The 14th Assembly of the University Park Undergraduate Association convened in the HUB on Wednesday evening for its fifth meeting of the semester.

The meeting began with the first special presentation which came from Executive Vice President and Provost Nick Jones.

Jones spoke about his roles and responsibilities within the university, noting one personal job that makes all the rest that much more important. Jones currently has a daughter at Penn State, and she will graduates in May, which has made him particularly reflective on his job.

“This means that my job is not a clinical responsibility, it’s not just a job that I do because I get a salary,” Jones said. “I do it, and I care because my daughter is here, and my signature is going to be on her diploma.”

Jones said he also wants to spread the word and encourage students to continue filling out the university-wide survey which is aiming to gain more student insight on community, diversity, and inclusion.

The second special presentation of the night came from students Michael Miller and Josie Krieger from Students Teaching Students (STS). STS is a new program at Penn State that gives undergraduate students the opportunity to teach an official course under the supervision of a faculty member.

This semester, STS is helping bring courses to the university like CAS197c, Criticism of Kanye, and a very popular LSAT prep course. STS is currently accepting applications for student teachers in the Fall 2020 semester until February 20.

Within the next five years of the program, they hope to broaden awareness and have at least 35 officially student-led courses.

Legislation

The first order of business of the night came in the form of swearing in Kelly Snyder, a College of Nursing representative.

The second order of business was Bill 23-14, Funding of the Pennsylvania Association of State-Related Students 2020 Spring Conference. This bill covers basic costs like room, board, and food. The bill passed with one abstention.

Resolution 38-14, the “Support of the Creation of a ‘Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) Representative’ on the State College Borough Council” passed unanimously. This passed in hopes of creating two positions on the Borough Council: one to represent the undergraduate students and the other to represent graduate and professional students.

Previously, there was just one “student representative” role on Borough Council. So, these positions are aimed to better represent the concerns, interests, and ideas of varying populations of students at Penn State.

Resolution 39-14, the “Support of Policy 56-30 Military Partial Withdrawal Revisions” also passed unanimously. This resolution supports students across Penn State campuses who are either veterans or service members and may have to relocate with little to no notice.

Under this policy, military students will be able to partially cancel their schedule of courses, or continue them if able, and not face the negative financial consequences of not completing a course after the drop/add period.

Resolution 40-14, “Support of Google Suite for Education” passed unanimously. In November of 2019, the university launched G Suite for Education, and this resolution will support this adoption so students can have full access to essential tools like Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Forms.

The fifth piece of legislation for the night, Resolution 41-14, “Support of Student Privacy Regarding Letters of Recommendation” passed with a voice vote. This is in support of the Penn State Senate policy 89-00, which requires students to either “waive” or “not waive” their right to see their letter of recommendation.

The final piece of legislation for the night, Resolution 42-14, “Support of New Senate Policy 45-00 Campus Closure”, also passed. This Senate Policy provides clearer guidelines for what can and cannot happen during a campus closure and also requires faculty to have a plan in place on their syllabi for campus closures.

This policy includes the guidelines that faculty may not host a virtual class, as in a Zoom meeting or Skype session, on a university closed day, to ensure that all students are receiving equal opportunities while at home.

The assembly adjourned at 9:46 p.m.