UA recovering after impeachment scare

The Undergraduate Assembly is trying to recover after Sunday night's disrupting news that several of the body's members tried to impeach UA Chairperson Dan Debicella. Several members said last night that the body must move ahead after the incident. They agreed that communications are definitely improved within the body as a result of the attempted impeachment. "I believe the result of [the] events will leave the UA better off than if these grievances had not been addressed," UA member and College senior Dan Schorr said. "As long as the UA focuses on substantive projects and accomplishes real progress it does not matter how the members are affected psychologically by this, it should not negatively impact the UA." The controversy started when several members of the body accused Debicella of lying to them repeatedly during the course of the semester. Some members said they think this accusation is no longer relevant. "I am aware of some misunderstandings...I don't think it was intended deceit; he didn't purposely dupe the body," UA member and College sophomore Josh Gottheimer said. "I can say now that this body will move forward." UA member Lance Rogers, a College junior who was involved with the impeachment attempt, agreed with Gottheimer. "I think the UA needs to put this fiasco behind and start working on things that will directly affect Penn students' lives," Rogers said. Many members said they still support Debicella and believe he is an effective leader to lead the UA into the future. "I trust him," Gottheimer said. "I think Dan understands where the members' convictions lie. I hope those members who still lack confidence in Dan can see that he will put the body back on track." College junior and UA member Eden Jacobowitz agreed with Gottheimer. "I think that Dan Debicella is very ambitious and wants to get a lot done -- so ambitious that he got ahead of himself," he said. "I do trust Dan," Jacobowitz added. "I don't know whether everybody trusts Dan, but I think he'll stick by his word." Although the body was in the process of dealing with this disruptive ordeal, it still remained a functional student government at Sunday's meeting. During committee reports and the New Business section of the meeting, members discussed the Revlon Center, the closing of movie theaters in the area and funding the Nominations and Elections Committee's request for computers. Engineering sophomore and UA member Manuel Calero announced that an Internet newsgroup, which provides a forum for student-UA interaction, has recently been established. By subscribing to it, students can pose questions, suggestions and comments that will be answered by UA members, he said. Also, two UA e-mail accounts are in the process of being established -- one for public comment and one for internal UA communications. The Theater Committee members, Schorr, College junior Eric Tienou, and Engineering junior Sundeep Goel, reported that they met with several student organizations, such as the Performing Arts Council and the Special Planning and Events Committees, to discuss plans for the closed theaters on 40th Street and Walnut Street.