During the first half of the 50th session of the UA, the executive board focused on improving the Undergraduate Assembly’s internal funding systems and continued to advocate for our long-term advocacy projects. You can find a copy of the report here.

Student Funding

The majority of the first half of the session was dedicated to creating better allocation methods for the Undergraduate Assembly Reserve Fund, where over $1 million has accumulated. Additionally, we focused on finding meaningful ways to effectively spend the money in the Reserve Fund by brainstorming and identifying projects that would benefit the academic and cultural experience of Penn students. Through a lengthy bylaw amendment process, the number of voices heard during the process has increased by over ten-fold, and has allowed for public comment in the process. As of now, we have already spent over $300,000 on meaningful proposals that have addressed student needs on campus.

Large-Scale Initiatives

Outside of funding, we have continued advocacy efforts targeting a variety of aspects of Penn’s campus. We have started the process of proposing policies to protect students’ academic breaks, have dedicated significant amounts of time and thought to ensure economic diversity at the new Radian College House despite its high-cost threshold, and have continued to push for improved space accessibility by increasing the availability of classrooms to students and ensuring faster booking times.

Project Work in the Body

Several projects from within the UA Body also reached completion during the first half of this session. Projects that positively impacted the transfer student experience at Penn were completed, including the implementation of a Transfer Critical Writing Seminar pilot program for the fall semester of 2023 and the expansion of the Resident Assistant (RA) program to allow for the transfer living community (TLC) at Rodin to have an undergraduate transfer student RA. Additionally, projects to improve the RA experience at Penn have been completed, including an expansion to the RA dining plan. Finally, projects that brought awareness of sustainability to Penn students were put into motion, including a water bottle giveaway event that will occur during the beginning of the 2023 spring semester with the goal of encouraging students to use reusable water bottles and learn more about ways that they can be more environmentally friendly on campus.

Conclusion

The 50th session of the UA is far from complete. We hope to add to all of our achievements, and we encourage you to reach out to us at exec@pennua.org or through our suggestions box on our website. We remain committed to hearing the concerns of all individuals at Penn, and we look forward to finishing our term with the same dedication and passion with which we began.

—Undergraduate Assembly Executive Board