Hoping to expand on advancements made by the Undergraduate Assembly last year, UA Chairman and College senior Jason Levine cites increased communication with the entire undergraduate student body as the UA's main goal for this coming year.
"Our job is to make sure that each and every one of us knows as much as we can about what the students are thinking," Levine said. "That's really the only way to be a representative body."
To this end, the UA is currently instituting some new programs and revitalizing already existing ventures.
UA Across Campus is one project that will aim to bring UA meetings directly to students. Once a month, the UA will hold its weekly meeting at a college house or a building closer to students' homes, rather than at its usual Houston Hall locale, in an attempt to let students learn about what the UA is doing and voice their own opinions.
"I would probably attend," College senior Mark Haase said. "The students don't really know what the UA does, so it would be nice to have some transparency there, to see what's going on."
Wharton junior Zeke Faham also supports the UA's efforts to more closely involve the student body in its dialogue.
"I think the more events they host, the better," he said. "All I hear about them is at election time."
Another avenue by which students can further inform themselves about the UA is the UA's redesigned Web site.
Now more user-friendly, the site will allow students to register for weekly e-mail updates on UA projects and initiatives, according to Levine. Despite upgrades to the Web site, the online list of UA members is outdated.
The current UA plans to expand awareness could prove advantageous to students like College senior Melanie Haber.
"I don't really keep track of what the UA is doing," she said. "But if it was publicized more, I'd know more about it."
The UA is also creating a committee that will be partially devoted to marketing strategy, which members hope will make their accomplishments and ideas more accessible to the average student.
"We're an organization that is proud of what we do, and students need to know what we're doing because it's a two-way street," Levine said. "We come to them, and we want them to know where to be able to find us to give an opinion or to voice a problem or complaint with something in the University."
One of the most direct ways that a student can connect with the UA is by becoming a voting member. These students are members of the UA but are not elected representatives, of which there are 33. Rather, interested students are selected by application, which has been reformed this year and will be available within the first two weeks of classes.
Some initiatives that the UA already plans on championing this year include voter registration, final exam policy reform and undergraduate scholarship opportunities. However, the UA also plans to confront other issues as they arise throughout the year.
Wharton sophomore Bryan La France admires the UA's attempt to reach out to more students, but remains somewhat skeptical of how successful its efforts will be.
"I think they try very hard, but it's a very difficult task," he said.
