After a productive fall semester, the University Park Undergraduate Association is gearing up for a repeat performance this spring. Here's what we can look forward to this semester.
At the risk of ESPN suing me, welcome to SportsCenter meets C-SPAN: the top five plays from the University Park Undergraduate Association this semester. The first full semester under President Christian Ragland has gone well. There have been a few missteps, but that's to be expected of any organization a) made up of students, and b) only at its fifth crack at this. People like to rag on the UPUA a lot (awful pun not intended—sorry, Christian) but hopefully this will convince you that they actually are doing a lot of good for us.
Last night, the University Park Undergraduate Association voted to introduce subsidized test prep classes from The Princeton Review for graduate and professional standardized tests.
The vote passed overwhelmingly, with only three votes for the other package, presented to the UPUA by Kaplan.
Wednesday night's meeting of the University Park Undergraduate Association lasted two-and-a-half hours with an agenda filled to the brim. The main event of the evening, however, was the lively, sustained discussion on whether or not to remove Facilities Chair Haley McClernon from the Assembly.
As Chair of the Assembly, Jessica Peliciotta brought forth the removal proceedings because of McClernon's violations of the UPUA's attendance policy. McClernon gave a statement before the Assembly explaining her absences, citing mainly the Steering Committee's difficult meeting time: Sunday at 2 p.m., and that the new time for next semester would work much more smoothly.
The University Faculty Senate met yesterday for the third time this year. Among the main topics of discussion were excessive student drinking (I'm sensing a pattern here) and the lovely Student Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness.
The huge number of people who did not show up for the University Park Undergraduate Association's Town Hall meeting really missed out. Monday night in 101 Thomas featured State College defense attorney Andrew Shubin, who, since 1991, has represented clients in cases ranging from underage drinking to homicide to "the occasional animal intercourse case." Shubin spoke about students' rights and their relationship with the police and the community as a whole.