Hate Webmail crashes? Uneven bricks on Locust Walk? Student-government leaders sure do, and they've got a host of other items on their plate as well.
The Undergraduate Assembly met for the first time Sunday night, outlining new projects and announcing the new committee heads.
-High on the agenda was an update on the free music downloading service Ruckus by UA Vice Chairman and College junior Jason Karsh. UA members said the service would be available this fall.
"Basically, they are working out some last-minute wording in the contract," said Karsh. "General counsel has had some problems with the contract."
He added that once the UA received word that the University was ready to unveil the program, the UA would start an e-mail publicity campaign.
Spearheaded by the UA, the program allows users to access 1.5 million songs and over 4,000 movies and TV episodes. However, songs cannot be downloaded to iPods or used on Macintosh computers, and students will have to pay to keep their songs after graduation. Students can currently access a test version of the service at Ruckus.com, but the full version is not up and running yet.
- UA member and College sophomore Wilson Tong pledged to push for repairs to Locust Walk as the new head of the Facilities and Campus Planning Committee.
"I think that facilities is definitely going to be a great committee because many of the projects deal with campus expansion, repairs of Locust Walk . things students care about," Tong said.
UA member and College sophomore Christine Eklund plans to bring her "experiences with housing" to her new job as chairwoman of the Housing Committee.
UA member and College senior Erin Cho was selected to head the Education Committee. She spoke of plans to scrutinize parts of undergraduate education like the School of Arts and Sciences Webmail and a potential College of Arts and Sciences curriculum requirement on U.S. minority cultures.
And finally UA members and College sophomores Hayling Price and Bing Chen were chosen to co-chair the Student Life Committee. Price named his top priority for the year to be increasing student awareness of the UA.
- The UA filled three of its allocated spots on the University Council with UA members: College senior Georgiana Cavendish, Engineering sophomore Tommy Lumpkin and Chen. The council is made up of Penn faculty, staff and students who act as an advisory body to top University administrators.
No other UA members were able to serve on the council due to scheduling conflicts with its monthly meeting times. The UA has not decided how to fill the remaining seat, but some members suggested giving it to another student group that was not allocated a seat on the council.
