After three hours of deliberation, the United Minorities Council reached a consensus for its new executive board last night, electing Papa Wassa Nduom as chairman of the student group.
The UMC is one of four minority coalitions on campus, along with the Latino Coalition, the Asian Pacific Student Coalition and UMOJA.
Nduom, a College sophomore, said his main focus next year will be to address the political representation of the minority community in order to highlight programming sponsored by the UMC. Currently, the UMC sponsors events during Unity Week in the fall and the Celebration of Cultures in the spring.
"I want to make sure the UMC has a proactive voice in the campus community in terms of reaching out to our constituents, our members, and the average Penn student," Nduom said.
After a lengthy discussion on the role of the organization's vice chairman position, the coalition voted to elect two vice chairwomen, one for each semester of the calendar year. College sophomore and Daily Pennsylvanian photographer Darcy Richie will take over the reins this spring, and former UMC Programming Chairwoman Trina DasGupta will serve as vice chairwoman when Richie goes abroad in the fall.
DasGupta, a College junior, said she believes that having two people of different races in the position of vice chairwoman will be an invaluable asset in forwarding the goals of the UMC.
She hopes that the the UMC sponsors will help students gain a more complete understanding of campus diversity.
"This is imperative for the sake of everyone in the Penn community," DasGupta said. "Working together and understanding one another is the only way to end misunderstanding that can sometimes get in the way. When we clear those up it is easier to see that our individual goals are very similar."
Shaun Gonzales, the former special projects coordinator of the Latino Coalition, was elected political chairman, a position he hopes to use to continue collaboration with other minority coalitions.
The Latino Coalition broke away from the UMC and became its own entity in 1998 because the group felt that the UMC was not being taken seriously by the University.
Gonzales, a College junior, will remain on the Latino Coalition and will serve as chairman of the Cipactli Latino Honors Society.
"My involvement on the Latino Coalition will affect my upcoming work [with the UMC] in the sense that I can bring a new perspective on building bridges between the two communities," Gonzales said.
Wharton freshman Sabrina Austin and College sophomore Jennifer Jackson were elected as admissions co-chairwomen, and College junior Raj Dedhia was selected to be the council's next treasurer.
College sophomores Ryan Artes, Tazeen Siddiqui and Samir Meghelli were elected programming tri-chairpersons. College freshman Natalie Fabe was chosen as the corresponding secretary, and College sophomore Ben Cruse was elected recording secretary.
The UMC spent the past semester building from within. Outgoing Co-Chairwoman and College senior Jen Kwon said she is pleased by the selection of the new board.
"It looks like each individual is going to be bringing a lot of experience and a lot of interest in issues that affect people of color at Penn," Kwon said. "That is what the UMC really needs."
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