At their Sept. 14 meeting, the Undergraduate Assembly discussed a possible program to increase vigilance about mental health in College Houses.
Mental health dorm slips
The initiative, led by College sophomore and UA representative Ray Clark, allows hallmates to alert their Resident Advisor or Graduate Advisor of another hallmate’s mental health problem by filling out a paper slip or electronic form. RAs or GAs would be encouraged to meet with the identified student and refer them to CAPS if needed.
More training from CAPS for RAs and GAs would also be required, Clark said. So far, the UA has met with CAPS Director Bill Alexander to discuss the project and informally received input from individual RAs and GAs, Rodin Cares and Active Minds.
When the idea was originally presented, Clark mentioned that the slips would be available in public places and online. However, there was debate from various UA members about the security of physical slips.
College junior and UA representative Maddie Gee mentioned that online slips eliminate liability issues, increasing security and preserving anonymity for students. She added that online slips could facilitate use by people outside of a hall community.
In order to prevent abuse of the system, Engineering sophomore and UA representative Lukas Vacek suggested preventing the submission of more than one slip per hour. Clark also mentioned that the initiative would go along with a mental health awareness program.
“The goal is to increase communication and make sure that anyone and everyone who needs help gets help,” College junior and UA representative Jane Meyer said.
Dual degree program credits
The UA is also interested in finding more classes to “double count” for uncoordinated dual-degree programs, which lack the structure of coordinated dual-degree programs like the Huntsman Program.
The UA is currently researching which classes already double count, College sophomore and UA representative Eric Tepper said.
Tunmise Fawole, a College sophomore and UA representative, mentioned that the UA will also start meeting with the respective administrators of the popular uncoordinated dual-degree programs.
School spirit
The UA also discussed plans to increase school spirit.
Wharton sophomore and UA representative Graciela Arana said that she “noticed that school spirit at Penn is not geared towards athletics.”
The UA met last week with Deputy Director of Athletics Alanna Shanahan and Penn Athletics Director of Marketing and New Media Joshua Craggs to discuss ways to increase student attendance at games.
The Penn Rewards application is an existing mobile app that allows students to gain points for attending athletic events and work towards a prize. Prizes include a Dunkin’ Donuts gift card, warm-up jersey and sports watch. Although the app is well designed, it is not as publicized as it could be, Arana said.
Another idea was to feature performing arts groups during halftime to encourage fans and friends of the groups to attend the athletic events. The UA is aiming to establish a schedule with a different group at every game.
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