Thirteen representatives from Penn's student government met with delegates from six other Ivy League schools at last weekend's annual Ivy Council conference.
Ivy Council serves as a forum for student government leaders from the Ancient Eight to see how peer institutions handle problems and to gain a new perspective on how to tackle similar issues at their home schools.
The three-day conference, held at Brown University, was filled with workshops and presentations, mainly focused on financial aid and university responses to the tragedies of Sept. 11.
Citing previous monetary disputes with the council and questioning the value of the conference, Harvard University was the only Ivy not to send a delegation to the event.
Penn sent 10 members of the Undergraduate Assembly and representatives from the Nominations and Elections Committee, the Black Student League and EMPAWR to the conference.
"It was particularly important that we have this conference because of the events and aftermath of Sept. 11," said UA representative Aaron Short, a College junior. "That's when we all realized that we're part of a much larger community of college students, and Ivy Council helped us tangibly realize that."
Short served as Penn's lead delegate to the conference.
Penn student leaders found the conference encouraging, saying that the UA ranks near the top of Ivy League student governments in terms of access to administration and ability to pass serious legislation.
"Compared to other schools, we have one of the largest budgets, we have earned more respect from the student body and we carry a larger weight with the administration," said UA Chairwoman Dana Hork, a College senior.
Delegates from the seven schools shared a common concern about the long-term effects of Sept. 11 on the mental and physical health of students. And all agreed that campus discussions and communal healing are far from over.
Penn representatives said the weekend provided them with the priceless resource of contacts at comparable institutions, which will help promote future collaboration among schools.
"It's helpful to build relationships with other student government leaders who are dealing with the same issues we discuss here at Penn," Hork said. "We can borrow from their accomplishments to affect change at Penn and share our own successes with other schools."
Dining was another issue of real pertinence to the Penn delegates. They inquired about the dining plan structure at fellow Ivies, looking for ways to revamp Penn's struggling meal plan system.
UA member Klair Spiller, a College freshman, was intrigued by Yale's system of flex dollars, which allows students to use their dining dollars at local restaurants.
"It was really interesting to hear how other Ivy League schools are handling different issues," Spiller said. "I think it's definitely something to look into."
