Last night’s UPUA meeting may have been the shortest of the semester, but that doesn’t mean it was lacking the usual excitement.

The meeting started off with a special presentation from Meagan Tuttle, a member of the State College Borough Planning Department, who talked about the future of downtown State College. There are plans to turn downtown into a more accessible place for everyone, including potentially turning Allen Street into a pedestrian-only walkway. Tuttle also mentioned that they were looking to turn Calder Way into more of a “fun and funky place.”

All in all, the plan is estimated to take 20 years, and Tuttle noted that construction on some new buildings could start in two or three years.

Here’s this week’s legislation:

Policy 03-08: Attendance Policy Update

All this policy does for UPUA is streamline the attendance procedures that were currently in place. There is now an “excuse” form that assembly members must fill out 24 hours in advance of the meeting.

Initially, the legislation would’ve required any assembly member who missed a meeting to attend the next steering meeting (the weekly meeting which includes all the committee chairs) to get caught up. However, Rep. Ted Ritsick disagreed with this and made a motion that this should be removed from the legislation. Chair Anthony Panichelli objected to Ritsick’s motion, which led to a very confusing yes/no vote on whether the assembly wanted to keep that line in the bill.

I’m still not really sure how it all went down, but representatives will NOT need to attend a steering meeting if they miss a General Assembly meeting, as that part of the legislation has now been removed.

Outside of the motions/objections, the policy passed unanimously.

Bill 04-08: Printing Maps in the HUB

With all the renovations going on in the HUB, it’s understandable that no one knows where the printers are anymore. UPUA aims to change that by purchasing 50 “11 x 17” posters that will tell students where the printers are now located in the HUB. The total cost of the posters (plus shipping) is $58.99.

I’m not sure why UPUA can’t just print slightly lower quality fliers from the comforts of their own office for free, but I guess that’s UPUA for you.

The resolution passed 37-2-0, with the only two dissenters being Onward State staff members Kevin Horne and Katie Tully.

Tie Wars

Malcolm Jenkins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

vs. 

Caleb Fernandez

To be honest, I think arguments could be made for either tie here. I like the 80’s vibes I’m getting from Jenkins’ tie, but Fernandez’s modern patterns are equally as nice. I hate that I have to pick a winner here, but I’m going to go with Jenkins’ tie. He definitely took a risk with this tie, which is something I can appreciate. His knot is also cleaner than Fernandez’s, which is what ultimately put him over the edge.

Winner: Malcolm Jenkins