The Undergraduate Assembly adjourned for the year last Sunday night after wrapping up several pieces of legislation from this past year.
Members voted to pass the Blood Donor Policy Proposal, which will replace the controversial, recently-passed Blood Donor Discrimination Proposal as the position of the UA. The UA will no longer urge the University to issue a public statement acknowledging that on-campus blood collection under current FDA donation guidelines for men who have sex with men is a direct violation of the University's non-discrimination policy.
It now only asks the University to examine how the policy affects the University community and publicly support the relaxation of MSM blood donation restrictions.
The body passed a proposal asking the University to cover the extra money that international students are currently required to pay to move in early, which they must do.
Members also passed the SEPTA Use Proposal to increase use and awareness among students. Currently, the University offers a discounted Penn Pass targeted at graduate students. The proposal encourages the University to negotiate with SEPTA to offer undergraduates cheaper passes that better reflect their regular SEPTA use.
The UA also resolved to promote SEPTA use by distributing a transit map with major routes to College Houses and campus buildings to students during New Student Orientation. The proposal further requests that the University distribute six free SEPTA tokens to every freshman during NSO.
The Budget Committee presented a tentative version of the Undergraduate Guide to Funding, a compilation of the most common funding sources for students and student groups on campus to aid those requesting money.
Several lingering issues were addressed during Open Forum, including this year's move-out deadline. The date, which falls on the day after the last day of finals, was raised as being too early by students and was brought up for the UA to consider at the last meeting. The deadline had typically been the Saturday following Friday finals but was later moved to Sunday for religious reasons.
This year, the deadline is earlier due to changes in the academic calendar, but it has been publicized for the past year. However, College Houses and Services will accommodate extenuating circumstances for students who e-mail concerns to moveout@exchange.upenn.edu.
The Nominations and Elections Committee solicited suggestions on improving its poster policy, as Facilities and College Houses have threatened to ban posters in response to numerous student violations of University policies.
The NEC ultimately decided on a two-part proposal that will be voted on at its meeting tonight: all posters will be limited to 30 inches and can only be affixed to one object - effectively banning posters between trees.
The body is also still working to bring Hemo's, currently a food cart, to campus as an official restaurant.
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