The 16th Assembly of the University Park Undergraduate Association met Wednesday night for another regularly scheduled meeting.

The assembly commenced with two special presentations. The first was from Blake Bergey, a representative from Fuel Rods. The second was from Carlos Wiley, director of the Paul Robeson Cultural Center.

UPUA President Erin Boas and Vice President Najee Rodriguez acknowledged the group, provided individual reports, and moved into new business.

New Business

First, Boas swore in two new representatives. College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Representative Matthew Roy and Performing Arts Council Representative Trinity Jackson accepted the conditions of the roles and began their terms on Wednesday night.

The assembly then moved into an election for the Chair of Governmental Affairs. Three candidates provided speeches and answered questions from sitting members.

At-Large Representative Nora O’Toole was later elected to the position after several assembly members spoke on her behalf during discussion.

The only legislation on the agenda was Resolution #19-16, which was presented by Schreyer Gender Equity Coalition Chair Sonika Kohli. Kohli called upon UPUA to participate in the Association of American University’s Campus Climate Survey to further the conversation regarding sexual assault and misconduct.

Additionally, the resolution asks UPUA to acknowledge and uplift the importance of the results of these surveys in collaboration with the Gender Equity Coalition. Kohli’s resolution also asked UPUA to charge the Department of Public Relations to distribute the information to all pertinent platforms.

Last month, the Gender Equity Coalition released a critical report that found issues with Penn State’s 2018 Sexual Misconduct Survey. The group hopes to improve future surveys, plus the university’s handling of sexual misconduct, moving forward.

Resolution #19-16 passed unanimously.

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