Last night, The University Park Undergraduate Association held its final General Assembly of this academic year. The Assembly had an agenda filled to the brim in order to get everything in before they break for finals, and then summer.

Most notably, the Assembly approved a budget for 2011-12. The debate on the issue was surprisingly short, as most of it had occurred last Thursday at the Internal Development Committee meeting where the budget was finalized before being brought to the floor of the Assembly.

Off-Campus Representative Adam Boyer proposed to increase funding for the S-Book production from $8,000 to $10,000, as last year’s production costs were closer to that number. Boyer wanted to take that money from the Legal Affairs budget. Several Assembly members objected, saying that UPUA Legal Affairs was set to expand in the coming year. This led to debate on whether the S-Book itself was a good idea, especially at the expense of Legal Affairs. Boyer relented, instead asking for the extra funds from the UPUA discretionary budget (essentially extra savings for miscellaneous things that happen to arise).

The budget passed unanimously as it was, totaling $139,628.55.

The Assembly also passed a Core Council Review Committee, a highlight of T.J. Bard’s and Courtney Lennartz’s campaign platform, and was recommitted to the Academic Affairs Committee last week at the behest of CCSG Liaison D.J. Ryan, who was distressed that his organization had not been involved in the drafting. CCSG Vice President-Elect Justin Cortes said last night that the new issue with the legislation was representation; CCSG wanted Commonwealth representation equal to that of University Park. The final numbers were agreed upon: 2 chairs, 4 undergraduates appointed by UPUA, 4 appointed by CCSG, 1 graduate student from GSA, and another appointed by CCSG.

The Assembly also heard Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims speak about issues ranging from the ever-present alcohol to construction. Sims closed by cautioning that, as a member of the Core Council himself, to take into account the time that he and other members have invested in learning about programs and potential cuts, and encouraging student leaders to stick to reviewing subjects that they themselves knew the most about, as the Council is nearing the end of its task.

The UPUA also passed two other pieces of legislation: funding for a Finals Frenzy event at the HUB, and support for the national Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act,  which would exempt non-profit student off-campus housing from federal taxes on repairs and safety installations.

And lastly, the UPUA confirmed more members to its growing Executive Board:

Mike Stegura – Director of External Affairs
Alanna Slate – Director of Records
Alyssa Wasserman – Director of Finance
Ryan Thomas – Chief Justice of the Board of Arbitration
Tyler Wentz – Director of Housing
Ce Zhang – Assistant Chief of the Board of Arbitration