The anticipation of the upcoming presidential election can be felt everywhere on campus, including Sunday night's Undergraduate Assembly meeting which featured two proposals on the topic.
The UA considered a $1,400 budget request by Penn Leads the Vote to help cover the costs of "getting out the vote" on Election Day, including balloons, food for volunteers, pamphlets, signs and decorations.
The UA Budget Committee recommended that only $900 be given, omitting the $500 requested to provide food in different locations throughout the day. This amended request was passed almost unanimously with only one member in disagreement.
The other proposal for the night passed unanimously-, with every member in support of accepting Dartmouth College's challenge to see which institution will have a higher voter turnout on Election Day.
Members of Penn's delegation to the Ivy Council - a consortium of student leaders from around the Ivy League - updated the UA on the Ivy Council Fall Policy Colloquium they attended at Columbia University over fall break.
At the Colloquium, students from most of the Ivy League institutions shared ideas on topics including intellectual property, environmental sustainability, lowering the drinking age, school spirit and administrative transparency.
UA treasurer and Wharton senior Ben Coulter reported that the UA and the Student Activities Committee released a funding sources guide last week, which compiled a list of sources from which undergraduate groups can receive funding.
The guide has been completed and e-mailed to every activity group in SAC, the UA steering committee and the UA general body. It will also be available on the UA Web site in PDF format.
"It allows undergraduate groups to sustain the unique impact they have on student life," Coulter said.
The Student Committee for Undergraduate Education Online Initiatives working group is hosting a roundtable discussion regarding Penn Course Review this Friday. The roundtable will look to see how PCR can be enhanced by adding qualitative information to the quantitative data it already provides.
The UA is also working to help resolve a debate about the annual wine-tasting preceptorial, the cost of which caused tension with SCUE when the UA tried to cut its funding. Representatives from both bodies met with the Vice Provost for University Life to discuss the funding.
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