Governmental Affairs Committee
Welcome to the home of the Governmental Affairs Committee, one of the six standing committees within the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA). The Governmental Affairs Committee is charged with the task of addressing student issues in the University, Borough, and State spectra. The Committee works intimately with Administrators, Borough Officials, and State Legislators on a variety of pertinent issues. The Governmental Affairs Committee is dedicated to serving the Penn State student body to ensure that they are equally represented on all levels.
Our important initiatives are listed below:
Centre County Municipal Election Awareness
The Governmental Affairs Committee began a non-partisan awareness campaign in Spring 2009 to increase student voter turnout during the 2009 Centre County Municipal Elections. Primary Elections Awareness Day was held in April 2009, where the Committee disbursed general elections information and candidate “scorecards”. The candidates for the District Attorney and Borough Council races attended in order to encourage students to vote. The Committee sent in over one-hundred and fifty absentee ballots to the Centre County Elections Office. This Fall the Committee is hosting two awareness events on September 30th and October 28th in order to inspire students to vote on November 3rd. On September 30th general elections information will be distributed and students will have the opportunity to register to vote. On October 28th, the candidates will be featured and information about them will be available.
For more information on the 2009 Centre County Municipal Elections visit www.co.centre.pa.us/elections/elect
Tuition Awareness
Last year the Governmental Affairs Committee had the opportunity to meet with Governor Rendell and lobby in Harrisburg in the effort of increasing appropriations to Penn State for the 2009-10 Academic Year. The Committee will continue these efforts by teaming up with the three other State – Related Universities (Temple, Lincoln, Pittsburgh) and the Penn State Council of Commonwealth Student Governments. Throughout the Academic Year they will work together to ensure that students have fair representation in discussions regarding tuition and appropriations.
Acquisition of the land at Rockview
The Governmental Affairs Committee has been working closely with the Academic Affairs Committee on the issue of the proposed acquisition of land formerly allocated to the Rockview State Correctional Facility. This land would significantly benefit the College of Agricultural Sciences and Penn State Students throughout the Commonwealth. Currently there are two House Bills, HB 1785 and HB 1158, regarding the usage by Penn State of this land. The two Committees have reached out to the College of Agricultural Sciences and the Office of Governmental Affairs in order to devise a plan of action that would best benefit the Penn State student body.
For more information about the Rockview Land Purchase Proposal visit http://agsci.psu.edu/news/spotlight/rockview
Increasing Borough – Student Relations
The Governmental Affairs Committee would like to see a better relationship between the Penn State student body and the State College Borough. They anticipate that this will come into fruition by meeting with Borough Officials, attending Borough Council Meetings, and holding collaborative events, such as Elections Awareness Day. The Committee would like to see students in community shaping roles, so that eventually the Penn State student body has a greater stake in Borough affairs. We hope that with a greater downtown presence, through the UPUA Off Campus Student Centre, this initiative will be a success.
For more information about the State College Borough Council please visit www.statecollegepa.us
Tenant – Landlord / Tenant – Tenant Mediation Center
The Governmental Affairs Committee will be working closely with UPUA Legal Affairs to launch and run the Tenant-Landlord / Tenant-Tenant Mediation Center. This program originated in Spring 2009 and will hopefully become a frequently used entity. This program will utilize the newly instituted UPUA Free Legal Services and trained mediators to mitigate problems between tenants and landlords in the State College area, so that further legal action is not taken. This program will insure that students are adequately represented in tenant-landlord issues. The Tenant-Landlord / Tenant-Tenant Mediation Center is housed in the UPUA Off Campus Student Centre.
About Our Committee
The Governmental Affairs Committee is chaired by Colleen Smith (Sophomore – Biology) and vice-chaired by Nathan Andrews (Senior – Engineering). The committee meets on a weekly basis to discuss current initiatives and student issues on each of the three levels under its jurisdiction: University, State College Borough, State.
Governmental Affairs Committee meets every Monday at 5 PM in 314 HUB. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns please attend the weekly meeting or contact the Committee Chairwoman (cms558@psu.edu) or Vice-Chairman (nca5010@psu.edu).
About Our Chair
The Chairwoman, Colleen Smith, is a Sophomore Biology student and two-time UPUA Representative. She served as one of two Freshman Representatives to the UPUA during the 2008-09 Academic Year and was elected last Spring as an Off-Campus Representative. In addition to serving as Governmental Affairs Chairwoman, Colleen sits on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Tuition Coalition and is the Community Service Chair for her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma. Feel free to contact her via email at cms558@psu.edu.