As we cheered on Saturday night’s “Sexy Pitch” — a joint performance between legendary groups Penn Masala and Arts House Dance Company — it became increasingly clear that it was not just the individual acts, but rather the groups’ collaborative efforts, that cemented this fall “Artsala” show as one of the most innovative traditions on Penn’s campus. To weave a cappella and dance throughout the show, and then combine both groups on stage for a final performance, is a small but important step in combating Penn’s greatest fault: the decentralization of its vibrant student life.
These valiant groups are not alone. Thanks to unprecedented steps taken by Penn’s New Student Orientation team, seemingly disparate groups were brought together to host late-night events before the start of fall semester courses. Last month, passionate students from the Lambda Alliance gathered a diverse student population together for a vigil on recent gay suicides. And most recently, the United Minorities Council hosted “Unity Week,” featuring a myriad of groups — minority-focused and not — literally “united” for different causes. Collaboration is at an all-time high on our campus and is only becoming more entrenched.
It has been our primary goal to support these efforts and facilitate new opportunities for students to collaborate. The Undergraduate Assembly’s Penn Book Bazaar, built by UA Secretary and College junior Cynthia Ip, has connected over 1,000 students through textbook purchases. The system circumvents bookstore prices and a turbulent textbook market. But, in taking a closer look, its real value is in matching students through individual transactions across Penn’s campus. While these interactions may be small, and while “Sexy Pitch” is just one event, they are both examples of efforts to continuously unite our campus.
We are also facilitating collaboration on a more institutional level. Just this past Sunday night, the UA unanimously voted to create “PennApps Labs,” a brand new project from leadership in the Dining Philosophers, the campus’ Computer Science interest group. In doing so, the UA will fund a pilot program where student developers will aid student groups in maintaining and creating schoolwide student-life platforms. The technological space within student life has been lacking, and the dedicated students of PennApps Labs are starting immediately to fill the increasingly large void. By keeping resources for technological development within our Penn community, we are creating permanent relationships between student groups and student developers.
Our efforts are not just online, though. Through a strong partnership with Penn’s Business Services Division, the basement of 1920 Commons is now open for student study and meetings. The space, nicknamed “The Late Night,” is indeed open late at night — until 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday — to ease the burden of limited campus study space post midnight. Once again, we are most excited for the space’s contribution to campus-wide collaboration. Already, the space has brought together various student groups for a kickoff event next Monday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. Moving forward, we expect “The Late Night” to serve as a unifying forum for all Penn students, regardless of school, year or involvement, to utilize for various needs.
But we can always do better. Collaboration inherently requires that more than one party be involved. Collaborate with us and participate in schoolwide events, support student groups coming together and utilize the services that unite our campus. Most importantly, though, let us know where we are lacking.
At the very basis of our diverse college experiences lie the relationships we build inside and outside of our communities. Step outside of your community, just like “Artsala” has done, and build these relationships. “Artsala” did not merely bridge two groups — it united both groups’ diverse fan bases into one theater and one celebration. Collaborate with student government, but more importantly, with each other. We are here to help you do just that.
Matt Amalfitano and Mark Pan are College seniors and the UA president and vice president, respectively. Amalfitano’s e-mail address is amalf@sas.upenn.edu and Pan’s e-mail address is markpan@sas.upenn.edu.
