UPUA: “Let There Be Stop Signs”

It was a quintessential resplendent scene in 302 HUB Wednesday night, as our favorite University aristocrats from UPUA converged for the weekly general assembly meeting.

First up on the agenda was a presentation from the Vice Provost of ITS Kevin Morooney. Morooney had several interesting facts regarding internet usage by Penn State students:

• There are over 100 IT organizations at Penn State.
• Penn State spends $250 million annually on information technology. Morooney added, “I know we’re not getting the most out of that 250 that we possibly can.”
• 240 terabytes of data are transmitted internally on Penn State’s network each year.
• The busiest day on ANGEL was December 12, 2011 (The Monday of finals week). ANGEL had 2,500,000 hits between 10-11 p.m. alone.
• Morooney says that developing e-mail at Penn State using outlets such as Office360 or Gmail is coming “in the future but not imminent.”

Following Morooney’s presentation, President T.J. Bard introduced his “Six Points for Change” outlining his requests for student-friendly reform in the Penn State administration. Information on Bard’s address are discussed in a separate post.

There was only one piece of legislation brought to the floor Wednesday night, but it certainly enlightened everyone in attendance to a very serious concern. Resolution 26-06 states that “stop signs should be erected for both Northbound and Southbound traffic” at a pedestrian crossing between Mifflin/Hartranft Halls and Simmons/McElwain Halls.

Evidently, this is a very serious safety concern for students who take this route. Representative Elias Warren noted, to the fear of all in the assembly, “I’ve almost been run over a couple times.”

Perhaps of greatest concern to the student body was how this legislation would affect the Mifflin Streak. Representative Eli Glazier raised this question, but Representative David Harrington, who brought the legislation to the floor, assured the assembly that the stop signs would have no ramifications regarding the streak.

Governmental Affairs Chairman Adam Boyer also had concerns about how expediently the signs could be installed. “How quickly can this erection occur?” asked Boyer. The answer was unclear, as it depends on how fast the Office of the Physical Plant can be convinced of the necessity of the aforementioned signs.

The stop sign legislation passed unanimously 35-0-0. Two hours and two stop signs later, the meeting adjourned, and I walked off into the crisp State College night knowing that future Elias Warrens of the world will now be safer because of the UPUA.

T.J. Bard Tie Rating of the Week: (5/5): It’s been said that a “perfect 10″ doesn’t exist in the coarse collegiate rating scale of women. Men have said for generations that the 10 is just an urban legend, a mythical deity of sorts. I thought the same was true for ties, but T.J. Bard proved me wrong this week. Yes, it was that amazing. A baby blue tie on top of a slightly lighter blue thin plaid shirt complimented a cool gray suit to perfection. This was color coordination fit to meet world leaders. It’s always a risk going with similarly colored shirts and ties, but there was no doubt that the light blue on lighter blue was a home run decision. Other UPUA representatives should take note of President Bard’s performance last night.