The University Park Undergraduate Association met Wednesday for its weekly meeting in the HUB. There was a full agenda slated with two resolutions and the meeting was called to order at 8 p.m.

After opening roll call was taken Bill 17-10, blue and white brigade for men’s hockey, was added to the agenda.

Anand Ganjam, ninth assembly president, made an appearance at the meeting to give a special presentation. After the assembly greeted him with a warm welcome, he gave a presentation on behalf of the Penn State Leadership Alumni Interest Group.

“We want this initial communication to turn into a deeper relationship that helps you develop yourself professionally,” Ganjam said.

The purpose of the group is to mentor students from Penn State’s three student governments after graduation. “I wouldn’t even have the job right now if not for the recommendation I got through this,” he said. “This is something that will benefit you for a very long time.”

Next up Asia Grant, a Schreyer scholar, spoke to the assembly about how to apply for grants from the State Department. “I want to talk to you all about achieving opportunities but also taking a break,” she said. Grant asked the assembly to think about a goal that they have, and what their biggest fear is if they don’t achieve that goal.

After the special presentations, President Emily McDonald gave her weekly report. She started off by giving an update on healthcare, which is an ongoing issue to get uninsured students covered. While there’s no current solution, the administration is exploring a number of avenues to get this implemented.

She also brought up creating a panel to go to the March Board of Trustees meeting, which they tried to do last semester but couldn’t because the meeting got snowed out. She also touched on the $8 million UPUA has to spend on facilities, and encouraged everyone to submit ideas.

Following President McDonald’s report, Vice President Terry Ford gave his weekly report. He gave an update on the student fee commission, which made one substantial change last week in regards to their proposal by changing how students submit a fee expenditure to make it easier to do across campuses. “It was well received by administrators when we met on Friday,” he said of the change.

After brief liaison reports and with no old business on the agenda the assembly moved to a five minute caucus breakout.

The assembly then moved to new business with the confirmation of at large representatives. Andrew Geller, Isaac Will, and Sis-Obed Torres were presented and then voted on. Geller was confirmed with a vote of 33-1, Will was confirmed with a vote of 34-1, and Torres was confirmed with a vote of 34-1.

Congratulations to our three new Reps! pic.twitter.com/j8zFInJbJN

— PennStateStudentGovt (@UPUA) January 28, 2016

Bill 17-10, blue and white brigade for men’s hockey, was the first item of legislation discussed. The bill will send one 47 passenger bus to East Lansing on February 13 for the men’s hockey game against Michigan State. The bill passed unanimously.

Next up the assembly moved into the two resolutions and one bill. First was Resolution 30-10, Support for Penn State Kinesiology Club’s Installation of an Outdoor Fitness Park. “This facility will play a greater role in promoting Penn State student, staff, and faculty well being by expanding on-campus health-related offerings that also provide opportunities for engaged scholarship,” the resolution reads. The total projected cost of the park is $50,000. Representatives sitting on the Facilities Fee Advisory Committee will advocate for the allocation of the necessary funds for the outdoor fitness park. The resolution passed unanimously.

Next was Resolution 31-10, Support for Greater Investment in Academic Tutoring. “We aim to answer why students use off-campus tutoring services and pay a fee when we have free resources on-campus,” Grant Worley said.

The resolution noted off-campus note-taking services (Like LionTutors and Nittany Notes) oftentimes attract more student attention than Penn State Learning, despite the fact it’s free. The group that put the legislation together gathered information from other universities and their tutoring services in order to figure out how to improve Penn State Learning. “Other universities’ tutoring services offer a wide range of flexible learning options such as drop-ins, appointments, test reviews, video resources, and more,” the resolution reads. It urges the Office of Undergraduate Education to greater invest in the programs to “guarantee that all students will meet or exceed the skill standards required to succeed as scholars in their chosen programs.” The resolution passed unanimously.

Following the committee reports, closing roll call was taken at 9:53 p.m.

There are only eight weeks left in the tenth assembly’s tenure. We’ll be back for more next Wednesday.