The University Park Student Fee Board heard allocation request presentations from Student Legal Services and Penn State Student Orientation and Transition Programs (SOTP) at its Friday meeting.

Kelly Mroz, director of Student Legal Services, kicked the Board’s first round of hearings off with her organization’s request presentation. Student Legal Services employs four full-time attorneys that act as a legal support arm for students on campus. The organization generally focuses on addressing low-level criminal offenses to allow students to maintain their academic standing throughout a case.

Mroz noted that her organization plans to introduce a legal trivia game show, hosted by a staff attorney, that allows students to win prizes by answering questions correctly. The show’s questions will address common legal situations students might face, like police encounters or landlord-tenant law. Segments of the show will be taped and shared to educate students on relevant legal topics.

Mroz said that raising awareness among students about her organization’s work remained a priority.

Mroz presented a request for a raised funding total of $520,000 for the 2020-21 academic year, a $30,000 increase over the allocation it received last year. The Fee Board granted Student Legal Services a $20,000 raise in funding last term.

Molly Nolty, assistant director for welcome services at Penn State, and Jordan Emely, Welcome Week’s executive director, then discussed SOTP’s request and goals.

SOTP primarily uses its fee allocation to fund Welcome Week initiatives that take place each semester and during the summer to help new and returning students acclimate to Penn State. The organization’s student integration events include LateNight in the HUB and Friday Night Lights as well as community-focused programs like LION Bash.

“We’re starting the bond of Penn Staters at the very time that they step foot on campus for welcome week,” Emely said.

SOTP plans to continue and expand its Encore: Results Will Vary interactive theatre experience, which aims to educate new and returning students on alcohol and drug use/abuse, sexual assault prevention, bystander intervention, mental health, and diversity and inclusion.

Nolty and Emely said that the organization hopes to expand this initiative so that the information it provides is available for all students, not just those who arrive at a specific time.

The pair also indicated that events previously removed from the SOTP schedule could return in the future.

“We are looking to hopefully bring back some programs that are not on our schedule this year,” Nolty said, citing the Lion Dash 5k, which aims to connect students with the local community.

SOTP requested a total allocation of $102,000. The Fee Board allocated SOTP the same amount last cycle, which represented a decrease from its 2018-19 allocation. This was attributed to the cancellation of the Nittany Block Party, which Nolty said could return in the future.

The Fee Board will hear presentations from the Paul Robeson Cultural Center and the Penn State Center for Gender Equity at its next meeting on December 6.