The act by UPUA’s steering committee on Sunday of closing their session to the public was, strictly speaking, a legal use of their authority. UPUA bylaws stipulate that all meetings must be public, but (in the parlance of Robert's Rules) it’s germane to suspend bylaws and enter executive (private) session provided ⅔ of voting members agree. This move, while legal, is unethical, much in the same way that it is legal (but unethical) to write “UPUA fucking sucks.”

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.