The Undergraduate Assembly is hoping that, for next semester, the best way to affect the student body will be to start small.
In fact, the student government group is resting its plans for the spring semester on that very idea.
The UA is planning to focus on more narrowly based projects for the upcoming semester. These focused undertakings include plans targeting new student leaders, cell phones and payment of tuition.
"By tackling smaller projects we're able to be more successful," said UA Chairwoman Dana Hork.
UA Vice Chairman Jed Gross said he believes that the size of the University community makes it difficult for the body to enact change on a broad scale.
"We have a large student body so the type of issues that affect the entire student body are often those of University policies," Gross said.
One of the largest items on the UA's agenda for the semester is dining reform, a topic of heated debate on campus last year.
In the spring of 2001, after Campus Dining Services announced a mandatory meal plan for all incoming freshmen, the UA worked with the administration to decrease the number of meals that incoming freshmen would be required to purchase.
After recently conducting a campus dining survey -- a survey in which the group received 300 responses from students -- the UA is planning to advise the University on the issue.
Hork spoke broadly about the details of the UA's upcoming dining recommendation, saying it would include "long-term structural changes" and "some creative options."
In addition to the specific focus on dining, a new joint committee between the UA and the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly is being created to allow the two bodies to promote change on Penn's campus together.
Although the committee has been officially formed, it has yet to hold its first meeting.
Hork declined to go into specifics about topics of discussion for the committee.
However, one of the issues that will likely be discussed by the committee is the recent debate over the proposed unionization of Penn's graduate students.
"The UA and GAPSA have decided to form a rare partnership by creating a committee to underline issues regarding teaching assistants," Hork said.
The issue of graduate student unionization has been a growing debate over the past semester.
In addition to these hot button issues, one of the student population's favorite accessories may find itself at the center of UA discussions -- cell phone users.
Cell phones are currently not connected to the Penn security system and do not respond to the Penn emergency number 511 that can be used from any on-campus phone.
To increase security options for cell phone users on campus, the UA is currently planning a cell phone safety campaign to publicize the Penn police number.
Hork said that the plan would likely include distributing stickers displaying the number for students to place on their cell phones.
The issue of equal funding for student religious organizations is on the agenda, as well. The UA is working to ensure that, for example, a faith-based a capella group receives comparable student funding to a secular one.
"It seems to be a little bit inconsistent with the idea of impartiality with regards to a group's beliefs," Gross said.
The UA also has a number of issues they intend to act upon as the semester progresses. These include the option to pay for tuition via credit card and the creation of the Emerging Leaders Program, a leadership retreat comparable to PennCorps and PennQuest for freshmen as a part of new student orientation in the fall.
The UA will hold its first meeting of the new semester this Sunday night in Houston Hall.
