Wednesday night, UPUA made significant strides, both in its own development, and in creating a program for the benefit of the student body. And they did it in record time. Indeed, what was easily the shortest meeting of Penn State's student government might well have been among its most influential. Just as important, though, is that there was hardly an ounce of debate on any of the legislation brought up Wednesday.
Wednesday night's meeting of the University Park Undergraduate Association was, perhaps, a microcosm of sorts for the Sixth Assembly, a snapshot of the first two months of T.J. Bard's presidency. Unfortunately, the Assembly failed to capture the momentum provided by last week's wholly successful meeting, instead falling back on its own reliable trope of creating disagreement where unity ought to be fostered.
Penn State has managed to add yet another tool to eLion: Declaration of a Minor. It all began a year ago, in October 2010, when the Faculty Senate adjusted a policy, which allowed students to declare minors from any campus that offered required the courses. But it was in the execution where this idea arose, with the Senate declaring that the approval process for adding a minor was needless, and recommending its elimination.
The University Park Undergraduate Association's first town hall meeting of the year was a lot like a Passover Seder--in that listing all the reasons why Wednesday night's meeting was different from all other meetings would take quite a while. For one, there were dozens of students in attendance, rather than the scant two or three who typically show up. Open Student Forum wasn't just a formality, but an avenue for constituents to voice their opinions. And the location--in the HUB already occupied by a tent village not twenty feet away--made for an interesting situation, where anyone without a microphone could hardly be heard over the din.
Perhaps it's just kismet, but UPUA's timing couldn't have been better. Following the now-infamous decision to spend $3000 on promotional materials, and a week off, attention now turns to the Princeton Review test prep subsidy that's been lying in wait since the beginning of the semester. Although P.T. Barnum might have said "there's no such thing as bad publicity," UPUA ought to jump at the chance to flip the script for the better.
I don't envy the Senior Class Gift Committee. Tasked with finding the three best out of more than 120 submitted ideas is no easy task, especially when measured against university concerns and realities. As much as we might have wanted an fully animatronic 80-foot Robocop defending the Old Main lawn, something that awesome simply isn't feasible.