The February 2021 newsletter of the Undergraduate Assembly at the University of Pennsylvania provides updates on several UA projects and committees. The President's letter highlights projects focusing on issues like food insecurity, climate action, and diversity initiatives. Project highlights include efforts to address food insecurity through a grocery delivery pilot program and increasing transparency around the university's Morton crania collection. Committee spotlights give updates on supporting first-year student wellness, establishing anti-bias education, and making midterm grades more accessible. Members of the month and messages from administrative partners are also included.

1. FEB2021
UA
UNDERGRADUATE ASSEMBLY
In this issue:
• Letter from the President
• Project Highlights
• Committee Spotlights
• Member of the Month
• From Our Administrative Partners

2. Letter From The President
Mercedes Owens (C’21)
Hi Friends,
Welcome to our February Newsletter! At the beginning of the Spring semester, we released our
Mid-session Report in place of a December and January Newsletter, and we hope you enjoyed
seeing all of the initiatives that our members have been working on this year. In this newsletter,
you will find projects that we intend to complete as we complete the final months of the 48th UA
Session. There will also be information at the end about resources and upcoming events to keep in
mind.
Our members are working on a number of incredibly impactful initiatives. This session we really
prioritized projects that were high impact– and often high effort– but will ultimately lead to high
reward. This semester, we are largely prioritizing the implementation of project logistics and plan-
ning that we focused on last semester. In particular, we hope to see the following ideas come to
fruition: a Civic Engagement Town Hall hosted in collaboration with Civic House and led by UA
First Year, Carmen Harris; a pilot of a grocery delivery program to combat food insecurity in col-
laboration with PSG Steering, Penn First Plus, and Student Registration and Financial Services and
led by me; a Climate Town Hall hosted in collaboration with SSAP and led by Academic Initiatives
Committee Director, Tori Borlase; and a Diversity Conference Series hosted in collaboration with
Career Services and led by UA First Year, Daniela Uribe.
Additionally, we hope to continue a powerful collaboration with VPUL Accapadi. We hope to lever-
age her strategic plan for an internal evaluation of Penn’s prioritization of its minority communities
with a goal of seeing long term projects to completion. These projects include the sustained dona-
tion to Penn’s Black community, additional diversity within staff and faculty, required bias training
for staff, faculty and administration, and spaces for cultural centers in a central location on campus.
Lastly, we would love to see the successful implementation of a mandatory education on anti-rac-
ism, indigenous visibility, and other biases (including SES, gender identity etc.) for the 2021-2022
academic year in collaboration with NSOAI, College Housing, and the Provost’s Office and led by
UA First year Alex Eapen and me.
I want to give a genuine thanks to those of you who email me about issues that you are facing!
Please know that I elevate these concerns in spaces where I am privileged enough to have a seat.
Remember that we are here as a resource always! My email is always open (president@pennua.
org)-- I look forward to hearing your feedback!
Take care + stay safe!
Warmly,
Mercedes Owens
UA President 202-2021

3. Project Highlights
Food Insecurity | Mercedes Owens (C’21)
Based on numerous conversations with members of the FGLI community, the UA
is aware that many students across campus face food insecurity in one way or
another. Food insecurity has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Understanding that the traditional use of direct funding methods to support this
population directly impacts financial aid and has been deemed a violation of feder-
al funding guidelines, Mercedes decided to focus on developing a creative solution
to this issue.
One idea in particular has support from both Penn First Plus and the Office of
Student Affairs, and seems to be feasible in terms of legality: the idea of funding a
direct grocery delivery program to students (i.e. physical groceries instead of direct
methods like cash or a gift card).
Logistically, she believes that there could be a small pilot in collaboration with
local businesses like Giordano’s for students in Philadelphia who identify as food
insecure. Funding would be provided by the SAC Reserve Fund for this pilot. If this
program is successful, a sustainable funding source would need to be created. It is
critical to note that at no point would sensitive student data be handled by other
students. Penn First Plus has offered to assist members of SRFS with the more sen-
sitive data, while student workers could aid with logistics.
Mercedes will be meeting with Marc Lo in the coming weeks to discuss a revised
proposal with finalized logistics. This will be followed by hopefully a final meeting
with SRFS, and the hope is for this pilot to be implemented for April of the Spring
2021 semester.
UA

4. Morton Collection | Daniela Uribe (C’24)
This semester, Daniela Uribe (C’24) and Josias Zongo (C’24) have been working on
a project to repatriate the Morton Collection.
The Morton Crania collection was created by Samuel Morton, whose book Crania
Americana was later used by Hitler as justification for the Holocaust. Penn’s un-
ethical ties to this collection are unacceptable and Daniela and Josias believe there
should be more transparency around Penn’s plans for the collection in the future.
Daniela and Josias hope to establish a relationship between the UA and the com-
mittee responsible for deciding if the collection should be repatriated and what
the research uses of the collection should be in the future. In creating more trans-
parency, the undergraduate population will gain a voice in the future of this racist
collection, which they strongly believe should be repatriated.
UA

5. Committee Spotlights
Class of 2024 Wellness
Nicholas Kuo (E' 24) | Pranav Tadikonda (C'24) | Tristan Maslar (W'24)
GOAL
Pranav, Tristan, and Nick have been working on making mental health and general
wellness resources available and accessible to all students, especially for the Class of
2024 who are largely unfamiliar with existing resources.
MOTIVATION
Many first years are unaware of the multitude of resources Penn has to offer to
support students physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Noticing such
a wide gap between these resources and first years' awareness, Tristan, Nick, and
Pranav decided to provide such information, as well as brainstorm creative ways to
engage the student body.
PROGRESS
The three first years created a survey that received over 300 responses (and count-
ing). They gathered data regarding students' first semester mental health experienc-
es and plan to use this important data to advocate for increased mental health re-
sources. In addition, Nick, Tristan, and Pranav are working on a daily texting service
to reach out to students and ask how their days are going, directing them to the right
resources based on responses.
UA

6. Mandatory Education on Anti-racism and
Other Biases
Alex Eapen (C’24) | Mercedes Owens (C’21)
GOAL
Alex and Mercedes are working on establishing a mandatory component of the
first-year experience that focuses specifically on education on the topics of an-
ti-racism, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and other biases that can be
sustained through dialogues within the housing communities.
MOTIVATION
Penn welcomes students from all walks of life, so a mandatory education for
first-year students on the topics of anti-racism and other biases can help to pro-
mote civility and understanding between Penn students and the greater West
Philadelphia community, reduce the instance of discrimination and trauma to
Penn’s BIPOC communities, and give the Office of Student Conduct more lever-
age in disciplinary actions for violations of this education.
PROGRESS
Alex and Mercedes have met with representatives from the Office of College
Houses & Academic Services, New Student Orientation & Academic Initiatives,
and Office of the Provost to discuss what format this content will be most effec-
tive in and how to maximize impact in our student communities.
UA

7. Midterm Grading Timeline
Tori Borlase (C’22)
GOAL
Tori has been working on making midterm grades more accessible to students
before the drop and pass/fail deadlines for classes, ensuring that students will
be able to make important decisions equipped with the most information possi-
ble.
MOTIVATION
Because Penn does not have any specified definition of a midterm across all
four schools, and many students have alternative assignments like portfolios, it
is difficult to mandate that professors schedule midterms during a certain time.
PROGRESS
Tori has been meeting with professors to see how the academic calendar influ-
ences the timing of major assignments, and is looking to collaborate with ad-
ministrators in the hopes of pushing back the drop and pass/fail deadlines in
the future.
UA

8. Identity Inclusion
Jonathan Scotto (C’22)
GOAL
Jonathan has been working to make Penn a more inclusive environment regarding
gender, pronouns, and name pronounciation. His goal is to work with Next Gener-
ation Student Standards to implement changes into the student software that will
replace Penn in Touch in 2022.
MOTIVATION
As a member of the Student and Campus Life Committee, as well as Speaker Pro
Tempore, Jonathan wants to encourage professors, students, and Penn affiliates to
embrace the diversity of Penn student population and students’ respective identities.
PROGRESS
Jonathan has met with administrators from NGSS and Identity and Access Manage-
ment to discuss the implementation and future iterations of student systems. He has
recruited members of the UA body from C’24 and C’23 to ensure the longevity of this
project, as it will not see completion until March 2022.
UA

9. Members of the Month
Tari Clement (W’21)
Hailing from the southern state of
Georgia, Tari is a senior in the Wharton
School studying Real Estate and
Management. She is a Wharton
Representative on UA and plans on
engaging in global student life initiatives
and projects that would be directly
beneficial during the COVID-19 crisis. Tari
made significant contributions on the UA’s
Budget Committee. Her contributions
resulted in a smooth budget allocation for
the 2021-2022 academic year.
Regan Mizrahi (C’22)
Regan is a Junior studying Cognitive Sci-
ence with a Concentration in Behavioral
Economics and a minor in Consumer Psy-
chology. Regan is from Closter, NJ and is
currently serving his third year on the UA
and second term as a College of Arts and
Sciences representative. In his past work
on the UA, Regan has worked on various
academic as well as housing initiatives. Re-
gan joins Tari on the UA’s Budget Commit-
tee! Thier efforts are greatly appreciated by
our constituents!

10. From Our Administrative Partners
Unmask your Feelings – but just your feelings!
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect our overall health and wellbeing, sometimes
bringing about feelings of isolation and loneliness. To help students, faculty and staff
cope through these unprecedented times, the Wellness at Penn team is thrilled to intro-
duce Wellnest, a gamified, mindfulness app that promotes self-reflection and journaling in
a fun and creative way.
As Penn Wellness’ Penn Cares COVID-19 program reiterates, it’s critical that we all take the
time to connect, reflect, and support ourselves and one another throughout the pandemic,
and the Wellnest app is a useful tool to help.
Wellnest features the following:
• Guided Content: Wellnest’s content library offers relevant and niche topics to help
you with social isolation, productivity, happiness, spirituality, and more.
• Voice Journaling: Wellnest offers speech-to-text technology, improving the speed
and quality of your journal entries. (You can also type too!)
• Game Design: Earn Wellnest Gold for journaling and spend it in the shop to customize
your new journal!
You can download the Wellnest app on your iOS device or join Wellnest on their web-based
app!
UA

11. Preparing for life after Penn? Sign up for Financial Wellness @ Penn’s
new program: Financing Your Future!
This program is your one-stop shop for learning what you need to find a job, live on
your own, manage money, and prepare for your financial future. By joining this
Canvas site, you will be able to navigate the material at your own pace and even attend
live office hours with staff experts and our peer educators. Get a head start on adulting
now and sign up to join Financing Your Future!
UA

12. Communications Report
Undergraduate Assembly, 3417 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 898-6533 info@PennUA.org
What changes would you like to see at Penn?
Let us know at pennua.org/suggestions!
Mercedes Owens, President
Mary Sadallah, Vice President
Janice Owusu, Speaker
Nikhil Gupta, Treasurer
Carson Sheumaker, Secretary
Tori Borlase, Academic Initiatives Director
Kristen Ukeomah, Equity and Inclusion Director
Gabriela Montes, Reopening and Response Director
Sarthak Jain, Student and Campus Life Director
Pranav Tadikonda, Communications Director
Jonathan Scotto, Speaker Pro Tempore
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @PennUA | Website: PennUA.org
Next Issue Releasing in March 2021!
Produced by Pranav Tadikonda and Mercedes Owens