It hasn’t been such a peachy semester for UPUA so far. Two iPads created a sideshow, and UPUA’s vote against the new CCSG budget was pretty much deemed irrelevant when the budget proposal was approved by the SAFB. Finally — if only for one week — UPUA maintained some relative normalcy.

In her report, UPUA President Courtney Lennartz noted that there are plans to meet with VP for Student Affairs Damon Sims to discuss the CCSG budget proposal. Sims is the one who has the final say on whether the budget will go into effect or not, so there is still a small glimmer of hope that budget will be shot down after these meetings.

Lennartz also discussed plans to slow down this year’s State Patty’s Day festivities. IFC will not be allowing any parties or socials on SPD, and dorm residents will only be allowed one guest that weekend. Lennartz also noted that it’s mostly those who don’t go to Penn State (looking at you, Temple) that cause the most damage on SPD weekend.

“We all go to parties every weekend, we know how it is here,” said Lennartz.

Also, two new pieces of legislation were voted on last night. They are:

Policy 11-07: Provisions for Digital Records

Without going into all the boring details, UPUA finally decided to join the 21st century. There will now be digital records of all UPUA documents, which means you don’t have to go through the UPUA paper archive to find that one document that you just have to read. Also, the UPUA Secretary now takes on the role of director for the Department of Records.

The resolution passed 34-1-0 (shout out to Anthony Christina for voting against it).

Policy 13-07: Addition of Assembly Outreach Coordinator

UPUA has had trouble cooperating with student organizations in the past. Naturally, they decided to create a new position for this. As Student Life Chair Justin Laskowski so eloquently said, “I believe we need this position. It’s definitely something this Assembly needs.”

The resolution passed 30-1-4.

Eventually, Taylor Hiester was sworn in to the position of Assembly Outreach Coordinator. In his presentation, he placed an emphasis on accountability and documentation (more Google integration and easily accessible info) as well as a plan for a master calendar, which probably sounds a lot cooler than it actually is.

Highlight of the Meeting: 

It was Chairman Spencer Malloy’s birthday yesterday, so the Assembly broke out a rousing edition of “Happy Birthday” at the end of the meeting. Even Christina got to show off his singing talents as the mic was passed to him for the last line of the song.

Tie Wars: Kevin Horne vs. Spencer Malloy

Horne

Malloy

Verdict: Malloy Wins

It’s hard to go against my editor, but I have to go with Spencer here. Kevin’s tie is decent, but the pale yellow color is holding it back. It doesn’t make much of statement, which makes it tough to look at for longer than three seconds. Spencer’s tie, however, benefits from its bold dark color and  simple pattern. Unlike Kevin’s, Spencer’s tie makes a statement that let’s people know he’s in the building and he means business.