On Wednesday evening, the 18th Assembly of the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) met for its third meeting. It began with a special presentation by Speaker Owen Haddad, President Nora O’Toole, and Executive Director of Finance Sanjana Devarakonda.

Haddad explained that the primary source of funding for UPUA comes from the Student Fee Board and that UPUA is required to abide by the guidelines put forward by that organization.

The Student Fee Board allocated $139,628.55 to UPUA for the upcoming academic year. With $11,170 rolling over from the 17th assembly, the upcoming budget will total $150,798.83.

Part of the budget includes the operational sub-budget, which is defined as “authorized spending” by the executive branch that doesn’t require any legislation to be passed to be used. The other portion of the budget, the show-cause budget, funds programming events such as Mental Health and Wellness Week, Lyft subsidies, PSU Votes, and more. Money taken from this budget requires legislation to be passed in the general assembly.

O’Toole noted in her report that, following a meeting with the Student Fee Board, there was a decision to increase the annual student fee by 2%. Students will see a slight increase from $274 to $277 in their student fees. It was unclear where these increased funds will be utilized in the future.

The assembly quickly swore in the new representatives for Panhellenic Council and Multicultural Greek Council — Gabriela Rivera and Max Carrillo, respectively.

An election was held for a new Association of Big Ten Student Government (ABTS) liaison. In a brief speech, the sole nominee, Max Gibbard, emphasized the need for improving mental health resources and reducing gun violence across all Big Ten schools. Following a brief discussion, Gibbard was elected as the ABTS liaison.

Next, legislative members moved into an election for the State College Borough Council liaison. Eberly College of Science representative and nominee Luc Schrauf spoke about his experience being a borough liaison in high school and how this has shaped his understanding of zoning laws in State College. As Schrauf was the only nominee, he was elected to the liaison position.

Moving into new business, the assembly worked to confirm Hayden D’Elena as the chief justice for the 18th Assembly. D’Elena served as chief justice for several months at the end of the 17th Assembly following Andrew Waldman’s resignation from the role. D’Elena was confirmed unanimously.

Next up was Policy #01-18, confirming the budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which was introduced and explained at the beginning of the meeting. The budget passed unanimously.

Bill #01-18 established the “Know Your Academic Rights” Campaign for spring 2023, regarding grade forgiveness, deferred grading, and more. The bill supports several Instagram advertisements containing this information. Bill #01-18 passed unanimously.

Bill #02-18 provided funding for coffee for finals week to be distributed in the HUB during the week of May 1. The bill was passed unanimously.