sixteen (16) calendar days in advance of the booking.
• Ensured that notice of early bookings for the next academic year (usually made available in March) be communicated to the UA and to SAC and distributed widely to the undergraduate population.

These policies are slated to go into effect in Fall 2009.

After a year of work from the UA, RAB, Housing Services, the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Registrar, the spring move-out deadline for all residents of on-campus housing has been extended until 5pm the day after the last day of finals. This means that many more students who have exams on the last day of finals will have at least 24 hours to move out!

The short move-out time was first protested against on Facebook; the UA responded and issued a 700-person survey, which paved the way for a resolution on Move-Out in the Fall Semester of this year. After that, and extensive discussions with Housing Services, the move-out deadline was eventually moved to 5pm on the day after exams.

In addition, we will survey all undergraduate residents of the College Houses and Sansom Place on this year’s move-out process to measure the effectiveness of the change and field suggestions for further improvement. However, looking at anecdotal evidence, it appears as if the change has worked very well for all involved!

Any students with questions on the policy change or other elements of Move-Out should email moveout@exchange.upenn.edu.

Allocation to different branches in the 09-10 Budget

Every year the UA is given around $1.8 million to allocate to the branches of student government for the upcoming year – money that funds Spring Fling, major speakers, Hey Day, Sophomore Skimmer, free New York Times, and, of course, every student group on campus. Our money comes from the Trustees, and is pegged to the General Fee.

This year, of course, the economy ran into a little trouble, but the General Fee went up by 3.9% and so the UA was given an extra $67,000 to distribute. This was important; with budget cutting in every department, students can’t rely on non-student funding sources any more. Plus, the UA Budget Committee and PSG Treasurers found nearly $50,000 in savings from careful cutting of unnecessary and less popular programs.

In the end, our increase and new savings meant that:

• SAC gets another $25,000 boost to student group funding.
• SPEC got more than $28,000 extra for a better Spring Fling concert, SPEC-TRUM concert, and Fall/Spring Major Speakers.
• The UA began funding PennArts and PennGreen, two new and exciting freshman pre-orientation programs.

The full budget is online or in a printer friendly version, as you prefer. For the full low-down on the budget, check after the jump.

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