UA says Commission is 'flawed'

They arrived around 9 Sunday night in high spirits, chattering amicably about their respective summers. They left after four and a half hours of knock-down, drag-out discussion which included an accusation of "orchestrated debate," assorted shouting matches and procedural pandemonium. When the smoke finally cleared after the UA's first meeting of the semester, the body had succeeded in addressing what UA representative Lance Rogers described as the most pressing issue facing it – how to deal with the Commission on Strengthening the Community. The Commission, which was formed by Interim President Claire Fagin and former President Sheldon Hackney to evaluate "core community values," drew UA fire last summer when it was announced that it did not include any students. Recently, a plan to add an undergraduate student to the panel was announced. The UA passed a resolution, written by Chairperson Seth Hamalian, calling the Commission "inherently flawed" and asking that the University "re-consider the situation before going any further." It further asserts that in the future the UA "will not cooperate and will encourage students not to cooperate with committees and commissions that are formed with an unfair level of representation." UA member Dan Schorr offered his own resolution, which called for more undergraduate representation on the commission, but it was struck down in a vote that confused several UA members. Rogers, a College sophomore, said he saw no difference in the proposals and suggested that other motivations might have been involved in swaying UA member's votes. "It seemed to me that the author [of the resolution] was the only difference," he said. "I didn't have a preference in terms of authors but perhaps others did." The UA also passed a resolution submitted by Schorr's First Amendment Task Force which would require Judicial Inquiry Officer Steven Blum to sign a statement pledging to uphold First Amendment rights at the University. UA Vice Chairperson Scott Sher said that in the past the JIO has not always acted in the best interest of the student community and this was an effort to protect students' rights. "If he diverges from this statement we'll hold him responsible," he said. "If he doesn't sign, it tells me that Steven Blum's best interest isn't the best interest of the student community at Penn, in which case action might have to be taken to educate Mr. Blum in what the students feel are their basic rights." The final proposal passed Sunday called on the Commission on Strengthening the Community to "absolutely designate [First Amendment issues] a priority." Rogers said he was pleased with the resolution. "It's an important step to show that this issue is important," he said. Hamalian was less impressed. "I think there are other things that do more for community building," he said. "Suggesting that the First Amendment be a priority doesn't completely make sense." Earlier in the evening, UA representative Jessica Pollock stormed out of the meeting after complaining that the UA was "inactive", and College junior Rashad Ibrahim accused Schorr and Rogers of "orchestrating debate" with "prepared speeches". Despite the tumultuous meeting, several UA members expressed their satisfaction with the assembly. "We had a heated discussion that reflected the diversity of the UA," said Rogers. Sher said he too was pleased with how the meeting went. "This kind of discussion was devoid from previous UAs and it's something that should be encouraged," he said.

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