3.16

1. THE UNIVERSITY PARK UNDERGRADUATE ASSOCIATION
The Pennsylvania State University
16th Assembly
2021 - 2022 Session
Policy #03-16
April 28th
, 2021
Be it decided by the Assembly of Student Representatives,
having been brought to the floor by 2/3rds,
a
POLICY
Addition of a Land Acknowledgement to the Meeting Agenda
Nature of the Situation:
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In the 15th
Assembly, the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) passed a
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resolution in support of a University Land Acknowledgement at Penn State. The Pennsylvania
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State University, like many other public universities, was in part established through the
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purchase of a vast amount of land that has been determined to have been stolen from a multitude
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of Indigenous tribes. Many land-grant universities, including The Pennsylvania State University,
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have benefited from the Morill Act of 1862, which granted states thousands of acres of federal
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land that paved the way for the development of large public universities—land that was mainly
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seized from Indigenous peoples.1
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Across the United States, tens of land-grant universities are acknowledging their role in the
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displacement of thousands of Indigenous peoples. By acknowledging this history, universities
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are able to begin to come to terms with the negative socioeconomic impacts that have been
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perpetuated towards Indigenous communities while committing to actively finding ways to
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reconcile with Indigenous peoples and to find ways to rectify the moral wrongs of the past. The
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1 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/history-of-education-quarterly/article/entangled-pasts-landgrant-
colleges-and-american-indian-dispossession/79E42113A0A51B21903DFB1229F7DE88/core-reader

2. UPUA has the ability to ensure that its own members be cognizant of the land that was forcibly
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taken from the Indigenous communities in Pennsylvania.
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Recommended Course of Action:
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The University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) makes the following changes
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pertaining to the UPUA Constitution as seen in [Appendix A].
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The Chair of the General Assembly meeting will recite the following statement for the Land
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Acknowledgement:
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“The University Park Undergraduate Association acknowledges that The Pennsylvania State
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University campuses are located on the original homelands of the Erie, Haudenosaunee, Lenni
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Lenape, Shawnee, Susquehannock, and Wahzhazhe Nations. It is important to acknowledge the
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history of displacement that led to Penn State’s establishment. It is crucial for us, as the
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University Park student government, to reflect and address the complicated past of exploitation
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of Indigenous peoples by our University so that we remain educated representatives of Penn
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State.”
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This is credited to the Indigenous Peoples Student Association.
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The UPUA acknowledges that the Indigenous Peoples Student Association is perpetually
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working on a living land acknowledgement that requires further research and patience and that a
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statement cannot be solidified within the governing documents for said reasoning. The statement
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made by the Chair is also subject to change depending on updates issued from the Indigenous
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Peoples Student Association.
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The following changes to the Bylaws will be made:
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Change:
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§3.2.3 The Agenda shall be set by the Speaker of the Assembly and published by the
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Secretary for public viewing at least two (2) academic days in advance of a General
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Meeting. The Agenda shall consist of:
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cl. i Call to Order, Opening Roll Call, and Announcement of Quorum.
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cl. ii Land Acknowledgement.
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cl. iii Adoption of the Agenda.
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cl. iv Adoption of the past General Meeting minutes.
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cl. v Special Presentations.
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cl. vi Open Student Forum.
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cl. vii Report by the President.
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cl. viii Report by the Vice President.
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cl. ix Liaison and Affiliate Reports.
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cl. x Old Business.
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cl. xi Caucus Breakout.
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3. cl. xii New Business.
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pt. a Elections/Appointments/Nominations/Swearing-In.
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pt. b Policies
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pt. c Bills.
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pt. d Resolutions.
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cl . xiii Report by the Chief Justice of the Judicial Board.
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cl. xiv Report by the Chief of Staff and Executive Staff.
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cl. xv Report by the Speaker of the Assembly.
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cl. xvi Committee Reports.
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cl. xvii Comments for the Good of the Order.
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cl. xviii Closing Roll Call and Adjournment.
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Change:
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All references to the 14th
Assembly will be changed to the 16th
Assembly.
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All references to the 2019-2020 school year will be changed to the 2021-2022 school
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year.
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[Appendix B]
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4. Respectfully submitted,
Aarathi Kallur
APIDA Representative
Chair of Justice and Equity
Cara Fliegel
At-Large Representative
Chair of Facilities
Steering Vote: 5/0/0
Assembly Vote: 35/0/0
Speaker of the Assembly ________________________________________________
President of the Student Body ________________________________________________
The University Park Undergraduate Association
Erin E Boas