The Undergraduate Assembly looked to implement tangible change this past Sunday as many members are currently up for re-election by their peers.
Most notably, the UA passed their New Student Orientation Night-Time Activities Proposal, an initiative the assembly has pursued since passing the "NSO Fraternity Safety Proposal" last fall. The project aims to provide freshmen with more diverse late-night alternatives during NSO, extending beyond the Greek party scene.
Nighttime activities - to be held between the hours of 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. - will not be organized by the University but will be a collaboration of student groups on campus. So far, 20 groups have expressed interest in participating.
With the approval of the assembly, the UA now plans to present a similar proposal to the Council of Undergraduate Deans with the finalized plans and budget.
The second proposal discussed also looked to next semester's NSO, as the Penn Consortium of Undergraduate Women, a coalition of women's interests groups on campus, sought the UA's help in distributing their recently drafted "Women's Undergraduate Resource Guide."
The document, intended to provide resources for undergraduate women on campus, will be distributed to current freshman and sophomore women and to the incoming freshman women during NSO in the fall.
The proposal was well received and passed with little difficulty.
The third proposal, asking the UA to support and publicize a schoolwide nutrition week, stimulated plenty of debate but ultimately did not pass.
A representative from the newly established Penn Vegetarian Society has been working with Penn Dining to expand current vegan and vegetarian options in the dining halls.
The proposed nutrition week would include education on the health benefits of a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle and would help combat common misconceptions of veganism. It would also promote the expansion of current offerings, based on anecdotal student interest in more vegan options.
Many members expressed concern in backing a proposal that lacked more concrete research and did not want to appear to endorse veganism as the only embodiment of nutrition. The group ultimately recommended the proposal be submitted to the UA's Sustainability, Safety, and Facilities Committee to be assessed at a later time.
Lastly, a policy update on the Individual Recycling Bin Pilot Program was discussed. The update addressed tactics currently in place for next fall's recycling program that will be tested in Fisher-Hassenfeld College House.
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