With elections approaching, UA continuing with projects

Though their terms will officially end in less than a month, the members of the Undergraduate Assembly are still actively pursuing projects they hope will make student life better on campus. At last night's meeting, the UA discussed many of their ongoing projects, including community service events with other student organizations and campus security. College senior and UA chairman Michael Silver emphasized that the UA would have to stay active in order to meet the needs of the student body until the end of their terms. "In the past years it's been implied that [the time between] spring break and the transition period is a 'dead period' for the UA," Silver said after the meeting. He added, however, that this year is different, since the UA is still working on several ongoing projects. For the next three weekends, the UA will be coordinating Quaker Corps -- a tree-planting community service event that will include participants from other student government groups on campus. Quaker Corps will include tree planting by the Health Center on 43rd and Chester streets, and other nearby areas. The initiative is an extension of Ivy Corps, a community service day planned for all Ivy league schools on April 8. The UA decided that instead of choosing one day for community service, they would devote three -- this Saturday, as well as April 2 and April 8. "[We] hope to get everyone out there and bridge the gap between Penn and the surrounding community," UA member and College freshman David Levin said after the meeting. Levin added that PennPals, Habitat for Humanity and various Greek organizations will be participating in the event. The United Minorities Council has also been invited to participate this Saturday. Safety issues, which have not been at the forefront of the UA's agenda this year, were also discussed last night. "We haven't paid attention to safety at all this year," Silver said. Several UA members met with University Police Chief Maureen Rush and Interim Special Services Director Patricia Brennan before spring break to discuss campus safety issues. The UA expressed student concerns about the lack of Spectaguard patrols on 39th and Sansom streets, as well as the frequency of bike thefts. The UA plans to work with University Police to encourage bike registration and on other security issues on campus. Silver also mentioned that next week's meeting has been moved to Monday in order to accommodate a special guest -- former mayor and current Democratic National Committee chairman Ed Rendell. Rendell, a Penn alum who is teaching two Urban Studies courses this semester, will attend the meeting to informally share his experiences in student government -- he was vice-chairman of the men's student government as a student at Penn in the 1960s-- and observe the UA's activities. With campaigning and elections just around the corner, a majority of UA members -- about 50 to 60 percent -- say they plan to run for re-election in the upcoming weeks.

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