The freshmen representatives in the Undergraduate Assembly may be the new kids on the block, but they act like seasoned veterans.
The eight freshmen members of the UA -- Ricky Berrin, Jennifer Choi, Jordan Dubnow, Yelena Gershman, Jason Levine, Hal Schwartzstein, Klair Spiller and Cathy Tsai -- have thrown themselves into the group's activities from the start. And after a semester, each takes a different perspective on Penn's largest student government branch.
The UA "is not quite as glamorous as other projects, but I'd like to use the position I have to enact some sort of change, no matter how small," said Dubnow, a College freshman.
And some have even given each other nicknames.
Joking about Dubnow, Wharton freshman Gershman said, "we label him as the politician."
Humor aside, the UA freshmen have taken the opportunity to utilize the weight of the UA in helping to achieve their goals for the student body.
Schwartzstein got his feet wet by working to clean up the freshmen college houses by getting paper towel dispensers installed in every bathroom. He said that working within the UA's procedures to accomplish this task has been efficient.
"First, I told some of the UA members about my idea, so then I wrote a proposal, they passed it and I brought it to [Director of Campus Maintenance] Mike Coleman," the Engineering freshman said.
Schwartzstein and his fellow freshmen representatives are no strangers to this kind of proactive involvement. Over half of the current UA members served on their high school student government bodies or worked for local political campaigns.
But these past experiences are not necessarily comparable to the UA. Many new members feel the types of issues that the UA deals with sets it far above high school bake sales and ski trips.
"This is a lot different," said Levine, a College freshman. "In high school, you don't have the power to deal with structural changes within the school."
In addition to being part of the various subcommittees within the UA, each freshman sits on the special freshman committee, led by UA Vice Chairman Jed Gross.
"Some of the most active members of the UA are freshmen, and I think they have quickly learned what a UA member is capable of doing and succeeded in filling that role," the College senior said.
The body's new members were assigned an upperclassman mentor at the beginning of the term to help them with their involvement.
While they did not necessarily rely on a specific individual, each of the UA freshmen has been guided by a member with more experience. Levine received help from College sophomore Jason Levy, a high school classmate, while Dubnow looked towards UA Chairwoman and College senior Dana Hork, who was a leader in his PennQuest pre-orientation hiking trip this summer.
"It's hard as a freshman to get completely involved... when you don't have the connections that older people have," Levine said.
As far as strict UA procedure, some of the freshmen say they feel they are on the same level as the upperclassmen and that blending into the scene came easily.
But some of these freshmen have done more than blend. Gershman took a leadership role in the creation of the recent dining proposal. She researched and wrote the report under the guidance of her committee chairman.
Choi, a College freshman, played a central role in the recent UA initiative on police and minority relations and the community review board, which relates directly to her goal of pursuing minority issues on campus.
Other members have loftier goals. Dubnow is currently "fighting for co-ed suites in the Quad," among other issues.
The newcomers were heartened not only by their power to affect change, but also by the relationships they were able to build on the UA, with students from such diverse backgrounds.
And most of the freshmen say they are hoping to run for another term this spring.
"We do a lot more than people realize," said Spiller, a College freshman.
