UA elects T-Change rep, Budget Committee members

It was business as usual at the first Undergraduate Assembly general body meeting of the semester on Sunday night, during which two internal elections took place.

College sophomores and UA representatives Ernest Owens and Julio Albarracin competed for the right to manage the Tangible Change fund, with Albarracin ultimately winning the position. T-Change is a $40,000 fund that supports events hosted by campus groups.

Wharton sophomore Tiffany Zhu and Engineering junior Matt Rosenberg were also elected to the UA Budget Committee, which divides roughly $1.9 million between the six student government branches every year.

The recent financial troubles of the Student Activities Council — the Penn student government branch responsible for funding student groups — came up during the election. “We should definitely help them create a better budget process,” Zhu said.

During the meeting, UA members also addressed the current status and future plans for PennApps Labs — a student-run organization that seeks to “improve, maintain and create student-run technology” at Penn. Among other things, PennApss Labs runs Penn Book Bazaar, the current online resource for students to list and purchase books.

Members pitched ideas for PennApps Labs, including the possibility of a furniture market for students, which would be modeled after Penn Book Bazaar. On Monday, PennApps Labs had the first of two public open houses where students could pitch ideas. The next open house will be in the spring.

UA members suggested ideas to integrate Penn Course Review with Penn InTouch and discussed a possible remodeling of the Office of Student Affairs reimbursement system.

The issue is that “all [reimbursement] transactions must go through two or three financial advisors,” College senior and UA Housing, Sustainability and Facilities Committee Director Sam Bieler said.

A paperless reimbursement system would promote efficiency, College senior and Social Planning and Events Committee President Shana Rusonis added.

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