The 15th Assembly of the University Park Undergraduate Association met virtually Wednesday night for its second spring semester meeting.

During the special presentation, the assembly heard from Charleon Jeffries, Penn State’s Director for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion of Development and Alumni Relations.

Following reports from UPUA President Zach McKay and Vice President Lexy Pathickal, the assembly moved into new business.

New Business

The first piece of new business for the evening was the confirmation of Executive Director of Health and Wellness Hadya Truesdail.

Truesdail said that some of her goals include sharing more mental health resources for students and creating a “Wellness Wednesday” where UPUA promotes health and wellness tips on its social media accounts.

Next, the assembly held an internal election for the Chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee.

Dan Risser was elected unanimously to the position. Risser shared about his plans to expand PSU Votes, help register students to vote, and increase voter turnout for local and midterm elections.

The first piece of legislation for the evening was Bill 11-15. This bill provides funding for guest speakers for Penn State’s Sexual Violence Awareness and Prevention Week. The guest speakers this year will be Monica Ramirez, Reema Zaman, and Chanel Miller.

The SVAP Roundtable plans this year to expand the Sexual Assault Awareness Week to have more events spread out over the course of the month, instead of just one week.

UPUA is working on establishing a virtual book club during this month for the book “Know My Name” by Miller. Her memoir details her experience as Emily Doe in the Stanford Rape Case involving Brock Turner.

Bill 11-15 passed unanimously.

The next bill, 12-15, will provide funds for combatting period poverty, specifically while the coronavirus is still going on. In the fall, UPUA passed a resolution that established a contingency plan to distribute hygiene products in the event of a campus closure.

Although campus did not close in the fall, and it is unlikely that Penn State will close suddenly this spring, UPUA is still committing to providing hygiene products to students, specifically those quarantined in Eastview Terrace. UPUA will allocate $2,047 of its budget on products such as tampons, pads, reusable masks, and bar soap.

Bill 12-15 passed unanimously.

The last piece of legislation funds this year’s UPUA’s “We cAre” event. Last year, UPUA hosted a very successful drive in the HUB where they provided more than 500 general hygiene kits to students free of charge.

This year, UPUA will arrange for students to either pick up or get their kits delivered. Students will have the option of getting materials such as blue light glasses, hand sanitizer, bamboo toothbrushes, and tide pod detergents.

Bill 13-15 also passed unanimously.

Following executive and committee reports, the meeting adjourned at 8:56 p.m.