According to Congressman Glenn Thompson, a Republican from Howard, PA (about 15 miles from State College), the estate tax (aka death tax) is a threat to national security. This was merely one quixotic proclamation by the congressional representative last evening at a talk on national security post-9/11. According to Congressman Thompson, the nation faces five significant threats to security, including lax borders, continuing operations in the Middle East, food security, debt, and energy dependence.
Find out more about his talk after the jump.
The University Park Undergraduate Association is currently seeking a Secretary, Parliamentarian, At Large Representative, Off Campus Representative, and two Freshmen Representatives for the coming year. President Christian Ragland commented that the resignations that prompted these openings are “nothing new, [since] UPUA has open positions at the beginning of every year.” He continued that although it is unfortunate that people had to resign, these new spots will “hopefully open doors for interested and qualified people to become part of UPUA.”
If you’re interested in applying, contact Jess Pelliciotta at jmp5268@psu.edu.
At the Centre County GOP Victory Headquarters, a handful of dedicated Republican students, led by College Republicans officer Anthony Christina, phoned local residents. Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate Jim Cawley, who was in town for the Grange Fair, made a scheduled stop at the headquarters. Cawley answered a series of questions about issues affecting students.
That handle of Vladdy or fifth of Jack will be costing you a bit more in a few months. According to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB), a state-owned entity that owns and operates state liquor stores, the rising cost of doing business is forcing the increase. Prices are expected to rise an as yet unconfirmed amount starting January 4th.
More thoughts after the jump.
A group of about thirty gathered in Schlow Library yesterday evening for a town hall meeting held by congressional candidate Mike Pipe. The group, made up largely of members of the local community and students, engaged the young candidate on a diverse array of issues, and also listened to Pipe describe the intent of his campaign. The meeting was the 10th in a series of twelve meetings, Pipe said.
Read on to learn about the issues discussed…
Michael Pipe, the Democratic nominee for the 5th Congressional District, announced today that he will be holding a series of 12 town hall meetings across the region, with a stop in State College at the Schlow Memorial Library on August 10 from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The full list of meetings and more information is viewable on Pipe’s campaign website.
Earlier today the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives approved the state budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The new $28,043,137 budget trims almost a billion dollars from Governor Ed Rendell’s proposed budget of $29,029,507. The new budget is an increase of over $243 million from last year’s much delayed bill. In fact, this is the first time in Ed Rendell’s 8 years as governor that the state budget has been approved on time. But the big question that the Penn State faithful want to know is, how will this new budget impact Old State?
Read on to find out how much Penn State will receive…
Penn State’s Board of Trustees approved a $3.8 billion dollar interim budget for the 2010-2011 school year at its meeting last week. An interim budget is adopted each year so the University has an approved operating budget from the beginning of its fiscla year on July 1st to whenever the Board of Trustees can approve an actual budget. This year’s interim budget is basically identical to last year’s, meaning it contains no changes to tuition adjustments.
Yay! No tuition increase! Right?
Unfortunately, that’s probably not what’s actually going to happen.
Representative Scott Conklin (D-Centre County) received 316,192 votes in yesterday’s Democratic race for lieutenant governor– his closest opponent, Jonathan Saidel, received 311,538. These are equivalent to, respectively, 35.4% and 34.9% of the total votes.
The race is still too close to call for two reasons. According to the official website, as of 10:10 am this morning, 75 districts had not yet reported voting totals. Moreover, the Centre Daily Times reported this morning that if the final margin is less than one half of one percent of the total number of votes cast, a recount would be automatically triggered in all 67 counties.
Former University Park Undergraduate Association President Gavin Keirans has certainly left a legacy within the UPUA since its fledgling inception years ago after the dissolution of the Undergraduate Student Government in the spring of 2007. Since he took the executive reigns, Keirans has seen the UPUA transform from an institution plagued by in-fighting to a legitimate student government, complete with an executive and judicial body, a significant standing budget, a constitution, and an increased level of participation in student government activities.
To get more insight on this, I talked to Keirans himself. Read on for more details.
Last night’s University Park Undergraduate Association meeting, perhaps the shortest of the semester, opened up with a few words from President Christian Ragland. He mentioned that the UPUA won an Award from the State College Borough Council, he was working on putting together a diversity seminar, and that he was also hoping to garner support from other university student council president to show encouragement for Joseph Igbineweka, a student president from Chico State University in California that was stabbed in a hate crime.
More details after the jump.
Yesterday Mohamed Raouda and Martin James Worsham debated it out at the last council meeting of the semester, regarding who deserves the right to lead the Commonwealth Campus Student Government for the next academic year.
After a very intense debate, the council opted to elect the Raouda-Khoury ticket to serve as President and Vice President for the 2010-2011 academic year.
More after the jump.
The Interfraternity Council announced Thursday that Noah Karn decided to resign from his position as IFC Representative. “The Interfraternity Council supports Noah’s decision to remove himself from the UPUA general assembly,” said IFC President Max Wendkos. “We represent a contingent of fraternities whose core beliefs are rooted in tolerance and acceptance and we will never [...]
“Committed to change, ready to act” is the slogan that Mohamed Raouda and Peter Khoury are running on for the post of Commonwealth Campus Student Government presidency. The Raouda-Khoury ticket seeks to provide an improved student experience outside the classroom and to advocate and represent the students of the commonwealth. Both candidates come from a wealth of experience in student government and have worked very closely with past President George Khoury and current President Nick Borsuk. They hope to bring this experience to ensure the onward progress of CCSG.
Sounds like you have heard it all before? Take a look at some of their initiatives after the jump.
Last night’s meeting was by far the most highly attended of the fifth assembly of the University Park Undergraduate Association. They weren’t there just to see Robert’s Rules of Order in action, that’s for sure.
Read our full account of last night’s UPUA meeting, including the Noah Karn incident and much more.
