We attended the year’s first UPUA meeting this evening– not a lot actually got done, but everyone seems prepared for the year.

Tonight they talked about three major projects.

• Greek Loop: This was definitely the most exciting plan Gavin Keirans’ ticket had last spring. Keirans has discovered the State College borough to be a little more of a challenge than he thought he had. In fact, he already knows that one member of the borough council would vote ‘no,’ but he thinks that the UPUA can at least open up a dialogue with them.
• Legal Affairs: Keirans passed it in a final push last year, and it definitely proved to be one of his most concrete accomplishments of his first term. He now has to find an office for the group, and a lawyer to lead it. This should be easier than it was to actually firm up the funding.
• Quigley Memorial Concert to Benefit Thon: Atlas Thon made a a presentation to the board proposing that they combine their institutions to hold a Thon benefit concert that would be held in Jon Quigley’s memory. Quigley was a rising sophomore member of Atlas Thon and an on-campus representative for UPUA. Mike Wallace said that he hoped the concert could be held in early November (he might be forgetting just how cold it can be then though).

It will also be interesting to see if the amnesty policy gains any traction amongst the wide variety of stakeholders it would affect and how Matt Smith’s executive board comes together in the next month.

One last fun fact: this was our first time seeing Hillary Gupta since she left for Spain.

To all the hardcore wonks out there, we suggest you check out the ’10 Questions’ video we produced with him last spring to get a sense of what got him reelected.

One last thing: we went through the Keirans-Gupta proposal and culled the entire laundry list of ideas that got Keirans a second term in office. I fear that many of the smaller projects will get not be realized, despite the utility they could bring to the entire Penn State community, i.e. re-purposing the Corner Pocket, meal points rollover, and the idea Keirans had to speak to all freshman in their first semester at Penn State.

Top Priority Initiatives
Free Legal Service
Keirans Speaks to All Freshman
Restoration of The All-College Cabinet
Tenant-Tenant & Tenant-Landlord Mediation
Good Samaritan Policy

Major Goals and Initiatives
Online Renter’s Guide
Swipe Cards for All Hub Offices
Freshman Foundation Festival
Collaborative Trips to Other Universities
Freshman Elections in November
Living Legends Event
Tuition Relief Act Advocacy
Greek Life Presence
Free Tax Service
Monthly Trustee Luncheon
Music Service
Association of Big Ten Student’s Conference

UPUA Structural Enhancements
Committee Assembly Interns
Campus Life Committee
Retreat
At-Large Reps
Webmaster
Judicial Affairs Student Judiciary

Concepts to be Explored
Purchasing Card Option
Off-Campus Meal Plan
Meal Point Roll Over
Adopt-a-Lot
President Fund for Student-Faculty Interaction
Multicultural World Cup
Off Campus Center
Identity Theft Protection for Students, Alumni, Faculty
Tenant Landlord Mediation Borough Legislation
Corner Pocket
Fraternity Loop

Academic and Student Life Focused Initiatives
Uniform Academic Integrity Standards
Expansion of FTCAP
Student Appreciation Awards
Weekly Video Blogs
Weekly CDT Blogs
Finals Frenzy