The Undergraduate Assembly had much to say in response to last week’s call for election reform, discussing the topic for more than an hour on Sunday.
Other topics included changes to the group’s constitution and a spotlight on UA Steering.
College seniors Natalie Vernon, the Student Activities Council chairwoman, and Zac Byer, a UA member, raised the idea of reform at a meeting last week. The two suggested changing the election of the UA Chair and Vice Chair for External Affairs from an internal election to an election by the student body.
One concern was that candidates running for the two positions would not need previous UA experience.
Several said a negative aspect of the proposed change is the complicated process of UA meetings and the potential adjustment time. Several members also wondered whether candidates without experience would know who to go to for certain policy issues.
Vernon responded by pointing out that students involved in other groups may have similar connections, even some that UA members might not have.
Another question was whether the reform would greatly increase the number of candidates running and if so, how unqualified candidates would be vetted.
Vernon stated that with the reform, candidates would participate in up to six debates in a span of two weeks, which may be a daunting task for many potential candidates. She added that the student body should be trusted to figure out which candidates are more qualified than others.
The body spent an hour and 15 minutes discussing the topic. Eventually, the majority ruled against time being extended, although some UA members still had questions.
The body also discussed possible changes to the UA’s Constitution. The changes involved the size of the body, UA Steering and technicalities.
One change would allow the size of the body to fluctuate in proportion to the size of the student population, while capping the number of freshman representatives at a quarter of the body.
The name of UA Steering would be changed to Inter Community Council, and it would gain the power to refer business to the UA and review what the UA has been doing.
A few technical changes involved University Council seat appointments, finance bylaws and Class Board titles.
The meeting also included a steering spotlight featuring three groups. Representatives from each group discussed their policy goals and how the UA could help.
The Civic House Associates Coalition is working to accommodate the 43 groups under its umbrella, as well as more than 30 groups not affiliated with CHAC.
Alpha Phi Omega, the co-ed, national service fraternity, will collaborate with fraternity Delta Tau Delta on a fundraiser to help pay the bills of college students with cancer. APO representatives asked if the UA would be able to help publicize the event.
The Netter Center for Community Partnership was also featured. The group named goals like collaboration between student groups, Penn and Philadelphia communities and different universities.
