University Council held an open forum session in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge yesterday for its final meeting of the calendar year.
The meeting enabled various groups from the University community to bring issues before Council, ranging from the enforcement of nondiscriminatory policies to the funding of student resource centers.
The items raised will be brought before the Council's steering committee, which will address them in "an appropriate fashion," according to mediator and Faculty Senate Chairman Larry Gross.
Among the presenters were representatives from the Asian Pacific Student Coalition, the Latino Coalition, UMOJA, and the United Minority Council.
Speaking on behalf of the Pan-Asian American Community House, La Casa Latina, Makuu and the Greenfield Intercultural Center, the students raised concerns about the University's involvement with the current and future welfare of student resource centers.
"We are encouraging the University to follow through with the institutional commitment that it made when the resource centers were created," Undergraduate Assembly representative and College sophomore Papa Wassa Nduom said.
In response, both University President Judith Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi emphasized that Penn would continue to endorse these centers, providing them with as much funding as the budget allocates.
"You have absolutely our commitment that these centers will exist," Rodin said. "This is an area of significant commitment in looking for funding which we will be hopeful to stabilize."
The discussion on resource centers was followed by a proposal from David Dinan, a Medical School student and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center Advisory Board co-chairman.
Dinan urged the University to adopt measures that would protect the safety, equality and mental well-being of transgender students, and to extend their current nondiscrimination policies to encompass gender identity and expression.
"We need to set an example for higher education by adopting this policy," Dinan said. "Penn must be a leader in this area... by being proactive."
Later, on behalf of Penn Students Against Sweatshops, College senior Reshma Mehta addressed the issue of employee status in light of the potential Dining Services contract renewal.
In the event of any changes that might occur with campus dining, Mehta, who is also a 34th Street Magazine contributor, proposed that a clause be added to the agreement with the subcontractor guaranteeing that current employees "maintain their wages, benefits, seniority, hours, and employee size."
Rodin expressed that in previous changeovers with contractors, the concerns of University employees had not been ignored.
"In the Bookstore and in maintenance, there were opportunities for all employees to apply for positions with the new contractors," Rodin said. "The largest majority went over, and none of the opportunities were cut."
Among the other issues brought forth was a proposal that would give Penn employees enough schedule flexibility to attend Council meetings.
Additionally, a representative from the Student Program for Education Concerning Interfaith Action and Life brought attention to the lack of funds provided by the Student Activities Council to student-run groups of religious nature.
