UA Mid Session Report - 49th Session

Mid-Session Report
49th Session
2021-2022

The Undergraduate Assembly (UA) is
the elected, representative branch of
Penn Student Government, charged with
improving life for all students through
lobbying, representation, togetherness,
services, and funding.

Table of Contents
Purpose 2
Letter from Executive Board 3
Last Semester’s Advocacy 4
Academic Initiatives Highlights 8
Community Engagement and Sustainability Highlights 10
Dining, Housing, and Transit Highlights 13
Equity and Inclusion Highlights 16
Fall 2021 Administrator Meetings 19
Contact Us 23
Project Report 27

The purpose of this report is to hold the
Undergraduate Assembly accountable to the
student body and to the promises that we as an
organization make in furthering our goals.
We are committed to working to improve the
student experience at Penn, and we welcome
any and all feedback that students wish to
provide.
2 | Purpose
Purpose

Letter from the Executive Board
Letter from Executive Board | 3
Hello all,
Throughout our return to campus this semester, the Executive Board of the Undergraduate As-
sembly (UA) has been dedicated to continuing our long-term advocacy projects as well as ensur-
ing a safe and healthy student body during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Janice and I prioritized Community Advancement, Wellness and Mental Health, Academic
Reform, and Administrative Accountability within our platforms as we ran to represent you all
as UA President and Vice President. Through our project work, and together with the rest of our
executive board, we have focused on ensuring that these promises are upheld by engaging in out-
reach through meetings with student groups, open GBM’s, and UA Steering.
Our session has been dedicated to making tangible change for all students and we have achieved
many large wins so far this semester. With classroom instruction returning to an in-person
format, the UA worked with the Center for Teaching and Learning to update recommendations
for professors, ensuring that students who miss class have access to as much course material as
possible. By launching our new Social Life and Inclusion Fund in collaboration with 7B and other
PSG branches, we have been able to provide funding aimed at bolstering social programming for
marginalized groups at Penn. Overall, we remain committed to supporting the improvement of
cultural centers, increasing break days within the school year for students, maximizing the spaces
available for students and student groups to reserve, and demanding accountability and trans-
parency surrounding incidents of violence on campus, among other pressing issues.
The 49th Session of the UA is far from complete. We hope to add to all of our achievements, and
we encourage you to reach out to us at exec@pennua.org or through our suggestions box. We
remain committed to hearing the concerns of all students, and we look forward to finishing our
term with the same dedication and passion with which we began.
Cheers,
Tori Borlase (UA President) & The Undergraduate Assembly Executive Board
Tori Borlase C22
President
Janice Owusu C22, W22
Vice President
Carson Sheumaker C23, W23
Speaker
Sarah Ramadan C23
Treasurer
Pranav Tadikonda C24
Secretary

Last Semester’s Advocacy
This section serves to highlight a few of the
overarching UA initiatives that were successful
during the Fall 2021 Semester.
The Undergraduate Assembly is thankful
for the partnerships and collaborations that
strengthened the advocacy for these incredibly
impactful projects.
4 | Last Semester’s Advocacy

Increasing Access to Class Recordings
At the onset of the Fall semester it was evident that a return to in-person learning
brought about new challenges for students. As students were required to quarantine due
to COVID-19, their absence in class made it difficult for them to access lecture materials
without having recordings of lectures. Our main goal within our advocacy was to ensure
that students had better access to lecture recordings, while also encouraging professors to
explore additional ways to help students catch up on class material.
The main barriers we faced to achieving this goal were:
1) Different buildings across campus have been equipped with different technologies,
making recording class significantly easier for some professors as compared to others who
lacked recording equipment in their classrooms.
2) Certain professors felt as though recording class would prevent hearty discussions, or
may pose intellectual property concerns.
Faced with these challenges, we decided to work with the Center for Teaching and Learn-
ing (CTL), a department which helps enhance the quality of the educational experience at
Penn. CTL provides guidance for professors on a number of topics, including how to fairly
evaluate attendance, incorporating technology within the classroom, and what to do when
students have to miss class. After meeting with Dr. Gary Purpura in the Provost’s Office, as
well as Bruce Lenthal, the Director of CTL, we were able to make notable additions to the
CTL guidance surrounding best practices and new tactics for professors to use when stu-
dents miss class and need help catching up on material. Specifically, we were able to add
guidance such as:
- Providing recordings from past semesters
- For those who do not have classroom recording equipment, record yourself on Zoom
- Encouraging professors to be more lenient with whom they share their lecture recordings
- For classes with board work rather than slides, rotating students assigned to take photos
of the board every week.
Overall, we hope that this updated guidance will help educate professors on new tactics to
help support students, and will serve as a resource for students who wish to ask their pro-
fessors to provide lecture recordings to the class. Not only will these updates help students
during the pandemic, but these suggestions will remain in effect for normal years as well,
and will help improve lecture access to all students.
Last Semester’s Advocacy | 5

Social Life and Inclusion Fund
The SAC Reserve Fund accumulated an excess balance over the past few years that was ac-
celerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on student activities beginning in the
Spring 2020 semester. Students of diverse backgrounds and identities have encountered
barriers to immersing themselves in the social scene at the University of Pennsylvania.
Many student organizations, and in particular non-intercultural Greek organizations, are
not as inclusive of students of different races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations/
gender identities, and income levels. For example, while many exclusive organizations
on campus have historically been able to hold grandiose events at off-campus locations
in Philadelphia for their members, students from these marginalized communities have
lacked access to resources such as funding, space, and alumni networks for large-scale
events. Further exacerbating this issue is the limited expenses which campus funding
sources can cover.
In Spring 2021, Penn Student Government Steering voted to allocate $150,000 from the
SAC Reserve Fund to the creation of a Social Life and Inclusion Fund to help address this
aspect of social inequity. The $150,000 allocation will be distributed over the course of
three years ($50,000 each academic year). The three years will give students and adminis-
trators time to become familiar with the fund’s existence, gather data on its use, and devel-
op a funding method for its continuation.
This semester, UA Treasurer Sarah Ramadan led a group of student government treasur-
ers and 7B members in distributing funds to numerous organizations. The Social Life and
Inclusion Fund Committee funded events such as the La Luna Mascquerade Ball, Society
of African Internationals at Penn Thanksgiving, Asian Pacific Student Coalition holiday
socials, and many more events, allocating over $10,000 this semester. The UA hopes to
continue funding events for underrepresented students at Penn, as well as presenting data
about student needs to administrators with the goal of ensuring more long-lasting and
permanent access to social opportunities.
6 | Last Semester’s Advocacy

President Tori Borlase’s Administrative Meetings
Office of Student Affairs
Every week, Tori meets with Katie Bonner from the Office of Student Affairs
(OSA) to discuss urgent project updates, university-wide announcements, and
changes that will impact student life at Penn.
Associate Vice Provost for Education and Academic Planning
Every other week, Tori meets with Gary Purpura from the Provost’s Office. In
these meetings, Tori and Gary discuss pressing academic concerns for students,
such as the pass/fail deadline, breaks within the school year, and accessibility of
lecture recordings.
Last Semester’s Advocacy | 7

Academic Initiatives
Xavier Shankle W’24
Committee Director (ai@pennua.org)
The Academic Initiatives Committee (AI) is devot-
ed to enacting change within the academic space at
Penn. AI is using student insight to work on proj-
ects that will have a long-lasting impact. The three
themes that the committee is focusing on this year
are (a) improvements in the classroom environ-
ment in the post online world; (b) increasing equity
regarding access to course materials, and (c) the
impact of the current academic schedule and year
length on learning. Don’t hesitate to contact AI’s
Committee Director Xavier Shankle with any ques-
tions or concerns at ai@pennua.org
8 | Academic Initiatives

Extra Religious Spaces
Makaeel Sheikh C’23
Makaeel has been working on finding more spaces on campus that can be utilized as mediation/religious
spaces for all faiths/beliefs and better advertising their locations.
Finding the Midterm Season
Lorene Tran N’25; Charlie Schumer C’24
We are gathering data on when students have the most midterms scheduled throughout the semester.
Students are often bogged down by multiple high-stress exams at once, instead of having an even-balance of
work, which causes especially stressful times in the semester. This data would be used to communicate when
students are feeling the most pressure from exams in order to ease the stress on students. Another use of this
data is to evaluate the effectiveness of the course registration deadlines, such as add/drop and pass/fail.
Building Accessibility for Students with Disabilities
Tyler McCormick C’23
Tyler has been working to ensure that all infrastructure relating to accessibility on campus is up to date and
working correctly and that students know accessible routes to enter buildings.
Equal Access to Study Guides
Bonnie Li W’25
After hearing complaints from students surrounding the issue of study guides, Bonnie has decided to gather
more information regarding the quality of study guides offered for a variety of classes, as well as whether or
not they’re equally accessible for all students within that subject. She has interviewed a number of students
from all four schools within Penn, and has found out that because some teachers do not hand out review
sheets and practice exams, students must rely on upperclassmen to find practice exams, creating unequal
access to review materials.
Professor Roundtable Discussion (CAS, SEAS, NURS)
Xavier Shankle W’24
Xavier has planned all of the logistics for a faculty forum. The event will take place in early January before
classes start and will be an opportunity for professors to engage in dialogue about their teaching practices.
The event will occur via zoom and professors will be assigned to breakout rooms based on the subject they
teach. UA Members will be placed in breakout rooms to facilitate discussion. They have the goal of getting
the professors to talk about the return to in-person learning, what they can improve on and what worked
well.
Sector Requirements Reform
Lauren Bambach C’25
Lauren has been working with the College Office to discuss the problem of limited options to fulfill the
College Sector Requirements. She learned about how courses for Sector Requirements are chosen and how
changes to Sectors can be made. She hopes to work to make it easier for students to petition for classes to
count for their requirements.
Academic Initiatives | 9

Community Engagement
and Sustainability
Daniela Uribe
Committee Director (ces@pennua.org)
The Community Engagement and Sustainability Com-
mittee (CES) focuses on Penn’s footprint in the West
Philadelphia community and the campus’ environmen-
tal footprint. This committee is more outward-facing
in purview and prioritizes initiatives that promote
social responsibility and foster good relations with
community impact-oriented student groups. Reach
out to Daniela at ces@pennua.org with questions and
suggestions.
10 | Community Engagement and Sustainability

Expanding Sustainability Initiatives in Penn Dining
Ria Saraswat W’25
Ria has been working with Penn Dining and Business Services to discuss sustainability initiatives
in various residential dining halls and other dining locations on campus. She has met with Business
Services in efforts of expanding the University’s Green2Go program to Houston Hall, as well as
creating a campaign to advertise Houston Hall’s “Choose China” option to combat the overuse of
plastic utensils. A full-fledged marketing campaign to encourage sustainable practices in dining halls
is currently under construction, with its implementation set for the second semester of the 2021-2022
school year. Ria has also been collaborating with Business Services to choose reusable items to be
given to first and second-year students during move-in.
Food @ Penn
Emma Shockley C’25
I am actively working on collecting and compiling information regarding all things food at Penn. This
will include sustainable eating options, locally-owned food and how to access this, food insecurity
resources, and how students can get involved with combatting food insecurity within the West
Philadelphia community at large (eg. donating to community fridges)
Expanding Penn-Provided Coffee Options
Collin Lovelace C’25
Collin has been working with Penn Hospitality as well as Lauder Dining to discuss expanding coffee
options in college house vending machines and to potentially utilize the Lauder cafe during its
currently non-operational hours as a hub for coffee, which may allow increased usage of the well
designed space. These changes may decrease the compensatory consumption of energy drinks or
paying for more expensive coffee at coffee shops.
Mental Health Check-Ins for Students in Quarantine
Fiona Wu SEAS’25
Fiona worked with Health & Wellness to address the impersonalness of quarantine check-in texts.
A COVID Navigator has been created for students of the University that is more personal, based off
a similar-ish web based application used for patients at the Penn Hospital. It now includes mental
health resources to students who reply that they have felt physically or emotionally worse during
quarantine, acknowledging that there are multiple definitions of wellness.
Bringing back donating meal swipes in collaboration with Swipe Out Hunger @ Penn
Fiona Wu SEAS’25
This semester, Fiona worked with Swipe Out Hunger @ Penn to bring back donating students’ meal
swipes towards food insecurity within the community, which was not available during the pandemic.
This included frequent communication and meetings with members of Swipe Out Hunger @ Penn
to give suggestions, help market the donation day, and staff the donation booth. A donation day has
been set (December 7th). Fiona looks forward to continue working with them to implement changes
next semester like increasing donation swipe amounts, booth locations, and days!
Community Enagagement and Sustainability | 11

Mandating Pre-Sophomore Advising Meeting
Arjun Marwaha C’24
Throughout the semester, Arjun has worked to introduce a mandated meeting for all Penn students
before the end of their first academic year. After regularly meeting with Career Services Executive
Director Barbara Hewitt, the proposed solution is having one pre-major advisor, one peer advisor,
and 6-7 students with said meetings every few days in April. Arjun is in the process of consulting with
freshman on the UA to increase the project’s relevance and implementation for the upcoming spring
semester.
Winter Carnival
Maya El-Shariff C’25
Maya has been working with members of cultural clubs, singing groups, and SPEC to plan an event
that embraces distinct cultural holiday traditions and talents across campus. Maya had several
distinct meetings with several groups around campus to develop the logistics for this event, and will
continue to work to plan this event for future non-COVID years.
Community Enagagement and Sustainability | 12

Dining, Housing, and
Transit
Shan Shan Liang W’24
Committee Director (dht@pennua.org)
The Dining, Housing, and Transit Committee (DHT) Com-
mittee works with administration and student groups to
address the largest and most tangible infrastructure issues
at Penn. In the midst of COVID and many unprecedented
policy changes from the University, this semester DHT had
unique opportunities for members to bring about changes.
In particular, this committee worked closely with Business
Services to expand the use of dining swipes, improve sus-
tainability initiatives in the dining halls, and increase the
value of dining plans overall. DHT also worked with Hous-
ing representatives to create new living communities and
address specific issues (amenities, sanitation, etc.) from
students living on-campus. Finally, members worked with
the transit side of Business Services to improve the function-
ality and safety of Penn Rides and provide transportation
to niche cultural groups in Philadelphia. Reach out to Shan
Shan with questions/suggestions at dht@pennua.org.
.
13 | Dining, Housing, and Transit

Dining Swipe Donations
Alex Wenig C’24
The Dining Swipe Donation project is a plan for the dining program at Penn to increase the opportunity
for students with excess dining swipes to donate as many as possible at the end of each semester. This
project’s motivation stems from the idea that if students at Penn pay the high price for a dining plan their
first two years, the money should reach its maximum potential by the end of each semester by not letting
swipes go to waste, but rather enabling them to feed those who do not have an adequate food supply in
Philadelphia.
Programming for Non-Traditional Students
Benjamin Sailors SEAS’25
As a student who deferred his enrollment for a year over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, I know
firsthand how challenging it can be adapt to high-pressure schoolwork after a year of working, research,
traveling, etc. Due to this, deferred students face challenges that traditional entrance students might not.
Whether through a steeper learning curve for academic work or the social aspect of leaving your original
group of peers and joining a new group that you could be substantially older than, these students require
support that they currently are not getting. So, I aim to create some deferred student programming during
New Student Orientation, much like how transfer and international students are given information that
can specifically benefit their populations. While deferred students are not a homogenous population, I
believe that having a support group to fall back on would greatly ease the transition to college. As well,
seminars and information could help these students know where to turn and make their Penn experience
the best that it can be.
Excused Absences for Student Athletes
Hannah Liu C’25
Hannah has been working with Robin Panzarella, a senior on the women’s lacrosse team, to have classes
at Penn include sports competitions as excused absences for student athletes. As of now, Wharton 201:
Business Communication for Impact is the first class to integrate this policy into its curriculum. Hannah
plans to help Robin and her team expand the number of classes that honor this policy during the Spring
semester.
Addressing Sanitation Concerns Across Campus
Hannah Liu C’25
Hannah has been working on addressing sanitation concerns that students have notified her about, such
as mold in the AC vents of dorms or occurrences of flooding. Throughout the semester, she has been
contacting dorm house heads to ask for more information. In a GBM, Hannah has also asked for Tori
to ask for more information about the situation during her meeting with FRES (Facilities & Real Estate
Services). Moving forward, Hannah wants to work on making resources for reporting sanitation issues
more known, since she has realized that a lack of communication between the administration and the
students regarding this topic is a major part of the issue.
High-Rise Common Room Renovation
Yash Rajani C’24
Yash Rajani has been working with Penn Residential Services and Penn Business Services to add power
outlets to common spaces, such as the rooftop lounges, and renovate common areas like the Mezzanine by
adding group study rooms, lounges, and vending services. Yash is excited to continue this project into the
spring semester and work towards newly-renovated high-rise buildings on campus!
Dining, Housing, and Transit | 14

Dining Hall Occupancy
Will Krasnow C’25
Using student swipe-in APIs (from business services) and displaying dining hall occupancy on penn
mobile (by working with penn labs).
CAPS Orientation Program
Ranim Albarkawi C’24
Ranim has been working to introduce students to the mental health services available on campus. Her goal
is to equip incoming freshmen with the information they need going forward by familiarizing students
with Student Counseling staff and the CAPS building, as well as build a workshop for existing students in
collaboration with CAPSAB, FGLI DAB and DAB.
Dining, Housing, and Transit | 15

Equity and Inclusion
Alex Eapen, C ‘24
Committee Director (ei@pennua.org)
The Equity and Inclusion Committee (EI) works to ad-
dress the needs of mis- and underrepresented groups
on Penn’s campus and in the surrounding Philadel-
phia community. This committee works alongside
groups like the first-generation low-income communi-
ty and the 7B minority coalition, as well as with rele-
vant administrative offices to identify and eliminate
barriers that impede Penn students from having an
equitable and inclusive undergraduate experience.
Projects are often related to accessibility, equity, and
sensitivity. Feel free to reach out to Alex at ei@pen-
nua.org with questions and suggestions regarding
EI’s work!
16 | Equity and Inclusion

Diversifying Mental Health Resources
Shravya Aparasu C’25; Matteo Busterna C’25; Ria Ellendula C’25
Ria Ellendula, Matteo Busterna, and Shravya Aparasu have been working on a project aimed to
diversify the counseling staff at Penn’s CAPS organization by creating a space in which a broader
pool of identities and backgrounds are represented. They are communicating with CAPS Director
of Outreach, Penn’s Minority Mental Health Initiative, along with the chairs of the respective 6B
organizations in order to create a comprehensive and attainable course of action for the 2021-2022
school year.
Wharton GSR Access across Undergraduate Schools
Matteo Busterna C’25
Matteo has been working to address disparities in resources among Undergraduates, starting with
who has access to reserving GSRs in Wharton academic buildings. Currently, students unaffiliated
with Wharton can not take advantage of over 60 study rooms. Matteo is restarting discussion on study
room access after previous UA projects sought the same goal. He is reaching out to administration to
ensure all Penn students can reserve GSR space.
Increasing the Physical Accessibility of Penn’s Campus
Chiadika Eleh SEAS’24
Chiadika has been attempting to work with Penn Accessibility groups on campus to discuss the
unfortunate issue of the inaccessibility on some physical locations of Penn’s campus. She soon hopes
to get the acknowledgment and accountability on the inaccessible areas of Penn’s campus by Penn
administration and is working towards a more convenient campus environment for every student.
Expanding the Pre-Freshman Program
Ria Ellendula, C’25
The Pre-Freshman Program (PFP) is an annual four-week summer program offered by Penn for
First-Generation, Low-income (FGLI) freshmen and freshmen of underrepresented backgrounds to
get acquainted with various aspects of the university. The program allows freshmen to move in early,
meet faculty members and other students, and take classes during summer. Many students have
cited the PFP to have offered them a great opportunity to adjust to the new campus environment.
Currently, PFP operates on an invite-only basis. However, given how impactful PFP has been for
many FGLI students, Ria is hoping to expand the program to invite more participants in the following
years. Ria is hoping to work with PennCAP to look into the logistics of PFP funding, the selection
process, housing/space during PFP, etc.
Expanding Meal Exchange
Toyosi Abu, SEAS’24 W’24
Diversifying and expanding the availability of meal exchanges.
Faculty Bias Training/Workshops
Venkatesh Shenoy, SEAS’24
Venkatesh has been working with Gary Purpura, the Associate Vice Provost for Education and
Academic Planning, to discuss the implementation of Faculty Bias Training/Workshops in the future.
A single faculty bias workshop was conducted in January 2020 on implicit bias, part of a planned
series, but this was not followed up on in the COVID-19 pandemic. Venkatesh plans to work with
Gary Purpura during the Spring Semester to begin a workshop series starting in Fall 2022, potentially
targeted to Undergraduate Chairs or College House residents.
Equity and Inclusion | 17

Need Blind Admissions for Internation Students
Prabh Dhaliwal W’24; Josias Zongo C’24 W’24
Prabh and Josias have been working with ISSS and SFRS to discuss the possibility of Penn adopting
need-blind aid for international students. This issue is becoming increasingly relevant as Brown
recently announced that it will be adopting need-blind admissions for international students over
the next four years in addition to significantly higher financial aid packages for current students.
This semester, Prabh and Josias met with SFRS to receive updates on how this issue has been
progressing. International students who weren’t on financial aid can now make the transition over if
they demonstrate need. Regarding going need blind, school officials have said that the endowment is
the main hurdle to overcome as it funds a portion of awarded aid. They were also able to gather the
support of other international student organizations through the IPOG conference and that of various
admissions officers for this initiative.
Making Club Recruitment More Equitable
Prabh Dhaliwal W’24
Prabh has been working with members of SAC and Wharton Council to make the club recruitment
process at Penn as equitable as it can be. Various implicit biases sway leaders’ decision making
without their knowing, preventing many underrepresented minorities from engaging with campus
organizations they are interested in and well-qualified to be a part of. He is hoping to address this
university-wide issue by having SAC mandate implicit bias training for all Penn club leaders. This
initiative recently gained traction as Wharton Council has now mandated implicit bias training for
Wharton club leaders. After meeting with members of SAC and Wharton Council, it’s been decided
that the mandatory training will likely be composed of various asynchronous modules and live
sessions (in-person or over zoom) where leaders have the opportunity to engage with trained implicit
bias educators and apply what they have learned. Prabh is on track to have this implemented by the
beginning of next fall’s recruitment season and will be meeting with SAC leadership to finalize details.
18 | Equity and Inclusion

Fall 2021 Administrator
Meetings
The following is a list of the meetings that
UA Exec and Cabinet had with various
administrators along with a summary
of what was discussed.
For clarity, UA Cabinet includes the
Executive Board.
Administrator Meetings | 19

UA Cabinet
cabinet@pennua.org
CAPS and Penn Wellness Leadership
On Friday, October 1st, UA Cabinet met with CAPS and Penn Wellness Leadership,
including Dr. Dubé. They discussed community spread and vaccination updates,
classroom safety, CAPS check-ins, and the new Penn Wellness structure. Penn
Wellness made it clear that COVID transmission is near zero in classroom settings.
Moreover, the new name for CAPS has become Student Health and Counseling
(SHAC).
International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS)
On Thursday, October 7th, UA Cabinet met with ISSS. They had a productive
discussion on a range of topics including need-blind aid for international students
and campus connections for international students. Moving forward, the UA will
help continue advocating for the need-blind aid, especially with the transition of the
new President.. Additionally, they hope to collaborate in increasing awareness and
involvement for Your World at Penn, a platofrm for international students to stay
connected on campus.
Business Services
On Monday, October 11th, UA Cabinet met with Business Services. They discussed mail
services, food insecurity on and off campus, WiFi problems, and digital PennCards.
Provost’s Office
On Tuesday, October 12th, UA Cabinet met with Interim Provost Beth Winkelstein,
Deputy Provost Beth Winkelstein, Vice Provost for Education Karen Detlefsen,
Associate Vice Provost for Education and Academic Planning Gary Purpura, and Vice
Provost for University Life Mamta Accapadi. Topics discussed included increased space
for cultural houses, sustainability of the social life and inclusion fund, COVID teaching
concerns, block schedule feedback, and pass/fail numbers.
Social Equity and Community Leadership
On Tuesday, October 19th, UA Cabinet met with the leadership of Social Equity and
Community. They discussed anti-racism training in NSO modules, violence on campus
& expanding restorative justice at Penn, and supporting students socially & structurally
alongside cultural centers.
UA Cabinet Administrator Meetings
20 | Administrator Meetings

Faculty Senate
On Wednesday, October 20th, UA Cabinet met with the Faculty Senate Tri-Chairs.
They followed up on the topic of block schedule feedback, and supporting students
during COVID in-person instruction.
Penn Violence Prevention (PVP)
On Friday, October 22nd, UA Cabinet met with PVP. They talked about PVP consent
circles, IFC PAVE training, and expanding restorative justice at Penn.
Career Services
On Friday, October 22nd, UA Cabinet met with Career Services. They discussed
increasing opportunities for public service, pre-grad school advising, and personalized
career advising. Moving forward, the UA hopes to help Career Services in forming
a student focus group to get advice about the Career Services website and detailed
recommendations for improvement.
Center for Teaching and Learning
On Friday, October 29th, UA Cabinet met with the Center for Teaching and Learning.
They discussed best practices for professors during the pandemic, including norms
surrounding recorded class and alternatives to professors.
President Gutmann and Interim Provost Winkelstein
On Tuesday, November 2nd, UA Cabinet met with President Gutmann and Interim
Provost Winkelstein. They followed up on funding for spaces for cultural centers,
mental health in the absence of breaks, and advocacy during the transition of the
role of President. President Gutmann discussed that it is one of her top goals to work
on raising money for ARCH by finding the right donors. She is also working with 6B
to prioritize the voice of different minority groups in the establishment of space for
cultural centers. The UA will continue to push for action and support on their side.
Penn First Plus
On Wednesday, November 3rd, UA Cabinet met with Penn First Plus. They discussed
food insecurity on campus and the grocery program and FGLI student support beyond
freshman year. Marc Lo, the Executive Director of Penn First Plus, brought up the
initiative of starting a pilot program to tackle food insecurity on campus through
sustainable allocation of resources.

Student Registration and Financial Services (SRFS)
On Friday, November 5th, UA Cabinet met with SRFS. They discussed international
student financial aid, specifically looking at how international students could be
more supported and the possibility of admissions being need-blind for international
students. Additionally, they talked about supporting middle income students. Lastly,
they discussed generalized procedural feedback, including Penn students being
expected to handle financial paperwork with little to no help, difficulty uploading forms
to the website, and lack of privacy at the SRFS office for students to discuss private
financial matters due to the cubicle design.
Executive Vice Provost
On Friday, November 12th, UA Cabinet met with the Executive Vice Provost Craig
Carnaroli. They discussed Penn’s investment practices, specifically why Penn hasn’t
divested from fossil fuels even though Penn made a statement that we recognize
climate change. Additional topics that were discussed include space for students on
campus and second-year dining.
Facilities and Real Estate Services (FRES)
On Friday, October 19th, UA Cabinet met with FRES. They discussed building
maintenance, space for cultural groups, gender neutral bathroom renovations, and
accessibility for individuals with disabilities. UA Cabinet also brought up miscellaneous
feedback and project suggestions, mainly focusing on converting unused mailrooms to
group study rooms, as well as installing lights for the walk between Houston Hall and
the Chemistry Building, as the area is often dark at night and feels unsafe.
Vice Provost of University Life
On Monday, November 29th, UA Cabinet met with the Vice Provost of University Life
Mamta Accapadi. The main points of discussion were the Cultural Resources Center
program review, which should hopefully be released sometime in Spring 2022, as
well as funding for student groups and social opportunities for sophomore and new
students, especially given that these two classes were brought to Penn in the middle of
a pandemic. Dr. Accapadi hopes to work with UA President Tori and UA Vice President
Janice to draft a letter requesting how money is being spent for different aspects of
university life, such as the 2.6 million dollars invested in establishing a new testing
center. The goal is to ensure as much transparency as possible in th emoney that is
alloacted for programming for student university life.

Contact Us
UA Cabinet and UA Member Directory
23 | Contact Us

UA Cabinet
UA Executive Board
Tori Borlase C22
President (president@pennua.org)
Janice Owusu W22 C22
Vice President (vp@pennua.org)
Carson Sheumaker W23 C23
Speaker (speaker@pennua.org)
Sarah Ramadan C23
Treasurer (treasurer@pennua.org)
Pranav Tadikonda C24
Secretary (secretary@pennua.org)
The Executive Board can be reached at exec@pennua.org
UA Cabinet
Xavier Shankle W24
Committee Director
(ai@pennua.org)
Daniela Uribe C24
Comm. Engagement & Sustainability
Committee Director
(ces@pennua.org)
Shan Shan Liang W24
Dining, Housing, and Transit
Committee Director
(dht@pennua.org)
Alex Eapen C24
Committee Director
(ei@pennua.org)
Makaeel Sheikh C23
Speaker Pro Tempore
(spt@pennua.org)
Josias Zongo W24 C24
Communitications Director
(communications@pennua.org)
UA Cabinet | 24

UA Member Directory
Name Email Address Phone Number
Xavier Shankle, Director ai@pennua.org (678) 414-1739
Tori Borlase, Exec Liaison president@pennua.org (919) 561-3863
Faith Bochert fbochert@wharton.upenn.edu (720) 202-6867
Tyler McCormick tymc@sas.upenn.edu (804) 441-0377
Caroline Li cli24@wharton.upenn.edu (781) 600-7102
Ryan Bush ryanbush@sas.upenn.edu (954) 815-3705
Keerthi Jayaraman keerthij@sas.upenn.edu (862) 371-5701
Lorene Tran tlorene@nursing.upenn.edu (314) 757-6829
Bonnie Li libonnie@wharton.upenn.edu (906) 259-3889
Charlie Schumer cschumer@sas.upenn.edu (651) 900-5061
Mikey Sheikh* msheikh@sas.upenn.edu (917) 374-1734
Lauren Bambach lbambach@sas.upenn.edu (813) 833-3928
Cody Eskandarian codye@sas.upenn.edu (914) 980-0252
Community Engagement and Sustainability
Daniela Uribe, Director ces@pennua.org (610) 715-5044
Sarah Ramadan, Exec Liaison treasurer@pennua.org (201) 620-0063
Sarah Klepsky sarahkle@nursin.upenn.edu (215) 617-0188
Summer Maher summaher@sas.upenn.edu (609) 500-2176
Gaby Montes** gmdo@sas.upenn.edu (832) 929-1633
Fiona Wu wu101@seas.upenn.edu (417) 414-0372
Emma Shockley eschock@sas.upenn.edu (850) 276-4924
Collin Lovelace cclove@sas.upenn.edu (508) 948-7421
Ria Saraswat riasaras@wharton.upenn.edu (623) 980-2940
Arjun Marwaha arjunmar@sas.upenn.edu (657) 291-4053
Maya El-Shariff mayael@sas.upenn.edu (561) 908-4046
Simone Kwee ksimone@seas.upenn.edu (919) 627-5195
Shan Shan Liang, Director*** dht@pennua.org (423) 741-6660
Pranav Tadikonda, Exec Liasion secretary@pennua.org (301) 569-3688
Carson Sheumaker, Exec Liaison speaker@pennua.org (615) 487-5858
Isabella Hassett ihassett@sas.upenn.edu (561) 573-3313
25 | UA Member Directory

Alex Wenig awenig@sas.upenn.edu (314) 309-4350
Yash Rajani*** yrajani@sas.upenn.edu (239) 776-0825
Regan Mizrahi rmizrahi@sas.upenn.edu (201) 364-5015
Joel Olujide jolujide@wharton.upenn.edu (240) 598-8211
Ananya Singhal ananyasi@seas.upenn.edu (267) 517-1132
Ranim Albarkawi ranimalb@sas.upenn.edu (267) 234-4428
Will Krasnow wkrasnow@sas.upenn.edu (914) 705-1570
Gabriella Gibson gjgibson@wharton.upenn.edu (814) 650-0536
Jacqueline Davis jacdavis@sas.upenn.edu (210) 882-0103
Hannah Liu hmliu@sas.upenn.edu (847) 830-8879
Ben Sailors bsailors@seas.upenn.edu (614) 940-9724
Alex Eapen, Director ei@pennua.org (443) 478-0505
Janice Owusu, Exec Liaison vp@pennua.org (862) 899-6719
Chiadika Eleh chiadika@seas.upenn.edu (215) 316-4541
Josias Zongo josias@sas.upenn.edu (267) 230-4478
Neha Krishnaswamy nehakris@seas.upenn.edu (201) 774-7453
Prabh Dhaliwal prabhd@wharton.upenn.edu (412) 207-8739
Ozi Amuzie oamuzie@sas.upenn.edu (510) 509-5833
Shravya Aparasu shravya@sas.upenn.edu (832) 951-3849
Matteo Busterna mpb@sas.upenn.edu (484) 401-4565
Ria Ellendula riaell@sas.upenn.edu (734) 351-3330
Venkatesh Shenoy shenoyve@seas.upenn.edu (309) 826-7751
Asaad Manzar asaad01@sas.upenn.edu (972) 955-3067
Toyosi Abu toyosia@wharton.upenn.edu (443) 518-6945
UA Member Directory | 26
Legend
* Speaker Pro Tempore
** Legal Services Coordinator
*** Budget Committee

Project Report
The following is a digest of all of the projects that
are currently being pursued by UA members. For
more information on each project, feel free to
contact the UA members listed beside that project.
If you have suggestions for UA projects,
let us know at pennua.org/suggestions.
27 | UA Project Report

Project Report
• Extra Religious Spaces - Makaeel Sheikh msheikh@sas.upenn.edu
• Finding the Midterm Season - Lorene Tran tlorene@nursing.upenn.edu, Charlie Schumer
cschumer@sas.upenn.edu
• Building Accessibility for Students with Disabilities - Tyler McCormick tymc@sas.upenn.edu
• Equal Access to Study Guides - Bonnie Li libonnie@wharton.upenn.edu
• Professor Roundtable Discussion (CAS, SEAS, NURS) - Xavier Shankle xshankle@wharton.
upenn.edu
• Sector Requirements Reform - Lauren Bambach lbambach@sas.upenn.edu
Community Engagement and Sustainability
• Expanding Sustainability Initiatives in Penn Dining - Ria Saraswat riasaras@wharton.upenn.
edu
• Food @ Penn - Emma Shockley eshock@sas.upenn.edu
• Expanding Penn-Provided Coffee Options - Collin Lovelace cclove@sas.upenn.edu
• Mental Health Check-Ins for Students in Quarantine - Fiona Wu wu101@seas.upenn.edu
• Bringing back donating meal swipes in collaboration with Swipe Out Hunger @ Penn - Fiona
Wu wu101@seas.upenn.edu
• Mandating Pre-Sophomore Advising Meeting - Arjun Marwaha arjunmar@sas.upenn.edu
• Winter Carnival - Maya El-Sharif mayael@sas.upenn.edu
• Improving Club Recruitment - Prabh Dhaliwal, prabhd@wharton.upenn.edu
• Dining Swipe Donations - Alex Wenig awenig@sas.upenn.edu
• Programming for Non-Traditional Students - Benjamin Sailors bsailors@seas.upenn.edu
• Excused Absences for Student Athletes - Hannah Liu hmliu@sas.upenn.edu
• Addressing Sanitation Concerns Across Campus - Hannah Liu hmliu@sas.upenn.edu
• High-Rise Common Room Renovation - Yash Rajani yrajani@sas.upenn.edu
• Dining Hall Occupancy - Will Krasnow wkrasnow@sas.upenn.edu
• CAPS Orientation Program - Ranim Albarkawi ranimalb@sas.upenn.edu
Project Report | 28

• Diversifying Mental Health Resources - Shravya Aparasu shravya@sas.upenn.edu, Matteo
Busterna mpb@sasupenn.edu, Ria Ellendula riaell@sas.upenn.edu
• Wharton GSR Access across Undergraduate Schools - Matteo Busterna mpb@sasupenn.edu
• Increasing the Physical Accessibility of Penn’s Campus - Chiadika Eleh chiadika@seas.upenn.
edu
• Expanding the Pre-Freshman Program - Ria Ellendula riaell@sas.upenn.edu
• Expanding Meal Exchange - Toyosi Abu toyosia@wharton.upenn.edu
• Faculty Bias Training/Workshops – Venkatesh Shenoy shenoyve@seas.upenn.edu
• Need Blind Admissions for International Students – Prabh Dhaliwal prabhd@wharton.upenn.
edu, Josias Zongo josias@sas.upenn.edu
• Making Club Recruitment More Equitable- Prabh Dhaliwal prabhd@wharton.upenn.edu
29 | Project Report

Office of Student Affairs | 200 Houston Hall
www.pennua.org

UA Mid Session Report - 49th Session

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