Sunday night's Undergraduate Assembly meeting came and went with an hour of discussion during the Open Forum and few new items of business brought up.
Five representatives from the Living Water Christian Fellowship asked for the UA's help in spreading awareness about a casino on the 1000 block of Market Street in Chinatown. The group opposes construction of the casino as a "major quality of life issue," and one that could be potentially detrimental to Center City.
After the discussion, the body neither agreed nor refused to help the group spread awareness, but did recommend other student groups that might lend support.
The other group that came to speak during Open Forum was the Student Labor Action Project, which solicited the UA for its help in increasing access to University administration. The group is concerned that part of Penn's endowment is invested in HEI Hospitality, a business that owns and operates hotels. The group claims that HEI does not respect worker's rights and creates significant barriers to allowing their workers to unionize.
The UA committed to send a member to SLAP's meeting this week.
In the UA Executive Board reports, UA chairman Wilson Tong said undergraduates will be surveyed sometime in the next week to determine priorities for the UA to tackle.
Tong said the survey would include background information about the body, a section for students to rank the UA's stated priorities, and an open section for students to write about any issues they feel are important.
"It's an opportunity for students to directly impact priorities," Wilson said.
The Civic and Community Engagement Committee announced that new lights have been installed on Baltimore Avenue by the University City District, which is outside the Division of Public Safety's jurisdiction. These installations will begin in November and will finish by the end of the year.
Additionally, that committee is working with the administration to plan a College Day, which would provide a day of activities and events for students from local schools visiting Penn's campus. The event would most likely target eighth or ninth graders and take place in early spring.
The Student Life Committee briefly updated the body about work continuing on a UA airport shuttle and a bus to the King of Prussia Mall.
New business was light, with bikes, stairs and a new Web site on the agenda.
The body approved $250 in contingency funding to move to a new host for their Web site.
Members also passed a proposal expressing support for both the city of Philadelphia and the University's efforts to create a bike-sharing program that students can use.
Finally, Nursing representative Yana Sigal, a senior, updated the UA on a Nursing School project to promote use of the stairs in Claire M. Fagin Hall. Sigal inquired if the Nursing school's ideas for this project - such as beautifying the stairwell and raising awareness about the health benefits of using the stairs - could be expanded to other buildings.
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