Wondering what’s up with the UA?
That’s what the Undergraduate Assembly hopes to better communicate to students with their recent election of College junior Mark Pan to the new UA Communication Director position on Jan. 14.
According to Undergraduate Assembly Chairman and College junior Alec Webley, this position was created by the group’s executive board to help manage the UA’s various channels of communication, such as the group’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.
“The goal of this position is simply to communicate better with the student body so the UA can be more accountable to students,” said Webley. “Mark’s skills and his dedication to the UA … and in general his enthusiasm about linking the student government to a wider student body, [show that] he’s the natural candidate for this kind of position” said Webley.
According to Pan, the former civic and community engagement chairman for the UA, there wasn’t a strong enough need for the position within the UA until this semester. “There was much more work to be done and not more people to do it,” Pan said.
He added that the publicity aspect of the work, like the new web site discussion board, opened up more work to be done within communications.
Some of the responsibilities of the new position include managing the UA’s blog and posting new comments to inform the student body about the UA’s policy work, said Webley.
Pan, who says the position has built on previous work he did for the UA, hopes to help publicize steering and campus-wide events. “The biggest benefit is really being able to be in touch with [campus groups] and initiatives and connecting to that,” said Pan.
“In the past semester, we haven’t been able to hit nearly all projects that have done major work that interests the student body,” said Pan. His goal this semester will be to blog about every major project included in the UA’s Annual Report.
His other responsibilities consist of expanding the Assembly Line, a listserv that will be sent out to 800 people every week. This listserv will summarize which initiatives the UA is undertaking and spotlight the work of other student groups, according to Pan.
“I think it’s helpful to hear about major things that the UA is doing, and there’s so much more substance to be communicated,” said Pan.
Student groups on campus agree that the new position will be a benefit to the UA. According to Latino Coalition Chairwoman and Wharton junior Wendy de la Rosa, “The more openness and communication that the UA has as a student body is a benefit.”
De la Rosa also agreed that Pan is the best candidate for the position in terms of communication.
“He was one of the first people to really push for minority issues on campus, and now that he has a good role, he will not only benefit us, but other minorities on campus” said de la Rosa.
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