minutes

1. UHS special presentation summary: at UHS there are various resources for students, whether it
be covid or non-covid related. It is important for you guys to get involved and speak to what you,
the student body want. Speak to us, reach out to us, let us know how we can improve our means
and resources. Furthermore, World health organization vaccines are accepted here.
Minutes:
Erin boas: chair Browne and I went to the professional attire closet this past week, they have
expanded so much, they keep getting donations, please in the next two weeks, there will be
volunteering, so please volunteer. Chair Browne has put that in the teams. The directors are very
grateful for the garment bags, so the students can take home. The student fee board me last week,
this week we will also be joining with fuel rod in the hub. Stop around in the hub to see that,
there will be stations there and the stadium. We have the website launch this week, the resource
center continues to grow, we are getting lots of resources, but if you have any you would like to
see please let me know, or the director of technology know. As one of the project extensions, we
are looking for a texting service, we are looking into that. Representative gangl and I are meeting
with the borough soon about the vaxnow campaign. I and rep. Birungi are also meeting with
people to talk about some more tabling events. I am working to expand its on us campaign, I am
meeting with the student body presidents from Pitt and temple to talk about that. I also had my
first biweekly meeting with the multicultural caucus groups this morning, and that was great,
they are holding some really great events this year and semester, so please go out. The first event
will be help by the Latino caucus, it is on September 22 and 6:30. Lastly, I wanted to make you
aware of a situation, in response to the university’s masking and vaccination, last week there was
a situation that was elevated to senior administration and police, the vice president of finance and
business came to student round table to discuss the situation and explain how to handle such
situations. So please continue the see something say something protocol, go to someone who can
help, bring it the police, etc. tomorrow I am excited to attend lion bash and the UPUA paint
night.
Najee Rodriguez: seeing no questions for president boas, I will move into my report. I want to
remind everyone to review the vice-presidential guide to meetings, it is attached to the calendar,
so please refer to that. President boas and I have been very determined to tackle student poverty,
that is something we plan to do in the future. We have met with chair kallur to discuss the follow
through with the wellness fund and that bill is coming tonight, I am planning to meet in the board
of trustees meeting. Please reach out to me anytime! I now stand for questions. We will now
move into liaison or affiliate reports.
Carter gangl: as Erin mentioned we are working with the borough, I am going to reach out to the
community outreach, and I am going to be working with them to expand the vcaxnow. I have
also been talking to people about expanding out relationships with the borough etc.
Najee Rodriguez: seeing no other liaison or affiliate reports, we will move into line-item A, I am
going to open the floor for nominations, please rise if you wish to nominate someone.

2. Joshua Reynolds: I nominate Jason Nelson
Jason Nelson: I accept this nomination
Najee Rodriguez: seeing no more nominations we will move into a speech.
Jason Nelson: I am the rep. of lion pride, the adhoc committee was created by myself in
partnership with the facilities. With covid-19 still prominent, it is creating a danger all over. For
a brief period of time, we were told things would go back to normal, but we still have to take
precautions to protect ourselves and others. There were points in the universities response that
could have been better, there were many factors that were not considered, and many
opportunities for students to have had more of a say. I believe we can do with recommending
better plans of dealing with covid-19 etc.
Najee Rodriguez: we will now open the floor for questions
Anne Marie Rounds-Sorenson: you talked a lot about the committee, do you have concrete plans
on policy etc.?
Jason Nelson: yes, I have created a plan super structure, with 3 possible outcomes of PSU
response, the three plans include mask mandates, possible zoom return, and having to move out
of dorms. We are now working on the purple plan, if the university continues with the masks, we
are working with professors and being able to have their students keep engaged etc. We are also
looking into transportation and how that should work. Recently the discussion has been about not
wearing masks outdoors, often we see people outside shoulder to shoulder without mask, and
that is potential for outbreak. The idea was raised about staggered dismissal from classes, having
professors dismiss in sections, thus allowing for students to not be as close together when
leaving, and reduce foot traffic.
Lewis Richardson: how are you going to structure the committee and incorporate feedback so the
policies etc. is representing what students really feel?
Jason nelson: the czar structure. The czars are casted with specific areas of expertise, one of
them, is the PR czar, their role is to gage students opinions, what the committee would
recommend, the university etc. anyone is welcome to come to the committee and voice their
opinions etc.
Jordan deibler: I was wondering how this would conflict with your time commitment as vice
chair of facilities?
Jason nelson: as vice chair we have been splitting your responsibilities which allows me to
allocate my time well, and get my work done for both. I do not believe this will result in an issue.
Anne Marie Rounds-Sorenson: do you have any plans to do concrete research about the spread
outdoor?

3. Jason Nelson: yes, one of the things I pride myself on the committee sis when it comes to this,
we all work together, one of the founding pieces of information was the CDC research of a place
that held an event, and there was a large amount of breakthrough infection, and even then,
throughout these few weeks, we have been looking into research and the statistics.
Cara fliegel: there is a group of our constituency expressing for their dislike in the masking
protocols, what are your plans for this?
Jason nelson: we through many ideas out there, and we are in the deliberation state. We did just
discover the groups propensity that may become disruptions to campus, so we are still creating a
set plan, but right now we are making sure we are monitoring these groups and planning to
collaborate with the university resource’s and police.
Najee Rodriguez: seeing no further questions, representative nelson, I ask that you step outside
while we deliberate and discuss your candidacy. Congratulations representative nelson, you have
been elected as: Election of the Chair of the Ad-Hoc Committee with a vote of 23-6-1 .
Vika: what are data analytics, it is the process of analyzing data, basically I look at numbers and
find trends, those conclusions can let me find the correlations, can I use this for student behavior,
based on this we think this…but we can calculate a lot from this. We can do data visualizations
with this, charts, graphs etc. I can help with that. I can also do interactive ones as well so I can do
dashboards where we can see the data change in real time. I am a bridge between the UPUA and
the student body, so I can help you design the surveys etc. to help get a feel of what is going on
and it is representative of the student body. I can help you keep track of the data, create
checkpoints etc. so now we can identify trends and add extra questions to send out a second
survey. So, I can work with you guys to help make these really appealing to everyone.
Aarthi Kallur: we finally did the wellness fund; I am really excited to be bringing this to you
guys today. I won’t go into too much detail about the nature of the situation, but we are putting
10,000 dollars to UHS this will cover any billable item in UHS docket, with the exception of lab
work, no show fees, and ambulances. In terms of some of the logistics, students when they’re
signing up with UHS, if they are concerned about the fees, they can get the option to select the
wellness fund, they will then speak with someone who will decide if they are eligible for this.
This fund works on the other side. If a student went to UHS and then find that their insurance
didn’t cover all of it, they can see if they are eligible for this as well. If they are eligible, they can
go through student care and advocacy and bursar will take it off their bill. Some extras, all
students will be eligible for this, there’s no guarantee that all students can use this, but they will
have the opportunity to see if it does work for them. The wellness funds will cover driver
licenses, work physicals and all physicals a student will need. In terms of marketing, UHS and
UPUA will share the cost, we are going to advocate this to all students, but we will have a more
targeted approach to getting students to sue this. I yield the rest of my time to the VP.
Najee Rodriguez: this has been in the works for a year now, when this first came out it was shut
down, but now it has come so far. I have been really open about my past, I have been uninsured
for a very long time, but I am now on Pennsylvania medicade, so there are many students who
are not as lucky, so this will help those who are able to go to UHS and get the help they need

4. because they cannot afford it. This is something the university has not acted on for a while. We
have discovered some really awful statistics about people who could not move forward with
getting help because they could not afford it, and this is meant to provide the alleviation for that.
This will turn a new chapter for the UPUA. This will really help students and they are predicting
it to be really helpful. There are lots of students who are out of state students and their medicade
doesn’t work here, so this will help that. This is just the beginning, getting this off the ground
and running, so its hopeful that this goes on well above out pay grade. This is equal access to all.
With that chair kallur stands for any questions
Ryan loscalzo: in committee, I brought up a question about the gender diverse care team is under
UHS, since this doesn’t cover the pharmacy and stuff, what under the gender diverse team would
this cover?
Najee Rodriguez: everything in the payment brackets of the bill is covered. So, if it is deemed
able, then it will be covered and deferred to the fund.
David Morgan: is the intention of this bill to reup this or to rely on administration to refund this?
Najee Rodriguez: there are constituencies in placed to refund the fund, we have data being
complied for us, which will then be given to another body in this university that will give
permanent funding for this. there are other alternative routes as well that we have been thinking
of.
Noah Robertson: we were talking about how this potentially could go through the office of
student aid and go through their account, so what if this does go through that and they have used
it all can they still use it?
Najee Rodriguez: yes, they can, so the office of student aid will raise the amount of student aid
they are originally given, and it will not affect their actual academic aid when it comes their
classes.
Joshua Reynolds: how are you planning on reaching out, so people know about this?
Najee Rodriguez: we have been in touch with many people, the caucuses etc. so we have been
targeting the multicultural resource centers so that people know that there are other options to
supplement their academic career. this will also be put on the newsletter at the PRCC. The
director of outreach will also be reaching out and passing on that information. We have also
invited the caucuses to the launch in the event that this passes. So there has been a
comprehensive plan about this, we have posters, emails, postcards etc. to get the word out.
Patricia Birungi: do you know if this is going to be covered by means that are not UPUA?
Najee Rodriguez: so, like the STI funding, we have a great track record of launching these things
and getting them transferred to the student fee board for greater coverage. So, we are hoping to
collect the right statistics to have this happen at the end of the year. Any other questions? Seeing
none, we will now be closing the floor for questions. We will now be moving into discussion. I

5. will now close the floor for discussion, and we will be moving into a vote by role. Bill 00216
passes unanimously.
Jordan Zaia: the judicial board didn’t meet this week, but we will meet this upcoming Monday at
6. Clerk applications are still on the website, we are going to take those on a rolling basis. The
chief justice application will go up in October or November and I will onboard whoever the
nominee is to ensure a smooth transition.
Ryan loscalzo: what is the size of the judicial branch?
Jordan Zaia: we have 3 clerks from the past cycle, and 2 applicants thus far. We aren’t going to
have a set number; we want to open the involvement to the UPUA.
Najee Rodriguez: any other questions? Seeing none we will move into reports from chief of staff
Jordan
Sarah Jordan: lion bash is tomorrow from 5-8, so please come! Masking is required the whole
time; we will have extras. Come after or between paint night! Going into our headshots, please
sign up, race is doing them for us. We talked about the director of analytics so please utilize her,
she is here to help so please reach out to her. We are signing up for the homecoming parade, so
mark your calendars, the first-year council will be there by then too. We have lots of applications
open so please tell people about them.
Emily Zimbler: I want to remind you guys to repost all of the stuff we post on our social media,
so please share it! Please sign up by tomorrow night for headshots, and if you want to work with
the PR team, please let me know!
Amy Garry: we have 55 responses which is so exciting, this is our last assembly before the
applications close, so if you know any first years, please let them know, applications close
September 10th.
Najee Rodriguez: seeing no more exec reports we will hear from speaker gibbard
Sydney gibbard: we had 25 applicants for 2 at-large positions, this was so hard to cut them down
to who we are interviewing. They will be interviewed this Sunday and we will have them for
confirmation next week. Please block of the 16th of October for retreat, if you can’t make it let
me know. We have also been working PAC to get them a rep within UPUA, and in conversations
we have decided to send them the application for a new student ID seat, and then we can take it
from there. Other than that, your external events are due the 23rd, so make sure you do 2 external
events. Next week will have legislations for IDI training, these will be mandatory. If you know
of any RSO’s please reach out them and me to see if they are interests in a seat.
Jason Nelson: is there going to be a dress code at the retreat?
Sydney Gibbard: no, it’s informal, there will be bonding activities etc. very laid back.

6. Lewis Richardson: faculty senate is meeting next week, expect to be there from 9-3 or 4. So get
permission from your professors to miss class and find out what you will be meeting. We will
have committee next Monday, so please be there.
Cara Fliegel: we will be having a meeting tomorrow, members please fill out the survey I sent
out, last week we worked on housekeeping. We look forward to having our annual what to fix
day in October, but let’s not wait till then, get thinking and contact me if you have anything.
Lakyn Meeder: meeting tomorrow, rep Robertson will be bringing a bill for us, then we will all
walk down to lion bash together. Last week we elected a civic engagement liaison, this is
someone who can facilitate constant engagement with all of our civic engagement.
Aarthi Kallur: thank you for everyone who voted yes on our bill today, in my report, I’m in
communications with global programs about Penn state PALS so please get involved with that.
We began planning for the first racial justice round table, so please reach out to me. I will be
sitting on the PRCC, meeting will start on the 15th so if you have any concerns, please reach out
to me. please take a look at the initiatives spreadsheet and add to the document. Congratulations
to our new vice chair Marie misener!
Hope Steger: for everyone in student life please check the teams for the profession attire
volunteer sheet. Committee this week is at 4:30, we will be actively working on the initiatives we
have. RedZone action week is coming up!
Steven zhang: there is a colab with the caucuses and we will be hearing from an advocate to stop
Asian hate, which is going to really great! So please come out.
Noah Robertson: if you haven’t seen the letter that was sent out asking for release of the sexual
misconduct survey. Take a peek at that. The student board is meeting, a topic is the zero-waste
bill passed last week, so please come in and speak in support about it.
Patricia Birungi: HHD covid response team, we will be having vaccination pop up clinics, they
are trying to find student volunteers, and they want to push vaccination efforts, I will send
information out about that.
Jason Nelson: we are looking for more members for the covid committee, so feel free to reach
out we will be meeting at 8 on Tuesdays.
Carter Gangl: there is currently a community oversight board that will be put into place, they will
hold the state college police accountability, they will be voted through the state college council.
They are looking for people to apply, the term is for 3 years, but if there is a reason why you
cannot serve for the full three years, they are looking to accommodate that. They are looking for
students to get involved, there is currently only one student right now, so I will be sending out
information out the community oversight board, so look out for that. We are looking for more
representation for diverse underrepresented backgrounds.
Amy Garry: tomorrow is a fundraiser at ritas for thon so please come out!

7. Najee Rodriguez: I did find the student testimonials that were sent to us, there cases were stalled,
and it is important to share these, this will now be prevented because of the bill planned tonight.
Transmale student arrives to PSU after receiving Testosterone from planned parenthood and
needs to establish care at UHS. Student is on his parents' insurance however does not receive
support from parents. There is no planned parenthood in this area to receive free care and
medication. Student has no refills on medication. He works on campus with a minimal income
which he can use to support ongoing medication through UHS pharmacy, however the student
cannot afford the expense of the first medical visit estimated at around $500 with labs.
Student presents to the counseling center admitting passing out, feeling dizzy, and smart watch
indicating a low heart rate. Counselor is extremely concerned about student and refers to UHS.
After meeting with case management student admits that her family is financially struggling and
with their high deductible plan cannot afford a medical visit. Without guaranteed payment for the
appointment student waited 3 weeks to accept an appointment at UHS, which resulted in an
immediate admission to the hospital. During summer, a student was experiencing a series of
concerning medical symptoms which resulted in several visits at UHS. The student did have
insurance coverage, but the co-pay was $60 for each visit. The student did not understand how
insurance worked and had a substantial bill. This bill then prevented the student from registering
for Spring classes of what would be her senior year. The student was unable to work her off-
campus job fall semester due to an internship and did not have funds to pay the bill. An
alternative solution was found, however due the length of time to secure funds she was unable to
get into a course she needed for graduation and graduation was pushed back.