From Vice President of Student Affairs Damon Sims to State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham, our student government has hosted a variety of guest speakers early this semester. The UPUA kept at it on Wednesday night, as recently elected student trustee Allie Goldstein gave a special presentation at the weekly assembly meeting.

Goldstein gave a brief presentation on the Board of Trustees, her position, and what she’s been up to in the last few months after replacing Peter Khoury before opening things up for a question and answer session with the assembly. She expertly navigated some tough questions like a seasoned politician, side-stepping some of the more controversy-prone subjects.

Stephen Payne, an at-large representative, asked Goldstein why she abstained on a vote this summer, citing general parliamentary policy to save abstentions for conflicts of interest and vote in the affirmative or negative on all other legislation. Goldstein explained that as she was new to the Board, she didn’t feel sufficiently knowledgeable on the subject to make a decision one way or the other.

“I wanted to make sure that I was 100 percent confident with my decision and I wasn’t. This was a unique situation,” she said.

At-Large Representative Melissa McCleery asked Goldstein about the upcoming discussion on the Board governance proposals, asking which she supports most of the five choices.

“What’s going to be frustrating for you all is that I really believe in the power of discourse, so I don’t think its fair to say what I support because I really want to hear the discussions first,” she responded, adding that she will only support a proposal that includes a codified student trustee while declining to opine on other governance issues.

Goldstein was also asked by College of Agricultural Sciences Representative Ted Hozza how she can represent undergraduate students, who make up the majority of Penn Staters, after earning her undergraduate degree elsewhere. Her answer didn’t exactly fit the question as she essentially explained that she is well-read on Penn State history and brings a diverse berth of knowledge to the table because of her experience at other schools.

While Goldstein had the more noteworthy presentation of the night, she wasn’t the lone speaker in the house. New Student Orientation’s Dan Murphy and Katie Motycki kicked off the meeting with a speech of their own, speaking about the university moving away from the FTCAP program and expanding orientation to better serve transfer and international students.

“Nobody has been more supportive of the work that we do at NSO than you all at UPUA,” Murphy said. “That’s partially thanks to us being held accountable to you guys, but also working with you and the great help that your Student Financial Education Center and your Academic Affairs Committee have provided.”

In terms of new business, the assembly had a pretty light load on the agenda this week. The entire Freshman Council was sworn in while the two new freshman representatives were up for confirmation. Sporting oddly similar first names, Alexandra Leventis and Alexander Shockley were confirmed by votes of 32-2 and 34-0, respectively.

UPUA also gave more responsibilities to a current staff on the payroll, confirming Lindsey Hannon — the current Director of Records and Secretary — as Office Manager, making her the assembly’s official Jack Lindsey of All Trades.

Resolution 07-09 — Commendation of the Actions of Police at Sept. 8’s State College Rally:

This resolution thanked the local police for allowing the peaceful rally following the sanction reductions on Sept. 8.

Best Dressed Representative of the Week:

In a tightly-contested battle, Tim Rinehart is officially the semester’s first winner of this prestigious award. Rinehart always dresses to impress and Wednesday night brought no exception.