While there was a lot of talk at Sunday night's Undergraduate Assembly town hall meeting, some students said there was little action, though they felt the discussions helped point them in the right direction with their projects or concerns.
Nine students, most representing student groups, addressed the 33 UA members in the meeting at Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge, each given 10 minutes to present an issue, advocate a response and allow questions and answers.
"This was a very effective format for the town hall meeting," said UA Chairwoman Dana Hork, a College senior. "We were able to give each student personal attention and ample time to answer questions."
A tap dance group, denied Performing Arts Council recognition, asked the UA to intervene. Two students requested the UA petition Penn to be more socially responsible in its investment practices. And one student asked that UA create centralized database for students interested in research, major advising or thesis help.
Before the meeting began, Hork stressed that the session was not just an opportunity to voice concerns to the UA, but to develop a direction toward resolution. Many concerns were referred to other groups as the requests were out of the realm of the UA's jurisdiction.
But some said they were not satisfied with the UA's response.
David Steele, a College senior, addressed the UA about what he called its "inappropriate and delayed response" to the Sept. 11 attacks. He asked the UA to form a mechanism to respond in a unified manner to any event, tragic or not, on behalf of the student body.
Steele acknowledged that the UA agreed to "address" the issue, but he said he would like the UA to establish a subcommittee.
"I would like to see some tangible application of the UA's power in terms of addressing this problem in a more direct form, rather than the promise to examine the issue without taking any substantive action," he said.
College sophomore Leila Sadeghi, co-president of the World AIDS Foundation at Penn, asked UA members to publicize the sales of discount cards whose proceeds benefit AIDS research. She asked the UA to add a sentence about the cards to UA e-mails, but Hork said the UA only sends out e-mails pertinent to UA projects. Many UA members responded with other suggestions for Sadeghi.
In retrospect, students said it was unrealistic to expect immediate solutions, and recognized that the meeting was a chance to vocalize concerns and meet other student leaders to whom they will turn for help in the future.
"The meeting is a good chance for students to voice their opinions and a good avenue to inform the UA of student concerns, but you won't necessarily walk away with tangible results," Sadeghi said.
UA members felt confident that the meeting served as a starting point for identifying issues, and said they will begin looking for solutions.
"Unfortunately, we're not able to resolve all the issues in one night," said UA Vice Chairman Jed Gross, a College senior. "However, the meeting helped us in setting the agenda for the rest of the year."
