Meeting discusses UA reform

Students calling for election reform in the Undergraduate Assembly met for the first time Wednesday night in Huntsman Hall.

Led by UA member Zac Byer and Student Activities Council Chairwoman Natalie Vernon, both College seniors, the campaign calls for reform of the election process of the UA chairman and vice-chairman for external affairs.

About 20 students attended the meeting. Although current UA chairman and College junior Alec Webley was present, he did not speak.

Currently, the positions under discussion are elected by UA representatives in the spring with the rest of the executive board. The proposed reform would change this process to a student-wide election for both positions.

For Byer, 24 people electing one person “to represent all 10,000 undergrads just doesn’t really add up.”

He added that the current system does not give students enough voice.

During the UA internal elections, the floor opens for questions from the public for 25 minutes unless the body votes to extend time. During elections last May, many students still had questions at the end of the allotted period, Byer said, but time was not extended.

If a student group leader can’t ask a question, he said, “those voices are completely erased from the equation.”

Byer and Vernon also proposed holding up to six school-wide debates between candidates.

Another problem with the current system, Vernon said, is the relationship between the chairman and vice-chairman for external affairs and the administration.

Right now, she explained, the administration can be selective on the issues discussed because these posts are not representative of the entire student body.

The change would allow the UA chairman — who would be called “student body president” if changes are enacted — to raise certain issues with administrators, Vernon said. He or she would be able to say, “This is what matters, and 10,000 people agree with me.”

Vernon also said she hopes a change will heighten the sense of community at Penn.

After speaking with students at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill ­­­— a school that uses the system Byer and Vernon call for — Vernon determined that students have more interest in the school’s student elections than she sees at Penn.

Eventually, Vernon believes, students will see elections “as a Penn thing” that enhances the school’s culture.

Calling a referendum requires a petition of 200 student signatures or a two-thirds vote from the UA. Vernon said she hopes that both will occur, becoming a “joint, hug-it-out kind of thing.”

The petition will most likely go out to the student body during the first week in November.

The referendum then goes through the Nominations and Elections Committee. Once that happens, 20 percent of the student body must vote to pass the referendum. All undergraduates can vote for the referendum.

Both Byer and Vernon recognized that the first year will have “kinks” to work out, but said in the long run, it would be a positive change for Penn.

After the meeting, Webley said the UA will be making minor changes constitution in the coming weeks.

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