UA cuts its Greek cmte. in redesign

The body also discussed Student Health funding at its meeting last night. The Undergraduate Assembly voted last night to dissolve its Greek Life Committee after deciding that the Greek community had taken on many of the responsibilities that the UA committee once had. At its weekly meeting, the UA also met with representatives from Student Health Services to discuss proposed changes in the ways Student Health is funded. Greek Life Committee Chairperson John Buchanan, a College junior recently elected executive vice president of the InterFraternity Council, told the UA that the Greek community had assumed many jobs that had previously been done by the UA's committee. "The Greek Life Committee this year has not had as much to do as it has in past years," he said. In a statement read to the entire body, Buchanan said, "The Greek Life Committee of the Undergraduate Assembly has come to a realization that, in its present form, the committee underutilizes the strengths of its members." He noted that the IFC, the Panhellenic Council and the BiCultural InterGreek Council have lately taken on greater responsibilities, removing many of the roles previously played by the UA's committee. Buchanan said the Greek Life Committee will be "restructured, at least for a time" as part of the UA's Student Life Committee, with one Greek Life Committee member assigned as a liaison to each of the three Greek umbrella groups. Buchanan, a Phi Kappa Psi brother, will serve the dual role of UA liaison to the IFC and IFC executive vice president. In his statement, Buchanan noted that the changes to the Greek Life Committee can be reversed in the future, explaining that "if the time again requires a solely dedicated Greek Life Committee, then such a committee will be formed." One result of the internal UA restructuring will be that budget requests made by Greek organizations in the future will go directly to the UA Budget Committee, as other budget requests do, rather than going through the Greek Life Committee first. The status of the Greek Life Committee had been a source of controversy at the first meeting of the UA's current term last April, when several UA members called for the committee to have a well-defined purpose that would avoid overlapping with the work of Greek umbrella groups. At the time, the UA decided to table the issue until this semester. Buchanan's restructuring proposal was accepted by a unanimous vote of the 32 UA members in attendance last night. In its other major business of the meeting, the UA held a 35-minute discussion with two representatives from Student Health Services on proposed changes being made for the way Student Health is funded. A proposal currently under consideration that will eventually be presented to the University Board of Trustees would end the current system of funding SHS through part of the General Fee and money received from the insurance plans of those students who participate in the Penn Student Insurance Program. Instead, the public health and community care programs of SHS would continue to be funded through the General Fee, while other services will be paid for by either PSIP or a new clinical fee to be paid by Penn students. The SHS representatives told the UA that the proposed changes would likely be more significant for graduate students, who use PSIP in far greater numbers than undergraduates. UA Chairperson Michael Silver, a College senior, said after the meeting that he did not yet have enough information about the proposed changes to offer an opinion on them but that the UA would pass a resolution establishing its opinion on the issue some time next month.