Penn’s six branches of student government deliver updates at annual meeting

Penn Student Government branches discussed their goals and achievements at the annual “State of the School” address on Wednesday.

The April 8 meeting featured presentations from all six branches of student government, each summarizing initiatives and challenges from the past academic year. Student leaders highlighted their efforts to expand available resources, improve how campus groups receive funding, and address institutional issues.

Members of the Undergraduate Assembly described various student rights and quality-of-life initiatives over the last year, such as adding healthy beverage options in dining halls, introducing a “Noodle Nook” in 1920 Commons, piloting free printing for College of Arts and Sciences students, and launching an international student mentorship program. 

Wharton junior and UA President Nia Matthews said the group focused on “student rights and institutional accountability,” particularly through its involvement in discussions on Penn’s revised Guidelines on Open Expression. According to Matthews, the UA has also advocated for extended add deadlines during weather disruptions and worked with administrators to increase transparency around campus services and financial aid.

In the future, the UA plans to pursue a free summer storage project, expand 24-hour study spaces, and implement new mentorship programs for first-generation, low-income, and transfer students.

She also mentioned the group’s effort to “shorten the amount of time that we are here at school” by experimenting with holding exams on Saturdays.

On April 2, the UA announced a resolution to establish “enforceable” University protocols for responding to potential federal immigration enforcement on campus. During the address, Matthews added that the UA will coordinate a “series of meetings with various administrative departments” to ensure the implementation of the resolution.

The Student Allocations Commission — formerly the Student Activities Council — reported significant changes to its funding structure. The group now represents approximately 600 student organizations after shifting to a committee-based allocation system.

“We have committees that would now review requests and determine the funding that each of these student groups would receive,” College senior and SAC Chair Faith Bonney said while describing how the new system distributes decision-making authority beyond the executive board. 

She acknowledged logistical challenges during the transition, including scheduling conflicts at the activities fair and inconsistent committee training. She said that SAC plans to introduce “more in-depth training processes” for the summer.

Bonney added that the group has met with student organizations on campus regarding “what their problems and concerns are with SAC and how allocation and contingencies can be better in the future.”

The Social Planning and Events Committee noted its role in organizing large-scale campus programming and student-run events. The group is currently planning its annual Spring Fling concert and Daytime Festival later this month.

According to Niheer Patel — the chair external of the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education — the group serves as “advocates for students and then advisors, faculty, and administration.”

SCUE is currently finalizing a “bright paper” on artificial intelligence using multi-semester surveys and community focus groups. The findings will be presented to key stakeholders and adopted as recommendations for syllabi and course descriptions. 

The group is also utilizing surveys to investigate how changes to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs impact students, classroom technology usage, and attendance policies.

Based on student data and responses from about 100 faculty members, the group is now pushing for revisions to Penn’s writing seminars. 

“It’s a mess. We all know it’s a mess. We all know we don’t like it,” Patel said about the program. “We are combing through the years of survey data, running some focus groups, and coming up with things that we are proud to advocate for.”

Also present at the meeting was Penn’s Nominations and Elections Committee, which is responsible for keeping campus elections fair, bias-free, and compliant with the Fair Practices Code.

A NEC representative explained that the group prioritizes appointing historically underrepresented groups to the University Council. 

Each class year at Penn is also represented by a board, including a president, vice president, school-specific chairs, and other positions. The class boards uses its budget to plan class-wide socials and community-building events.

Class board traditions include the Econ Scream, Hey Day, and Feb Club.

“The whole scheme of what we do is to provide the bonding experience for the class,” Class of 2029 President Daniel Kim said. “We have so many different people at so many different places, it’s hard for us to come together, but the class board brings everyone together.”

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