The President’s Platform

The Platform for the Restoration of the Student Body

(Platform in Adobe PDF Format)

Free Legal Services

The major initiative of Gavin Keirans’ first term as President was to bring Free Legal Services to all undergraduate students. Since his first victory, he has aggressively been pursuing making this a reality. The ultimate goal is for Legal Services to consist of one to two full time attorneys with interns from the Dickinson School of Law that will actually be able to represent students in legal cases.

Since early August, President Keirans has been meeting with Vice President for Student Affairs, Damon Sims, and Dickson Law School, Dean Philip McConnaughay. There have been many barriers on the way to accomplishing legal services, but alas the final stages are nearly complete.

The Student Activity Fee Board (SAFB) has been deliberating over allowing these services to be funded, with key upcoming meetings that will decide the fate of legal services for this year. Already in place for Legal Services is a commitment from the Dickinson School of Law for interns, as well as a pledge for space and associated overhead costs by the Vice President for Student Affairs.

In the event that Legal Services is not funded through the Student Activity Fee Board, then there is a great deal of options for funding through the UPUA budget. This year UPUA secured $140,000 budget putting them on par with other student governments of comparable size. This allows for flexibility to focus on major projects.

One of these options that will be explored is to outsource legal services to local attorneys. Many local attorneys already offer free consultations, but this is clearly not enough. Outsourcing to local attorneys will allow for case by case costs, so that the UPUA could budget accordingly on a clear need basis.

Another option is to follow that of Michigan State University, and hire attorneys through their student government. While this way is preferred, MSU’s student government is a non profit corporation, which makes it a great deal more powerful. The current set up of UPUA, with it for the first time next year receiving steady funding would face an uphill battle with the administration for this setup.

The third and final option to pursue, in the event that the SAFB does not allow for legal services, is to create a new fee through a binding resolution of the UPUA and the Graduate Student Association that would directly go to legal services. No one wants to see students taxed, but two dollars for students getting legal services that could costs thousands is clearly a benefit to students.

The clearest cut and long term solution is for the Student Activity Fee Board to allow for legal services. In the event that this does not happen, UPUA will be prepared to see legal services funded through the student government for all students.

President Gavin Keirans Speaks to Every Freshman

The future of Penn State begins and ends with the freshman class. There is an old saying that information is power, and with the information disseminated by President Keirans about the history of Penn State and the importance of student involvement, that power could help restore a Student Body. Too often student governments and leaders alike become frustrated claiming students are apathetic, and merely do not care enough. This simply is not true, as it is not the fault of the students for being apathetic, but the student leaders for not engaging their constituents about the importance of being involved.

In order to set this up, President Keirans will be reaching out to the Associate Vice President of Business and Auxiliary, Gail Hurley, the Director of Residence Life, Diane Andrews, and making sure that ARHS gives us their blessing to speak in their residence halls.

It is so important for the President of the Student Body to address the freshman class, not just at convocation but daily by going floor to floor, and meeting with students in the dorm floors. Most students attend Penn State because of the top notch academics and social scene, but few have the opportunity to learn the deeper meaning of Penn Sate, and for those who do, it unfortunately does not come until their junior and senior years.

A 30 minute conversation with a group of 30-40 students will provide a sense of history and instant connection to Penn State from the beginning. President Keirans will speak about the foundation of Penn State as having a land grant mission, about former Presidents George Atherton and Evan Pugh, about the former code of conduct for freshman students on campus, all while relating it to how the current student body can once again adopt a sense of unity. When students go home for Christmas Break and speak to their 50 year old Uncle, they now have a shared experience that goes beyond alcohol or football. It will go to the root of the experience, and once the alumni, as well as students start sharing their collective sense of history, we will have a thriving Penn State community, made up of Penn Staters new and old. There is no greater accomplishment that a Student Body President could hope to achieve, seeing that it goes beyond programs or tangible things people can point to, but to the roots of the Penn State spirit.

Restoring the All-College Cabinet

In the 1940s and 50s, the All-College Cabinet existed serving as the official student government of University Park. The cabinet was made up of all the premiere student organization Presidents, including those of the individual classes (freshman, sophomore, junior). The closest thing in recent history was the Cabinet of Student Leaders (COSL) which in best, practices was used for collaboration or networking.

The role of the All College Cabinet would be to unite all the major student leaders to serve as a true Executive Board of the UPUA. This will also cut out any misconceptions about the Cabinet being misused since it will be a part of the student government. The Vice President for Student Affairs, and other major administrators will be designated to attend every other meeting, the same as it was with COSL.

The major difference is that it will be in house through the UPUA so that there is never an issue of misuse for the cabinet. The assembly will still exist, and the All-College Cabinet will present legislation to the assembly through the President. In the long run the goal is for the assembly to be filled with major student leaders that tie into all organizations.

Whereas the All-College Cabinet is the established Presidents, the assembly would be filled with Up and Coming leaders, looking to one day sit on the cabinet. In the meantime the assembly serves as an additional safeguard on misuse of the Cabinet. The President can still create departments and positions as needed to serve as part of the Executive Board in order to fulfill the necessary missions of a student government.

Below is how the Cabinet would be shaped in order to maximize the unity of student leaders:

The All-College Cabinet is to be made up of the leadership from the top-tier University Park student organizations. Its role is to be an official consultation board to the President of the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA), so that he/she can act on behalf of the entire student body. The Cabinet will also be charged with forming legislation for the President to present. All issues and initiatives regarding the student body will be vetted through the cabinet. Votes will not be taken as the cabinet is not meant to replace the role of the assembly, but to enhance the overall presence of the top-tier organizations within the official governing body of University Park.

The Cabinet is not meant in anyway to interfere with the role of individual organizations, but as a means of uniting key organizations to better serve the University Park student body. Further, this will allow the UPUA President to truly serve as President of the student body by having the top student leaders at the table with them.

The All-College Cabinet shall consist of the following Standing Members: University Park Undergraduate Association President (UPUA), the UPUA Vice President, the UPUA Secretary, the UPUA Treasurer, President of the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments, President of the Graduate Student Association, President of the Interfraternity Council, President of Panhellenic Council, President of Association of Residence Hall Students, President of the NAACP, Executive Director of the Student Programming Association, Chair of the University Park Allocation Committee, President of the Multicultural Greek Council, President of the National Panhellenic Council, President of the Student Athlete Advisory Board, President of the Off Campus Student Union and the Student Trustee.

The All-College Cabinet shall consist of the following rotating seats, three of which will be selected by the UPUA President in a given year: President of the Black Caucus, President of the Latino Caucus, President of the Blue and White Society, President of the Lion Ambassador, Head Director of Homecoming, Head Overall of THON, Head Overall of Encampment, President of the Rainbow Roundtable, President of the International Student Council, Chair of the Faculty Senate Student Caucus, President of PRIDE.

The All-College Cabinet will consist of two At-Large members. One will be entitled the Robeson At-Large Director and will have experience in a Diversity or Multicultural Organization. The other will be entitled the HUB At-Large Director and will have experience in a leadership role that enhances the entire Student Body. These seats will be appointed by the UPUA President.

In addition to the general members of the Cabinet, the following Ex Officio will have the invitation to attend designated meetings: Vice President for Student Affairs or any designee, President of the University, Vice Provost for Education Equity, Vice President for Undergraduate Education, Executive Vice President and Provost, Chair of the Board of Trustees or their designee, Chair of the Faculty Senate or their designee. It is strongly encouraged that the Vice President for Student Affairs attend at least every other meeting to have a strong connection with the top-tier organizations through UPUA, in a official advisory fashion through the student government.

In addition to the above mentioned membership, the UPUA President can create departments for specific functions. These appointed members would not be seated at the All-College Cabinet, but would responsible for fulfilling the will of the assembly, or the initiatives set out by the Cabinet. The head of these departments will be given the title Director. A department will be created with the specific intention of enhancing the experience of the overall student body.

After three unexcused absences in a given academic year, the organizations charter to the All-College Cabinet will be suspended for that year, and open to the review of the next President .

Before a member sits on the All-College Cabinet, they must take the following oath: “I do hereby solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of serving on the All-College Cabinet of the University Park Undergraduate Association and will, to the best of my ability, serve to promote the welfare of the student body and the college as a whole.” The oath will be stated first by the UPUA President, and then repeated by members of the cabinet.

The President is in charge of chairing all meetings, with the secretary taking minutes of each meeting. The Treasurer is responsible for providing logistics and financial planning behind any initiative or collaboration between member organizations and UPUA. The Vice President of UPUA is responsible for organizing and coordinating all of the meetings.

Tenant/Tenant and Tenant/Landlord Mediation

The Tenant Landlord Mediation Center as originally thought up was great in idea; however, the realities of State College are that the Borough would have to back up any plan for a mediation center with concrete legislation and policy. While this avenue will certainly be a major focal point in the next years of Presidency, it is important to focus on another very important need.

Based on the scope of cases received, there is a clear need to focus on disputes between fellow tenants living in the same house or apartment. Many times students can work out their issues by themselves, but with this added option students can now have a licensed mediator sort out their problems.

This option is especially prevalent during many student’s first year off campus, and when they are adjusting to living with usually more than one roommate. Although the type of cases will most likely be off campus, the on campus students also could benefit greatly from a service like this.

While there is a clear need to focus on co-tenant mediation, UPUA would not give up on tenant-landlord. Ohio State University has teamed up with their department of off campus and law school to offer a strong version of this mediation program. UPUA would team up with the Student Affairs division of Off Campus Living, headed up by Loretta Doss to see a similar model. The goal is to have landlords registered with the mediation program.

Below is how it works at Ohio State and a similar model teamed up with the UPUA would be ideal: “Off-Campus Student Services, in conjunction with the Law School, offers mediation for students who are having issues with co-tenants and/or landlords. Mediation allows students to participate in a session with a neutral third party. Conversations can take place, in hopes of coming to an agreeable compromise between both parties. Please note that participating in a mediation session is on a voluntary basis. Off-Campus Student Services cannot force a co-tenant to attend the mediation session. However, if you request a mediation between you and your landlord, and the landlord is registered with Off-Campus Student Services, they have already agreed to participate in good faith mediation if a situation ever arises”

Good Samaritan Policy

The idea of this policy has been around for years with many schools implementing a version. The most common is that a student who calls for help for another student in need is except from any actions. In more progressive universities both students are except from any means of getting in trouble. In some instances, these cases are just limited to Judicial Affairs exemptions and not the law. Discussions are taking place for bringing a policy like this to Penn State- University Park.

After looking over many other universities and the current data that exists regarding the success of the policy, this will be a chief focus for the Keirans-Gupta Administration. The UPUA Executive will team up with the Legal Affairs sector as well as the Interfraternity Council to see this come to fruition.

A paper by Laura Oster-Aaland, a North Dakota State student affairs administrator, talks about the current information regarding Medical Amnesty. A few key excerpts are below as the need for the university to get on board, as well as the perceived benefits.

Two cases involving negative repercussions for universities are:

“Knoll v. Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska and Coghlan v. Beta Phi Fraternity” in which institutions were found by the courts to have a “legal duty to use reasonable regard with regard to alcohol poisoning deaths and liability,” Lake (2005) referred to a case involving Scott Krueger, a student who died of alcohol poisoning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This case settled out of court for “$6 million, a public apology, and the undertaking to perform various activities and policy changes” (p. 634). According to Lake (2005), the Krueger case “is indicative of a new climate of concern for potential success in courts of law on the issue of the legal duty of colleges to protect students from foreseeable danger in high-risk alcohol situations”

Below is data regarding Cornell University and their early successes:

Of those students who did not call for help, the percentage of students citing “I didn’t want to get the person in trouble” declined each of the 2 years following the policy implementation (3.8% in 2000, 2.3% in 2003, and 1.5% in 2001). There was also an increase in the number of calls for assistance to emergency medical services in the 2 years following the policy implementation (63 calls in 2001–02, 69 calls in 2002–03, and 77 calls in 2003–04).

Online Renters Guide to Off Campus Housing

This will follow the model of other universities, who have created an extensive way for peers to rate their experiences in Off Campus Housing. Brigham Young University is one model, in which they use the website ratemyrent.com, and students have the ability to rate in-depth positives and negatives of all the various Off Campus complexes. BYU’s intent hits right on the need but the level of sophistication is not where it needs to be.

Our website would greatly expand upon theirs to have sophisticated design similar to that of Ratemyprofessor.com. This idea has been thought of before, but has never been anything beyond a one time paper survey. For sustainability of the project, UPUA’s best option would be to work with Student Affairs IT, who helped design and implement the Online Book Exchange.

Although student government has shown to be very successful in recent times, our web presence is sorely lacking. Like many student governments across the country, their web presence changes from year to year. As a result it is great to partner up with the IT Staff, because of the longevity it can provide. The responsibility for this task will be given to the Director for Off Campus life.

Questions of quality will be asked and students will respond by giving a rating, 1-5. Other questions will simply be Y/N.

The following questions will be asked:

How well does the location suite your needs?

Is your unit furnished?

If yes, how is the quality of the furniture?

Do you pay the following utilities?

Heat (y/n)

Water (y/n)

Cable/internet (y/n)

Electric (y/n)

Is there parking?

How would you rate the overall quality of your unit?

Is there carpeting?

How well did your unit meet your expectations?

Swipe cards for all HUB Offices

The HUB-Robeson center is home to a great deal of student organizations. Almost every major organization has an office space in which their members spend office hours. Currently, a lock and key set up is in place at the HUB, with members having to sign out a key to enter the office. This leads to headaches of all kinds, especially in large organizations, in which if a member forgets to turn in the key, or keeps it out for a prolonged period of time, it prevents the other members from going into the office. This is especially prevalent with organizations who share office space. If for some reason, someone accidentally lost the key, they would be faced with astronomical charges in the low 100s to replace it.

With acknowledgment of the flaws of the current system, UPUA would set the groundwork and see it through that a swipe card system is implemented for every student organization. The precedent for this was first set by The Lion 90.7fm, who uses this system for students to enter into the studio. Imagine the chaos that used to ensue, with DJs not even able to get on the air because someone took out the key. This same chaos can be found in many student organizations, when many times throughout the year, the key is not returned.

Having a swipe card system, would also allow for greater security. No longer would there be a question as to whose in the office, as statistical data would be available based on swipe. This could be used in the case of thefts or items going missing, which have happened in the offices at times.

Exploring New Ways for Student Organizations to use their funds including Purchasing Cards for all Student Organizations

The office of Associated Student Activities (ASA) has a remarkable staff that is helpful with every need and question. The current system however is not nearly as helpful to the needs of student organizations. As it stands, the process has basically two options: take out a purchase order or pay for it yourself, and be reimbursed. The purchase order is a perfectly acceptable idea, in that it does not place any financial risk on a student. However paying for it yourself, in order to benefit your student organization is ridiculous. For one, the student takes on a great deal of risk, in that many events could happen that could result in the student not being reimbursed.

If a student takes on the financial burden, and there is a flaw in whatever they purchased or bought, he/she will have to deal with the company or provided for reimbursement. Also, if a student organization has a member buy something, and it turns out that ASA can not reimburse that organization because it defies Student Activity Fee rules, the person is again left high and dry.

Most importantly of implementing a purchase card system is the practicality, and ease of use. A student organization Treasurer would be responsible for use of the card, and could purchase anything approved by the organization. In addition, many times when something being bought is expensive in nature, it is nearly impossible for a student to just charge it to their own account because they are either using a debit card tied to their bank account, or do not have an adequate credit line as a student to purchase in either fashion.

Instantly the question of student accountability comes, and what happens if the card is misused by the treasure. Well that can simply be handled, by the treasure signing a JA and Police agreement. If for any reason, misuse is suspected or reported, a full investigation can be launched by the office of Judicial Affairs and the Penn State police department. Stealing from a student organization is still theft, and a student who takes part in this shall be prosecuted and fined to pay back the money misused.

Part of expanding out and wanting more autonomy such as in this case of granting student organizations purchasing cards, is personal accountability. In this case student organizations would become a great deal more efficient and autonomous, with the negative consequences really being small.

Off Campus Meal Plan

This has been an idea for quite sometime with former Internal Development Chair and Off Campus Student Union member Justin Waddell originally leading up the charge. Towards the end of last year, this idea began to fade and has come to a stand still with Waddell’s graduation. That being said, this is a still a passion of President of the Off Campus Student Union, Pat Gordon, and discussions have begun once again with the department of Housing and Food Services. The basic idea of this plan would be for that Department to contractually team up with downtown establishments, similar to the fashion that they do with Lion Cash and allow for a mean plan to be used through the Penn State ID card.

As it stands, Penn State has an untapped market on off campus businesses that would benefit all parties involved. Penn State would profit from the businesses who sign up to take part in the program. Students would benefit by having a concrete plan that their parent’s could buy into ahead of time, as well as have increased savings by participating in this program. It works best in design if it is set up properly with Penn State receiving profit from the business involvement and not directly from the students. Downtown businesses would now have an increased number of direct participants from which to profit. The Off Campus Meal Plan would take a great deal of logistics, work, and advocating in order to become a reality, but this is something that could clearly benefit students.

Freshman Elections in November

This year was the first time that UPUA added two special seats for Freshman Representatives. This was originally the brainchild of former UPUA President, Hillary Lewis, who believed it was essential for the freshman of this campus to have voice. Having freshman representatives has worked out extremely well with these first year students proving to be some of our most active. As it currently stands, these freshman seats are open to the application process through the Steering Committee of UPUA (the Chairs of the Assembly, Pres/VP).

This year we had nearly 20 applicants, with two, Peter Khoury and Colleen Smith, proving themselves worthy of the position. Unfortunately Peter had health problems, and while he is doing well, he has enrolled in the Lehigh Valley Campus for the spring semester with Justin Bish taking his place.

All three have proven to be deeply involved which is why it is imperative that we go beyond the current application process to a freshman wide election process, adding special attention to the process in order to get the most qualified candidates. This process would be the same way that UPUA has spring elections for all positions online at vote.psu.edu. The election would take place in the beginning of November of every year, with a two-week long campaign.

Unlike in the spring election, a separate elections commission would not be created. Instead the commission would come internally from UPUA, being led by the Vice President, with other offices including the Chief of Staff, the Chair of the Assembly, the Chair of the Committee on Campus Life and the Chair of the Facilities Committee. All disputes would be handled by the new Board of Arbitration (formally SOCC).

This election would greatly enhance the presence of UPUA to the freshman population, whose first introduction to UPUA is often in the spring semester during the general elections. By having an increased presence in freshman lives from the beginning, UPUA can more effectively represent the true thoughts of the Undergraduate Student Body.

“Living Legends” Event

There are words in the Penn State fight song, “The Nittany Lion” that many sing without knowing what it truly means. “Every college has a legend, passed on from year to year, To which they pledge allegiance, and always cherish dear.” These legends used to be known by every Penn State student serving as a means to connect to the past generations of Penn Staters before them. Sadly these legends are completely gone from the minds of the current Penn State Student Body. It was not until this year that knowledge of these legends was even known to either of us. There is something to be said about traditions; they transcend age groups, cultures, and organizations. Everyone is familiar with the Penn State football tradition but this university goes so far beyond Saturday’s in the fall.

The event known as “Living Legends” would bring together nine of the major student organizations. The goal of this event would be for each organization to have one historically prominent figure of Penn State talk about their experiences at Penn State and how traditions played into that. For example UPUA would have Graham Spanier or the Student Athlete Advisory Board would have Joe Paterno. They then would read one of the nine legends of Penn State which in reality, serve as relics to the spirit at Penn State that it is imperative to have knowledge of as a Penn State student.

This event would take place in a venue such as the Eisenhower Auditorium on a major weekend such as Homecoming or Blue and White. This way the entire Penn State Community, current and old, could take part in the reliving of the legends that create our foundation as a university. In essence those reading the legends, serve as living embodiments of the spirit that of which those legends speak.

Freshman Foundation Festival

A key aspect of President Keirans’ second term as UPUA President will be to reach the freshman population. In conjunction with the election of Freshman Representatives, the UPUA will host a mid-size festival aimed entirely at the freshman community in the green areas of East Halls. This will be to promote the election and for students to get involved, but also it will be a way for students to unite early on for a UPUA related event. It will involve a mid-major artist as well as be open for any freshman to participate with their bands or ensembles, as a way to be an all inclusive process.

This event while all-inclusive in nature and meant to be a good time for freshman does have a clear purpose of directly reaching out to freshman residence halls to let them know how to get involved and the role of student government on campus. Information tents and tables will be set up around East Halls during this day, with the UPUA Assembly and Executive Board providing the man power.

Meal Point Rollover

Currently Penn State does not offer any amount of point rollover from one academic year to the next. However the University of Indiana, through the efforts of their student government has reached a 100 percent meal point rollover for one academic year. “During the fiscal year 2009, Indiana University Student Association and Residential Programs and Services met their goals of 100% Meal-Point Rollover with a “grace period” that extends all unused Meal-Points for two semesters following the end of freshman year.”

This model should be applied at the Penn State University as well, allowing freshman to use their meal points that they paid for instead of being forced to waste them on meaningless goods from the convenience stores in the commons. Having a meal point rollover would also entice more students to buy into the system for their sophomore year as well, which in turn would also lead to increased funds for Housing and Food Services. Having a rollover of one year would not hurt profits any either since it was already paid for. The only thing that would have to be accounted for is how much extra food services would need to be offered in order to compensate for the rolled over points.

Committee Interns

Many universities including Ohio State and Indiana, have a system in place where students who are not elected to the assembly or placed on the Executive Board, can serve as Interns. This is especially true for freshman who due to the fact of their enrollment, can only run for the two freshman assembly seats, and apply for an Executive Board Committee spot. Now that the Executive Board will now be more elite in the status of its members, freshman do not have as many opportunities. Therefore the six current committees (possibly seven next year) will benefit greatly from the addition of interns to aid in their progress and implementation of legislation. Having increased man power will also be a major benefit to the committees in the short run. In the long run, this will serve to develop talent to be familiar with the inter workings of UPUA to eventually run and take over the positions. These interns would be invited to attend every meeting, and would be involved in all discussions for committee business, although they would not have any voting rights.

Tuition Relief Act – Penn State Inclusion Campaign

President Gavin Keirans has teamed up with IFC President, Luke Pierce, NAACP President, Kirin Kennedy, and CCSG President, George Khoury, in a massive effort to have Penn State included in the Tuition Relief Act. The four of them most notably held a press conference/rally at Old Main which was covered by all local media outlets, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and the Associated Press. Recently President Keirans led the charge down to Temple University, teaming up with their student government in hopes that Governor Rendell would add Penn State in his plan to give increased aid to the fourteen state schools and community colleges.

The next step is to head down to Pitt and Lincoln University to have all four state related schools included in a show of solidarity to the legislature of Pennsylvania to include the state related schools. While this in itself would be effective, it may not be enough. As a result, we will be looking to team up with at least six of the State schools in our efforts, and for them to support our right to get aid. This plan is ambitious in that the state schools do not necessarily have anything to gain on this particular issue. However this will set up a lasting blue print for Penn State teaming up with other universities on a plethora of issues.

Adopt A Lot

This program is offered through the University of Washington-Whitewater’s Student Government. Their student government teams up with parking services to offer a unique community service endeavor that requires the participation of various student organizations. At Penn State, this would be run through the Community Service Department of UPUA, and we would also team up with the University’s parking department. For every lot cleaned up we would place a sign in recognition of the student organization that was responsible for cleaning that area. The sign would stay up for the entire academic year. At the Whitewater Student Government, the following organizations participated:

Lots

1. Phi Sigma Kappa*
2. Circle K
3. Finance Association
4. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority
5. Resident Hall Association*
6. Resident Hall Association*
7. Whitewater Student Government*
8. OPEN
9. National Pan-Hellenic Council
10. IMPACT
11. Institute of Management Accountants
12. Alpha Sigma Sorority
13. Alpha Sigma Sorority
14. American Marketing Association
15. German Club*
16. Student Foundation
17. Campus Greens*

Quads

1. American Production & Inventory Control Society
2. College Republicans*
3. Delta Zeta
4. National Pan-Hellenic Council
5. Tau Phi Lambda
6. Public Relations Student Society of America*
7. Sigma Sigma Sigma*
8. Pi Kappa Alpha
9. Habitat for Humanity*
10. Southeast Asian Org*
11. Society for the Advancement of Management
12. Student Optimist Club*
13. Women’s Center
14. Beta Alpha Psi
15. Whitewater Advertising Association*

*Organizations participated in the Campus Wide Clean-up on TBD.

Expand on Current Efforts to Increase Greek Life Presence

The UPUA, as it stands, has one Greek representative sitting in the general assembly that is not filling one of the four council seats. That being said, President Keirans did fulfill last year’s campaign promise of creating the Directors for Greek Life within his Executive Cabinet. The first Director was Luke Pierce who went on to win the IFC Presidency. Since that time the position has been split into Director of Greek Life for IFC/PHC and Director of Greek Life for NPHC/MGC. Chris Caswell (former President of DKE) and Bryan Poland (former UPUA NPHC rep) fill those positions respectively. With the addition of Hillary Gupta as Vice President, the former President of her sorority, Delta Zeta, there is a clear goal by our Executive Administration to put an emphasis on increasing the role of Greek Life within our executive and assembly. While there is no quota on the number of Greeks we want in the assembly, we hope to see at least 1/5 of the assembly in Greek Life.

President Fund for Student-Faculty Interaction

At the University of Pennsylvania, the President of the University has set up a fund where faculty can be reimbursed for meeting with students outside of the classroom, such as taking them out to lunch. President Keirans and Vice Presidential Candidate Gupta applaud this effort at UPENN, but would like to offer the reverse to students in order to promote students engaging Professors, and being proactive in setting up out of classroom experiences. This fund would be housed in the Executive Branch, but would be up to the Academic Affairs Committee to approve students seeking out faculty.

Many student councils have lunches or dinners where a faculty member will meet with members. Unfortunately, student councils only have a limited amount of funds, which is why UPUA can play a major role in increasing these types of interactions. The In-Class experience is only getting to only know half of each person, as the student and faculty member don’t truly have a chance to reveal their experiences. This would contribute to the other half of the college experience and lead to a better relationship between students as well as faculty.

Multicultural World Cup

There is an interesting tradition at Purdue University that combines culture and sports, like the event FIFA holds every four years, Penn State would follow the idea of Purdue and offer a World Cup soccer tournament. This event would not be just sports but also information, and sharing of cultures. UPUA would provide a nation of the tournament food section, free to all students. It would also allow for any multicultural or diversity organization to have a table at the event, promoting their organization and causes.

Of course this is meant to be an athletic event; UPUA would hold a 64 team tournament representing countries based upon preference of the applicants. This would allow UPUA to expand into the intramural sector, somewhere we are completely uninvolved in, while at the same time allowing the promotion of diversity and multicultural organizations.

Free Tax Service

The University of Washington-Whitewater Student Government offers free tax service clinics to anyone interested that is a student or community member. The idea is twofold to strengthen the experience of students in the Accounting department and to provide a clear need to students, many of whom are doing their taxes by themselves for the first time.

The ultimate goal would be to team up with the SMEAL College of Business, and their nationally recognized Accounting Department to offer this service. Advanced accounting students would apply to the advisor of this program to be admitted, and would receive an independent study credit for their work in the clinics. All of these clinics would be under the monitoring of the advisor of the program, but would be run by advanced accounting students. This would provide a unique educational and real-world experience to students in accounting, as well as a needed service to the entire Penn State student body.

Monthly Trustee Luncheons

The University of Chicago’s student government has set up luncheons with members of the Board of Trustees as a means of outreach to students. This would be especially useful at Penn State with over 30 trustees; it is sometimes hard for students to gauge what the board’s role is in the university set up. The idea of the luncheon would be that every month, one trustee would agree to do an intimate lunch with a group of 20-40 students, who would be chosen by application.

This would also serve a great way for current student government members (UPUA,GSA,CCSG) to increase their knowledge and interaction of the Board who ultimately decides the direction of the university. This would be a great way for UPUA to collaborate for the Board of Trustees Office, specifically Director Paula Amerman. The Trustees being the stewards of the university would likely love the opportunity to participate in interactions with students. This could set up a long lasting tradition of interaction between the trustees, UPUA and the student body as a whole.

UPUA Off Campus Center

The UPUA is increasingly expanding its presence within the Student Body. That being said, UPUA realizes that in order to truly maximize student needs, it must have a presence off campus. UPUA will look to open up a downtown office on either College or Beaver Avenue that will serve as a home to Off Campus Mediation, a one stop shop for renter help, and a means to offer legal services in the event that it is not approved by the Activity Fee Board. While the Borough has its headquarters on Allen Street, UPUA will look to put their office more on downtown.

Look into Identity Theft Protection for Students, Faculty and Administrators

The Administration of LSU offers free Identity Theft Protection to all students, faculty and administrators. The university has teamed up with Equifax Consumer Services Inc. to offer subscriptions to their Identity Theft Protection. LSU is the only university in the country to currently offer this protection, but with the on going movement to protect people’s identity, they likely will not be the last. It is imperative that Penn State, as a university always on the cutting edge, buys into this service.

According to LSU, “The agreement includes convenient access to award-winning product, Equifax Credit Watch™ Silver. Those who take advantage of this offering will receive daily alerts notifying them of key changes to their Equifax credit file. Key changes include new accounts opened, significant changes in current balances, etc. The package also includes an initial Equifax Credit Report with discounts on additional Equifax Credit Reports, and up to $20,000 Identity Fraud Expense Coverage (with $0 deductible).”

Additionally, this is an “opt in” program for students because the university cannot give away your personal information without your approval, especially to a third party like Equifax. That being said, if students decide to opt in, they receive free coverage without having to use their technology fees at LSU. At Penn State, this would likely not be the case, and our technology fees would have to be used. With the removal of free music services in Napster and now Ruckus, there should be a major pot of that fee going underused, which would be a great way to fund students in the inclusion of this identity theft protection.

Also, this could serve as a means of profit, as LSU is considering offering this to their alumni at a premium discount price. If Penn State were to do the same, the university could make profit off commission and partnership agreement. This would help students, faculty, administrators alike in the purpose of the protection, as well as the university if it also became a source of profit through alumni.

Uniform Academic Integrity Standards

President Keirans sits on the Academic Integrity Committee for SMEAL College of Business, and has realized there are improvements needed in the current process. The flaws are by no means with the people, as SMEAL has a board made up experienced professors and two students. As it stands in the current policy, “The burden of proof is on the student to prove that they are not guilty, instead of on the Professor to prove that they are guilty. “

According to conversations, the way it used to be was that the burden was entirely on the professor to prove that the student cheated, which is not exactly the best way to handle a situation such as this either. However a middle ground is needed so that students are not wrongfully convicted simply because it cannot be seen either way whether they cheater or not, and the Professor claims that they did. This is in no way meant to slight the judgment of Professors, but even they make mistakes sometimes in judging guilt. Through meetings with the Faculty Senate officers, and the Academic Affairs committee of UPUA, this should be able to be addressed and rectified.

Expansion of FTCAP

The FTCAP program is currently a one day, jam packed, event in which students test scores are revealed and they learn about the Penn State experience. However, this one day model is no longer suitable, especially with the large number of acceptances every year. Penn State needs to move to an overnight model similar to that of other peer institutions in Ohio State and Temple University.

Due to the large amount of students, and the lack of time, programs have been cut from FTCAP. The most notable is the real life choices section, which talked about rape and sexual assault as it relates to Penn State. Early on in college careers is the most likely time that a sexual assault will occur. Losing a section of FTCAP like this does a complete disservice to entering Penn Staters.

Moving FTCAP to an overnight model will also give students their first glimpse of dorm life, and let them meet new students for the first time in a social setting. This method also introduces the role of an RA, Residence Life Coordinators and the expectations of living in a dorm. Overall there is a great deal more to be gained by expanding FTCAP to an overnight, two day program.

Creating a Committee on Campus Life and Rights

As it currently stands, UPUA has a committee on Campus Life and Diversity. This past year, the membership of this committee was made up of some of our most active diversity leaders on campus. The committee as a whole performed quite well under the direction of Chair Steven Lucas. That being said, it is nearly impossible for one committee to tackle both Diversity issues as well as Campus Life issues. There are so many intricate things that each respective portion needs to address; therefore, it is best that they are separated.

By creating different committees, this does not in any way mean the two cannot be interrelated, and when issues come up with Diversity within Campus Life, the two committees can collaborate together for the best result of the student body as a whole. Having a more prominent and clear cut role for Campus Life allows for greater production and efficiency within the assembly.

It will also allow the Diversity sector of UPUA to have a clear cut mission, and allow them to focus on the underrepresented populations of Penn State, first generation students, geographically diverse and the economically diverse.

Tenant Landlord Mediation Legislation by Borough Council

One easy way for the Tenant Landlord Mediation program to be a success is for the Borough of State College to introduce legislation mandating that landlords with a certain number of rental units, have to either attend or send a designee to mediation. While currently the power is all in the landlords hands, with the implementation of free legal services, that may begin to switch. As a result, there may be a good faith effort by landlords to get involved in the program, especially with a good old fashion binding nudge by the State College borough. This would go along way to further town and gown relations as well, with students feeling that legislation was intended for their benefit, and not against them.

Retreat

This past year President Keirans had planned on setting up a pre-fall semester retreat. However with the Association of Big Ten Student Conference being hosted at Penn State, this did not come to fruition. This was one of the biggest mistakes as far as team unity, as a retreat early on sets the tone for the year and lays out the clear initiatives needed for success. In addition, it helps people get to know one another, and bond. Unity did not set in until the end of first semester, as a result loosing a great deal of cohesion within the organization. This event would be a strong kickoff to the academic year.

At-Large Reps mandated to attend 10 student organization Meetings

UPUA has six At-Large representatives who are voted in by all on campus and off campus voters. However there role is undefined within the UPUA Constitution, with there responsibilities not clearly stated like On Campus and Off Campus. The role of the At-Large will be to attend 10 other meetings outside of any organizations they are apart of. Each representative will then caucus with the other At-Large reps every other week, with their responsibility to write a consultative report on the total 60 other organizations they visited including the common concerns, major initiatives, knowledge of UPUA, and thoughts on things going well. Over a span of years this will prove to be a vital asset for UPUA in developing programming, and initiatives.

Student Appreciation Awards

Each year the Center for Student Engagement gives out awards to students or advisors based on applications. While this is great that this department of Student Affairs take the initiative to honor students, it would mean a great deal more for students to honor their peers. The UPUA, through a Commission led up by the Vice President, would be in charge of organizing, advertising, and judging the winners.

Weekly Video Blogs

Last year UPUA President Gavin Keirans campaigned on this same idea, and was able to accomplish one video blog in his first week as President. Keirans recognizes this is unacceptable and pledges to do a Video Blog for his website on a weekly basis. This will be conducted every Wednesday prior to the UPUA General Assembly Meetings. By doing this, he will keep the Penn State Community in the loop as to the on going developments within UPUA. As the world moves to Youtube and other online technology, it is imperative to have a presence in the online video world. Plus a 60 second blurb by the President each week is much easier then reading through 30 pages of minutes.

Weekly CDT Blogs

Over the summer UPUA President Gavin Keirans was given the opportunity to blog on the Centre Daily Times website. If re-elected, Keirans would use this on a daily basis for UPUA purposes giving members the chance to use his blog, to emphasize major initiatives or issues. With the growing number of entries, this will lead to a steady audience outside of just Penn State students, and into Centre County.

Trips to Other Universities

As the Temple rally clearly showed, UPUA is not adverse to traveling for a worthwhile cause. This was not a one time publicity stunt, but the beginning of outreach by UPUA. Collaboration with other universities or organizations makes your cause a great deal stronger. It is with this knowledge that UPUA will take any steps necessary to team up with other schools on worthwhile initiatives.

Webmaster

The UPUA website is in need of serious upkeep. Currently, the UPUA owns two domains: upua.psu.edu and upua.org, neither of which is completely up to date. This is completely unacceptable especially from a branding standpoint, as the UPUA does not currently have an online means of reaching the student base. Many other universities have up-to-date graphically appealing websites. This is why the role of webmaster needs to be a focus moving forward, so that UPUA can be active in the online market. In order to do this, UPUA will employ a full time webmaster, to perform weekly updates of the site. Further, there will be an apprentice webmaster, who is younger in years, so that when the older webmaster graduates, there is someone ready in place to take their place. This keeps a steady flow of progress from year to year.

Fraternity Loop

While the existing bus Loops provide service directly to the center of downtown, the neighborhood south of Beaver Avenue lacks this service. This district is a key destination for many students as it is where the majority of fraternity houses are located, along with hundreds of other student-occupied dwellings. To improve safety and convenience, President Keirans believes that we need to work with CATA and IFC/Panhellenic officials to pursue a bus service that serves the Fraternity District.

At a minimum, this service would run on Friday and Saturday nights between the hours of 11:30-2:30 to ensure that individuals attending fraternity functions have a safe ride home. These loops were in existence in the mid 90s and an initiative of the now defunct Undergraduate Student Government in conjunction with the Greek Councils. President Keirans will have the Director for Greek Life in his Executive Cabinet take the lead on making this a reality once again.

Music Service

In 2004, Penn State took progressive action to stem music piracy by providing students with Napster service included with the $222 student Information Technology fee. Three years later, this service was replaced by Ruckus Network. Ruckus unexpectedly shut down this past February and is no longer providing service to Penn State’s students students are still paying the same IT fee, but they are not receiving service.

Currently SAC-ITS is exploring how to respond to this need. There is a clear need for UPUA to be involved in this discussion. The leisure and cultural benefits to students and the elimination of illegal file sharing activity are important to the school community; President Keirans’ team will work to find a suitable replacement media service for students.

Corner Pocket

The area is currently used as a haven for the billiards club. While this surely won’t get Hillary and I the endorsements from the club, there is a clear need to reuse the space to meet the needs of the student body in their union building. Billiards is not as trendy as they once were, and mass amounts of tables are not necessary. The space could be used for a plethora of activities including a small concert venue, computer lounge, television hangout room, other eateries, etc.

In the past, the HUB advisory Board has explored options for this use. Now with the Facilities Fee, the money is there for a low cost upgrade to the Pocket, in order to make it useful for all students. This will be a point of emphasis at the Facilities Fee Board meetings.

Final’s Frenzy

The Academic Affairs committee of UPUA offers a student appreciation event during every Finals season. The tradition which started with current Chair Ralph Crivello has been maintained by Academic Affairs Chair Matt Smith. Through discussions with Chairman Smith, there is a clear opportunity to expand by providing each academic council with the blueprints and supplies to make this a reality. This year blue books, pencils, and donuts were given out to any student. In future years, there is talk of offering a healthier choice or even a dollar gift certificate for student to get something of their choice at a food venue in the HUB. This initiative while not earth shattering, is an easy way to improve relations with the Academic Councils and to team up on an initiative that benefits all students.

Judicial Affairs Student Judiciary

Currently discussions are on going for the UPUA Board of Arbitration to take over major responsibilities that the Student Judiciary holds. A concrete solution has not yet been achieved, but the UPUA, through meetings with Judicial Affairs administrators, hopes to achieve a middle balance that will allow for the UPUA Board of Arbitration to have greater influence over the student end of the judiciary process. Within the next few months, UPUA will at the very least have a role in selecting members of the Judiciary. In a best case scenario, the roles of the judiciary would be dissolved into that of Board of Arbitration.

Association of Big Ten Student’s Conference

This conference in many ways led to UPUA taking the necessary steps to legitimizing itself. Rewind to 2006-2007, the now defunct Undergraduate Student Government was seen as the official student government in the eyes of the Big Ten Students Governments. As a result the UPUA was having a tough time making its presence on campus, especially since the other schools did not even view it as legitimate. Over the past two years, UPUA has gotten its act together, and now has a strong foundation.

The conference, however, has begun to lose meaning. In many ways it has turned into a social event for Big Ten student government members to get together twice a year. That being said the talent of student leaders is there for this conference to be meaningful once again. At the summer ABTS Conference, UPUA will have one of its leading members take the lead and become Executive Director. We then will create a commission within UPUA in charge of reforming the Conference to best serve the needs of student governments.

Football Ticket Allocation

This year President Keirans has kept in constant contact with Associate Athletic Director, Greg Myford, about the overall ticket process. In addition, Keirans has been involved in advocating for the best system for student needs. As the allocation process moves away from tickets to Student IDs, there have been discussions about the most user friendly ways. In the coming weeks these discussions will turn into formal action from the UPUA about the best system for ticket allocations.

The goal is to cut back on student’s scalping specifically selling off their entire season ticket allocation. By moving to the ID process, all transactions will be online through an individual game basis, and the sale of season tickets will be disabled. There are some other features to enhance the ID card experience in regards to football ticket allocation that are currently being investigated to see if they are possible, but rest assured that Keirans and Gupta are on the cutting edge of what is going on with one of the most important processes for Penn State Students.