UA Annual Report 49th Session.pdf

Annual 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 the President 3
Platform Initiatives 5
Executive Reports 9
Academic Initiatives Highlights 17
Community Engagement and Sustainability Highlights 20
Dining, Housing, and Transit Highlights 23
Equity and Inclusion Highlights 27
2021-2022 Cabinet Administrator Meetings 30
Contact Us 36
Project Report 40

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 President
Letter from the President | 3
Hello,
It has been my great honor and privilege to serve as the President of the Undergraduate Assembly
during the 49th Session. I have learned so much this year, and every day in this role I was hum-
bled as both an advocate and an individual.
As Penn transitioned back to a majority in-person year, the UA needed to be more agile, adaptive,
and communicative than ever before. I would be remiss not to mention the hard work and ded-
ication of all of our members; despite being burdened by the struggles of being a student during
the pandemic, they continued to dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to school-wide reform and
improvement. I would not have been able to lead without the support of the entire 49th Ses-
sion, and together, we worked to ensure that students would emerge from this transitional year
equipped with more resources and support from administration.
Janice and I ran on a platform focused on equity, wellness, academics, and accountability. During
our meetings with administrators we advanced this platform, and as you will read in the rest of
our annual report, so did our fellow UA members. Here are just some highlights:
Equity & Community Advancement: In meetings with administrators, we continued to demand
equity for all students, addressing issues such as the disparate treatment of students of color by
Penn Police, provided additional funding for underrepresented groups through the Social Life
and Inclusion Fund, supported the 7B groups in their advocacy efforts, and discussed how to mit-
igate Penn’s negative impact on the Philadelphia community.
Wellness & Mental Health: Throughout the school year the UA met with Penn Wellness to
communicate that students were not receiving sufficient resources when they were forced to
quarantine due to a positive COVID-19 test. We continued to promote mask distribution, more
transparent communication, options for virtual final exams, and mental health check-ins. I also
interviewed candidates for our new director of mental health services, prioritizing experience
with students of diverse backgrounds and encouraging them to hire more diverse mental health
professionals.
Academic Reform: With COVID disrupting classroom education, the UA collaborated with the
Center for Teaching and Learning to update the classroom recommendations for recording class-
es in response to students missing out on class materials while in isolation. I also worked with
student athletes to develop a policy for when students need to miss class for athletic competi-
tions. Finally, I successfully petitioned the Council of Undergraduate Deans to add Election Day
to Penn’s official list of secular holidays, allowing students to engage in their community with
more flexibility.
Administrative Accountability: All year, our session emphasized transparency and accountabil-
ity from administrators. We passed resolutions that demanded accountability for Amy Wax and
encouraged administration to address issues that impact the Penn community. In our meetings
with administrators, we continued to communicate student concerns on campus and approached
meetings with problems and solutions in order to ensure that students would be prioritized.

Letter from the President
Letter from the President | 4
Overall, the 49th Session has laid the groundwork for future sessions as Penn undergoes massive
changes. We are simultaneously (hopefully soon) emerging from the pandemic, welcoming a new
university President, and experiencing a shift in the culture of higher education in general. Our
work this session will ensure that Penn’s administration prioritizes students while these changes
occur, constantly implementing changes based on lessons learned from the past few years.
Thank you all for your constant willingness to provide feedback, be critical, and work together
with us as partners in our continuous endeavor for a better Penn experience for all students. I
cannot understate how thankful I am for the opportunity to serve in this role, and I wish every-
one the best.
Cheers, and be well,
Tori Borlase
UA President 2021-2022

Platform Initiatives
This section serves to highlight a few of the
overarching UA initiatives that were successful
during the 49th Session.
The Undergraduate Assembly is thankful
for the partnerships and collaborations that
strengthened the advocacy for these incredibly
impactful projects.
5 | 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.
Platform Initiatives | 6

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.
7 | Platform Initiatives

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.
Platform Initiatives | 8

Vice President’s Report
Janice Owusu, C’22 W’22
vp@pennua.org
The UA is chartered to represent the voices of students and student groups to the
administration and by virtue, building a bridge between these two entities. While the
President is tasked with representing students on campus, it is the responsibility of the
Vice President to serve as an advocate in addressing the concerns facing student groups on
campus as well as facilitating collaboration between these diverse groups. The Vice President
aims to accomplish these charges through coordinating and chairing UA Steering and
leading the undergraduate delegation at University Council.
UA Steering
UA Steering is comprised of 30+ of the largest, student umbrella organizations on campus.
This coalition collaboratively represents almost all of the extracurricular involvements of
undergraduates at Penn, including student government, minority coalition groups, performing
arts, policy/advocacy groups, religious life, athletics, and health and wellness. UA Steering
achieves its purpose in three ways. First, it helps steer the agenda of the UA by bringing up the
concerns that face various constituencies. Second, it serves as a forum for these student leaders
to voice their concerns directly to administrators who are invited to UA Steering. Finally, it
serves as a space which fosters collaboration between organizations working to address similar
issues.
Throughout the year, we were joined by administrators who could inform and contextualize
our discussions. These included members of the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life,
the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Executive Vice President, and Wellness at Penn, as
well as the four deans of the undergraduate schools.
My chief priorities for UA Steering were to find common goals among Steering groups and
collaborate in pursuit of them; amplify and further the current efforts of Steering groups. With
the transition of back to in-person activities this presented new issues for leaders on campus.
For this reason, UA Steering began to focus less on the missions of individual groups and more
on how to ease the adjustment back to in-person activities.
This took a large role in the way that I approached Steering this past year. It was difficult for
many groups to support students while trying themselves to navigate Penn after being gone
for nearly 2 years. I tried to motivate groups to gain their footing on campus once more. We
discussed at length how to transfer generational knowledge because we as leaders on campus
saw the gap in the education of lower classmen in how to go about Penn. I spent a lot of time
trying to connect groups to the appropriate offices. While I was doing this, I did my best to
seek out groups that seemingly went dormant after the pandemic. This became more apparent
as the year went along so, we as a group decided that we needed to revamp the steering
constitution and removed defunct groups.
Executive Reports | 9

Vice President’s Report
University Council
University Council is the highest deliberative body at Penn and serves as a forum for
students,
faculty, and staff to raise concerns and advise the senior administration regarding the
current
state of affairs of the University. The undergraduate delegation has 16 seats on the Council.
This year’s mis- and/or underrepresented student group seatholders were:
Sarah Payne, ASAP
Taryn Flaherty, APSC
Emma Zhou, AIS
Kruti Desai, DAP
Emma Glasser, FFP
Nikita Patel, HJA
Walden Green, LAMBDA
Burhan Brula, MSA
Tristan Farjado, NAP
Alexandra Brauer, TSO
Justin Arnold, UMOJA
These ten delegates, along with three UA delegates who represent the UA Presidency,
UA Vice Presidency, and UA Speakership constituted the undergraduate delegation this
year. There were various issues that were raised to the University Council this past year
from COVID guidelines, UC townhomes, recognition of Indigenous day, Technology
improvements, Cultural houses, and many other more.
Final Remarks
Continuing forward, I reflect a lot on what the student groups need on this campus. I think
there needs to be importance placed on educating underclassmen how to lead on campus.
This could include how to contact offices, to know how to apply for funding, and even the
modes of advocacy on this campus. As we settle back into in-person activities I believe there
needs to be attention dedicated to the space of Steering. I feel that this year the space was
underutilized. There is potential for greater cohesion on campus and that starts by getting
the largest communities on campus to be informed on each other’s movements.
I wish the best for the next session, I hope they do better work than those who came before
them. I am so appreciative to have been the Vice President this year, I am excited to see
what’s next.
Janice Owusu C’22 W’22
vp@pennua.org

Speaker’s Report
Carson Sheumaker, C’23 W’23
speaker@pennua.org
The speaker serves as the internal chair of the UA, overseeing committee work, social life,
and educating the UA body. My focus this year was on returning the UA back to in-person
meetings, streamlining project work, and trying to build a sense of community.
The New Normal
This year, I wanted to incorporate ideas learned from having a year online. Seeing the before
and after of a great change can help aid in growth, picking the best of both worlds. This year we
decided to include an option to join virtually, increasing overall GBM attendance. To prioritize
mental health, we opted to have some cabinet and committee meetings throughout the year
during stressful times. For similar reasons, the attendance policy was more relaxed this year,
with more exemptions being granted.
Community Building
In the past two years, the number of returning members has seen a sharp decrease due to
COVID-19. Because of that, there is a large social gap. Many members did not know each other
at the start of the year. I wanted to prioritize social life by starting the year off strong with a
very social return, and fully supporting the social committee.
Social Committee: This year, social committee chaired by Speak Pro Tempore Mikey
Sheikh worked hard to plan many UA activities. Some of the highlights were the UA dinner,
thanksgiving event, valentines day event, and karaoke night. Overall, Mikey and the social
committee greatly increased the happiness of members on the UA.
Education
Because of the decrease in returning members, there has also been a decrease in institutional
knowledge on the UA. Many did not know about prior years projects and the inner-workings
of the University. In order to combat this, I gave an in-depth presentation at the beginning of
the year to focus on this lack of knowledge. Throughout the year, we addressed this issue by
encouraging questions during cabinet open-forum and contacting individual members who
needed additional help.
Recruitment
This year, the associate member process returned to prior-COVID procedures. The main focus
this year was to recruit individuals from communities that are traditionally underrepresented
in the UA. Interviews and applications focused on what new type of knowledge an individual
could bring to the UA. Through this, and recruitment efforts from the NEC, the UA was able to
have a wide breadth of knowledge areas. In order to encourage this in future years, AMs were
fully integrated into all parts of UA life.

Speaker’s Report
Changes to Bylaws
UA Treasurer & Budget Committee Bylaw: This bylaw amendment changed the requirements
to serve as the UA treasurer and to be an elected member of Budget Committee. First, the
treasurer can no longer be on any executive board of a directly funded group of the UA. This
also applies to any member of the budget committee with the potential of an exemption being
granted by the executive board.
Passed Resolutions
Sanctions against Professor Amy Wax following racist, anti-intellectual comments: This
resolution called for the termination of Amy Wax, a transparent sanction process, public notice
of sanctions levied, and expansion of preventative measures for hate speech following her
comments made during the 2021-2022 academic year. In absence of termination, there was a
request for a suspension of Amy Wax from all teaching duties.
Carson Sheumaker C’23 W’23
speaker@pennua.org
UA Retreat Fall 2021

Treasurer’s Report
Sarah Ramadan, C’23
treasurer@pennua.org
Budget Committee:
Shan Shan Liang W’24 (shan9318@wharton.upenn.edu)
Yash Rajani C’24 (yrajani@sas.upenn.edu)
The role of the Undergraduate Assembly Treasurer is to act as the chief financial officer of the
University’s activities fund, which is derived from the General Fee. In addition, the UA Treasurer
serves on the Student Activities Council (SAC) to ensure efficient allocation of student funds. The
UA Treasurer is the resident expert on University funding for student groups.
2022-2023 Annual Budget Allocation
This year during the budget season, the UA allocated 2,922,222, which was a 8.19% increase
from last year’s figure. A 3.19% increase in addition to the 5% increase that was cut over the
pandemic was the largest increase the UA Budget has experienced in recent memory.
The largest allocations were to SAC, SPEC, and the Class Boards, receiving $1,427,389.65,
$1,233,105.94 and $146,540 respectively. The rest of the budget allocation (in order of percent
allocated) went to NSO Traditions, UA, Penn Labs, SCUE, MERT, Pre-Orientation program
financial aid, and the NEC.
The largest percent increase was made to the Class board budget, which experienced a 37.22%
increase after they presented extensive documentation about changes to their governing
structure and the need to subsidize class merchandise in efforts to increase accessibility. The
second largest increase was for the Penn Labs budget, as they cited a need for more funding to
increase capacity for their many apps that Penn students interact with every day.
Funding Steering Assembly
The Funding Steering Assembly is composed of student representatives from the most
prominent funding boards on campus. Boards met consistently to evaluate requests though
Penn Labs’ Common Funding Application (pennCFA.com). Together, we came up with ideas
to improve the PennCFA in addition to brainstorming methods to increase funding awareness
across campus. Boards invited included Social Planning and Events Committee(SPEC),
Student Activities Council(SAC), United Minorities Council(UMC), Asian Pacific Student
Coalition(APSC), UMOJA, LatinX Coalition, Lambda, Penn Association for Gender Equity,
T-Change/Intercultural Fund(now merged), Chaplain’s Faith Fund, Student Philanthropy
Council, Penn Wellness, Assembly of International Students, SSAP, ESAC, and Wharton Council.

Treasurer’s Report
UA Contingency Fund
The UA Contingency fund is the last-resort funding option for student groups. When groups
submit applications through Penn Labs’ Common Funding Application (pennCFA.com), the
have the option to request consideration by the UA Budget Committee after all other sources
have been exhausted.
Social Life Inclusion Fund
While many exclusive organizations on campus have historically been able to hold extravagant
off-campus events, students from marginalized communities typically do not have access to
these same economic means. That is where the Social Life Inclusion fund, (or SLIF) comes in.
SLIF aims to address social inequity on campus through funding social events for students of
diverse backgrounds and identities.
The first iteration of the Social Life Inclusion Fund’s board comprised of the six Penn student
government treasurers, two 7B representatives and 1 NEC-chosen constituent. Requests
received mostly were from 7B constituent groups, Intercultural Greek organizations, and
identity-based senior societies. Requests frequently included food and travel, both of which
were identified as line items that other boards do not fund. Data was collected for which events
were evaluated, which events were ultimately funded, and what type of line items were most
commonly requested. At the end of the fund, we came up with a list of suggestions for the next
2 years of the fund’s pilot as well as goals: including spreading awareness about the fund to
more groups across campus.
There is so much more I wish I could have done, but this session flew by (time flies when
you’re having fun)! I loved my time as treasurer, but I know passing the torch will be just
as rewarding. Thank you to all of the members of the 49th session for making this year so
memorable, and to everyone I’ve interacted with—I thank you as well!
Sarah Ramadan C’23
treasurer@pennua.org

Secretary’s Report
Pranav Tadikonda, C’24
secretary@pennua.org
The UA Secretary is the manager of the UA administrative businesses and services. Their role
is to keep track of UA meetings by taking attendance and minutes, acting as a liaison to Penn
Labs, and overseeing services such as Fall and Spring Airport Shuttles, Legal Services, and
more.
Airport Shuttles Committee
Hannah Liu C25 (hmliu@sas.upenn.edu)
Ben Sailors (bsailors@seas.upenn.edu
Ria Saraswat (riasaras@wharton.upenn.edu
Charlie Schumer (cschumer@sas.upenn.edu)
The Airport Shuttles Committee successfully ran the annual Fall and Spring Airport Shuttles,
where hundreds of students were able to access a cheap and efficient transportation service to
the Airport during Thanksgiving Break and Spring Break. As opposed to the costly Uber and
Lyft rides in Philadelphia, the purpose of the Airport Shuttles is to offer students a much more
financially sound option to reach Philadelphia International Airport. The Airport Shuttles
Committee is very proud and grateful to have run these shuttles successfully both times, with
collaboration and assistance from Penn Transit in Business Services.
Minutes
One of the Secretary’s main tasks is to keep a record of all meetings of the UA in the form of
detailed minutes. This academic year, detailed minutes were created for over 25 administrative
meetings, and over 20 general body meetings for the UA. These provide useful information to
future leaders on the UA for administrative stances during the 2020-2021 academic year and
how the situation has changed into the future.
Penn Labs
Penn Labs is a team of student software engineers, product designers, and business developers.
Their ultimate goal is improving the Penn community. In addition to creating 100% free high-
quality products, they give back to the Penn community by providing educational resources and
technical support.
Fall Directors:
Misty Liao (mistysl@wharton.upenn.edu)
Campbell Phalen (cphalen@seas.upenn.edu)
Spring Directors
Misty Liao (mistysl@wharton.upenn.edu)
Campbell Phalen (cphalen@seas.upenn.edu)
Hassan Hammoud (hammoudh@wharton.upenn.edu)

Secretary’s Report
Path@Penn
Starting in March 2022, Path@Penn has replaced as the main online resource to access grades,
course registration, and financial information This newer, more up-to-date website allows
students to access all their academic records with ease. Along with a new website, the course
codes have also changed from three-digit to four-digit numbers. This past session, I served
on the Path@Penn Student Advisory Board, where I shared input from student leaders that I
gathered during UA GBM’s. I worked alongside Penn Labs leadership, other student leadership
representatives, and Rob Nelson to discuss changes to the new system, and how to make the
transition as effective as possible.
Huge shout out to PennLabs, Airport Shuttles Committee, and Business Services for a great
year!
Pranav Tadikonda C’24
secretary@pennua.org

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
17 | 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
Lorene and Charlie gathered 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 throughout the semester. This data will 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. In total, they collected data on when courses have midterms for 47 of the most popular classes
across the University in all four undergraduate schools. They also found data on when other peer institutions
have their add/drop deadlines placed throughout the semester. They found that a large majority of courses
have midterms in week 8 of the semester, the last week before Spring break. Whereas Penn has their add/
drop deadline placed in week 7, only 38% of the way through the semester, the average across the Ivy League is
56.3%.
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.
Reforming College Sector Requirements
Lauren Bambach C’25
Lauren has been working to reform the College sector requirements by allowing students to petition for
classes to count for their requirements. This project aims to give students more agency over their education by
allowing them to bring classes to administration that they feel should count for these requirements. Overall,
Lauren hopes to improve the Penn educational experience.
Participation Grades
Faith Bochert C’24, Cody Eskandarian C’24
This project aims to improve participation grading policy. Our goals include: increasing professor usage of par-
ticipation grading policies that lay out expectations for students in the syllabus, are trackable all semester, and
provide students with constructive feedback.
Academic Initiatives | 18

Writing Center Advisory Board
Charlie Schumer C’24
Charlie, in partnership with SCUE, has been working to set up an advisory board for the writing seminar
that all students are required to take for graduation. There have been noted issues with the writing seminar
curriculum, mainly that the curriculum lacks specificity in preparing students for writing in their field of
interest and that the course teaches skills that students already know. The current plan is to form a writing
seminar advisory board for students to work with the writing center to address common issues. The advisory
board hopes to be a platform where students can better share their thoughts and collaborate with the writing
center to create a program that better caters to students’ needs.
Streamlining PennInTouch Official Academic Worksheets
Ryan Bush C’22
Ryan has been working with Rob Nelson and the team at Path@Penn to gain a deeper understanding of the
structural changes coming to the Official Academic Worksheet with the integration of the new system. He has
met with members of the Student Registration Office, as well, to get a sense of the practicality of altering the
Official Academic Worksheet to allow for student adaptation and editing privileges. There appears to be some
thought being put toward a submission form routed through each home school’s central office, to then be
directed toward individual major/concentration offices with the hopes of streamlining the editing process for
students across the university. The direction and future of this project will depend on the upcoming changes
that will be made to Path@Penn during the Summer 2022 and Fall 2022 sessions.
Academic Initiatives | 19

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.
20 | Community Engagement and Sustainability

Expanding Sustainability Initiatives in Penn Dining
Ria Saraswat W’25
As the University’s operations return to normalcy, Ria hopes to develop easily implementable
sustainable practices all across campus, such as the widespread use of compostable silverware and
take-out containers as well as renewing composting initiatives on campus. 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 upcoming 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
Throughout the year I have been working to compile resources regarding all things food at Penn.
This research has included subcategories such as food insecurity, sustainable eating options, ways to
support local businesses, and more. All of the resources have been compiled into one paper which will
be released in the Daily Pennsylvanian this upcoming week.
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 | 21

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.
Student Dining
Maya El-Sharif W’25
Maya has been working on a project engaging with restaurants in the area to get more student
discounts, find out currently available student discounts, and help small businesses who suffered
during the pandemic. Currently, she has been in contact with several restaurants in the area and has
been actively been creating a master list of relevant information for students. Given the changing
nature of businesses during the pandemic, Maya hopes to continue iterating this list and grow
accessibility to student discounts.
Freshman Mandated Career Services Meetings
Arjun Marwaha W’24 C’24, Maya El-Sharif W’25
Arjun and Maya have been communicating and meeting with the Career Services to stress the
importance of a mandated career services meeting in freshman year. Our work with Barbara
(Executive Director), Jamie (Sr. Associate Director of SEAS), David (Sr. Associate Director of
Wharton), and Michael (Sr. Associate Director of CAS) has strived to address the challenges of
recruiting and general stressors that Penn students gradually face as they navigate their professional
journeys. Arjun has consistently met with Barbara on this issue since November 2021; he has
outlined a plan to have more peer advisors. Maya’s active role in the project will help contribute to its
longevity at Penn over time.
Community Enagagement and Sustainability | 22

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.
.
23 | Dining, Housing, and Transit

Expansion of Dining Swipe Donations
Alex Wenig C’24, Ben Sailors SEAS’25, Ananya Singhal SEAS’24 W’24
Alex, Ben, and Ananya are currently working on a project to expand the number of excess dining swipes
students on the dining plan are able to donate at the end of each semester. He is currently working with Swipe
Out Hunger (a student-run organization which plans and executes swipe donation events) to increase the total
number of swipes Penn Dining allows students to donate each semester. This project is aimed at allowing
students with excess dining swipes to provide for food insecure individuals and feel as if their extra swipes are
not simply going to waste.
Programming for Non-Traditional Students
Ben 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 senior Penn Lacrosse player Robin Panzarella to establish an excused absence
policy for student athletes when they are attending Ivy League competitions. In the past, student athletes have
been penalized in their classes for having to miss class for a sports competition, which are often scheduled
outside of their control. This semester, Hannah and Robin have made considerable progress with the project.
One highlight of the project was Hannah speaking at UC Open Forum, where she aimed to spread awareness
about the issue and gather more administrative support. At the March CUD meeting, the deans of each school
agreed to a policy that would consist of either a letter informing professors of a needed excused absence or a
dropdown option on the course absence report. Hannah hopes that she can continue improving this policy over
the next three years.
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 Renovation & Upgrades
Yash Rajani C’24
Yash has been working with Facilities and Real Estate Services and Vending Services to add additional
amenities to the high-rise buildings on campus, such as Rodin, Harrison, and Harnwell College House. He
maintained regular communication with members of Penn’s administration to add additional vending services
for residents of the high-rise communities. Moreover, he closely worked with building architects and real
estate experts to add student feedback to renovation proposals for the Mezzanine and Rooftop Lounge areas
within the buildings. Going forward, Yash is excited to see the rollout of numerous renovations and updates to
buildings that future students may enjoy!
Dining, Housing, and Transit | 24

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).
NSO Student Counseling Workshop
Ranim Albarkawi C’24
Ranim has been working on creating a first year workshop for NSO to promote mental health resources
on campus, familiarize students with the counseling building, and open discussion about mental health
immediately upon arrival. The workshop is currently in the process of being reviewed by different members of
CAPS and NSO, to refine and implement for coming years. Each workshop is set to be led by trained student
leaders and CAPS personnel.
Walk-In Hours at Quaker Kitchen
Isabella Hassett C’23
Isabella collaborated with the Director of Business Services to implement walk-in hours at Quaker Kitchen. The
eatery previously only had the option to make reservations; however, thanks to this project, students now have
the ability to eat without a reservation at specific times.
Recruiting Student Ambassadors
Isabella Hassett C’23
Isabella, as a member of the Admissions Dean’s Advisory Board, assisted with the expansion of the student
ambassador program for the admissions office by recruiting a variety of members across campus. These
student ambassadors join the platform WISR and interact with incoming freshmen to help answer any
questions they may have about life at Penn.
Green 2 Go Collection Receptacles
Joel Olujide W’23, Gabriella Gibson W’25
Joel and Gabriella have been working with Penn Dining and Penn Sustainability to implement Green 2 Go
Receptacles in all of the college houses. This project was created after they, along with other UA members,
noticed that Green 2 Go containers were piling up in the lounges and common areas, with some spaces
holding over 30 unwashed containers. This was consistent across college houses, and to remedy this problem
they created the idea of placing easily accessible receptacles in all of the houses so students do not hold on to
their containers for long periods of time. This was an effective solution, and there was a noticeable decline
in the amount of containers in the college house common spaces. Joel and Gabriella also discussed other
sustainability efforts, such as switching from plastic to paper cups, with Penn Dining and the Dining, Housing,
and Transit Committee.
Informational Videos on Residential Services Website
Jacqueline Davis C’25
Jacqueline has been working with Hannah Liu, Regan Mizrahi, Residential Services and CHAS to discuss the
creation of informational videos to inform students of the culture, organization, and details of each college
house. She has compiled a list of items to address in the video and brainstormed ways to make the video short
and concise. These videos are still in the planning phase, though have received the green light and will likely be
added to the Residential Services website sometime in the 2022-2023 school year.
Joe’s Composting Pilot
Shan Shan Liang W’24
Shan Shan has been working with Penn Sustainability to get compostable silverware and takeout boxes in the
dining halls. Composting greatly reduces the waste and environmental footprint that Penn would have in the
community, and to start off this initiative, Penn Sustainability suggested a pilot at Joe’s Cafe. The plan is to
use compostable packaging from Panglow in the cafe. Shan Shan talked to various dining and environmental
groups to get this pilot started for the next academic year, and if it goes well, she might explore the possibility
of expanding it.

Transfer Student Community
Carson Sheumaker W’23 C’23, Regan Mizrahi C’22
Carson and Regan worked together with TSO to advocate for a transfer student community in the high rises.
After many months, this project was successful and there will be a transfer student community in one of the
high rises starting with 2022-2023.
Improve Space Accessibility on Campus
Carson Sheumaker W’23 C’23, Tori Borlase C’22
Carson and Tori worked on increasing the amount of available space on campus. After speaking with various
administrators including Dr. Gary Purpura, Laurie Hall, and Saleem Curry we have seen some improvement.
Classrooms were added to PQ booking tool. We also created a guide that lists all links to book space on campus
(~30 links). Due to the volume of links, Carson will advocate for a universal space booking tool.

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!
27 | 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 on addressing 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 has presented a discussion paper to the general body on
the matter. He has also met with administrators in both the College and Wharton to constructively discuss the
need for more study spaces for students. Next steps for Matteo include finalizing a survey that will be sent to
the student body on the state of study spaces on campus.
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 Penn Freshman Program
Ria Ellendula, C’25
The Penn Freshman Program (PFP) invites over 100 students annually to join campus early in the summer
for a 4-week program aimed to prepare students for their undergraduate journey. In its mission to support
students from various backgrounds, PFP offers an unforgettable experience that has allowed students to grow
academically and build lifelong bonds.
Because of PFP’s transformative reputation, many discussions have been centered on the prospect of
expanding the program to invite more underrepresented students. My project aims to do that. After putting
together a focus group of PFP participants and creating a survey for students, I met with the director of Penn
First Plus (P1P), Marc Lo. Marc and I discussed adding 30 more spots to PFP’s future attendees, adding a TSO/
NSO module, and looking into an application-based process in addition to the invite process for PFP.
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, on the implementation of Faculty Bias Training/Workshops. 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 gathered student feedback and suggestions on instances of faculty bias and
where to focus improvement, and he hopes this will help put in place workshops during the next academic year.
Equity and Inclusion | 28

Need Blind Admissions for International Students
Prabh Dhaliwal W’24; Josias Zongo C’24 W’24
Prabh and Josias have been working with ISSS, SRFS, and Penn Admissions to push for the implementation of
need-blind admissions for international students. This issue is becoming increasingly relevant as Brown and
Dartmouth recently announced that they will be adopting need-blind admissions for international students.
This session, Prabh and Josias met with SRFS to receive updates on how this issue has been progressing. They
also presented the issue during IPOG last November to gather support from the international community
regarding this issue. In addition, they had a great meeting in February with Dean of Admissions Whitney
Soule and Associate Dean of Admissions Elizabeth O’Connell. During this meeting, Prabh and Josias learned
that need-blind admissions for internationals is already on the table for Penn but may take time due to
the Presidential transition and financial hurdles. However, they were able to gather the full support of the
Admissions office in seeing this initiative through (pending coordination with other appropriate offices).
Prabh and Josias are planning on attending the next IPOG on March 29, 2022, in addition to meeting with
representatives from the endowment office, alumni relations office, and when feasible the incoming President’s
office to see this policy implemented as soon as possible.
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 has met with various
members of SAC and is on track to have this implemented by the beginning of next fall’s recruitment season.
Education on Anti-Racism, Anti-Bias, and Diversity
Alex Eapen C’24
A two-session project, Alex has been partnering with NSOAI, the Directors of Penn’s Cultural Centers, VPUL,
and OSA to fulfill a long-term vision of a comprehensive NSO experience for incoming Penn students which
adequately prepares them to interact, learn, and grow with the beautifully diverse Penn community in a
respectful and informed manner. This project has included laying the framework for an NSO educational
experience that begins with TAP and continues through the CHAS system to supplement as an in-person
component. An interim video is also expected to be released shortly which introduces students to the wealth of
resources available to students searching for community, whatever that may mean to them, something Alex has
also been working on with the previously mentioned groups.
Transfer Student NSO Programming
Asaad Manzar C’23
Asaad has been working with the NSOAI office to discuss the issue of transfer students’ NSO programming
needing greater specificity to transfers, so as to avoid convolution with first- and second-year orientation
programs. He has set up regular meetings with the NSOAI directors over the remainder of Spring ‘22 and
Summer ‘22 to work together and improve the tNSO program schedule. Thanks to the NSOAI’s help, tNSO
programming is expected to be revamped for 2022 and onwards.
29 | Equity and Inclusion

2021 - 2022 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 | 30

UA Cabinet
cabinet@pennua.org
Spring 2021
New Student Orientation and Academic Initiatives (NSOAI)
On Friday, February 4th, UA Cabinet met with NSOAI. They discussed implementing
a TAP Module concerning anti-racism, indigenous visibility, and other biases for
the upcoming year. They also went in-depth about vaping as a public health hazard
especially during NSO and reform for transfer student NSO to make it more inclusive
and specifically beneficial for transfer students.
Facilities and Real Estate Services (FRES)
On Friday, February 11th, UA Cabinet met with FRES. The meeting started with
discussing how FRES actually takes student feedback, particularly regarding
complaints in dorms and water filters. Other issues that were brought up included
space for cultural groups, FRES’s role in University City Townhomes, and publicizing
the extremely helpful maintenance request forms.
Business Services
On Wednesday, February 16th, UA Cabinet met with Business Services. They discussed
making more Penn stores registered as EBT/Food Stamp vendors, sending out the
dining surey for the semester, and reducing the use of plastic utensils in dining halls.
College Houses and Academic Services (CHAS)
On Friday, February 18th, UA Cabinet met with administrators from CHAS. Topics
discussed included a Residential Services and CHAS project to give video tours of Penn
dorms, education concerning anti-racism and violence prevention, and renoavting or
repurposing a number of spaces on campus.
Provost’s Office
On Thursday, February 24th, UA Cabinet met with the Interim Provost Beth
Winkelstein. They discussed cultural spaces for students, the PSG Report detailing
policy recommendations and priorities to the new Penn President, and having Election
Day recognized as a holidy for future academic years.
UA Cabinet Administrator Meetings
31 | Administrator Meetings

UA Cabinet
cabinet@pennua.org
Student Registration and Financial Services (SRFS)
On Thursday, February 24th, UA Cabinet met with SRFS. They discussed financial
aid for people with outside scholarships, registration holds due to certain financial
situations, and reducing the cost of transcript fees.
President Pritchett
On Wednesday, March 16th, UA Cabinet met with President Pritchett. They had a
productive discussion on a range of topics including the Presidential transition, having
election day as a holiday in future academic calendars, and funding for spaces for
students.
Division of Public Services (DPS)
On Friday, March 18th, UA Cabinet met with DPS. They discussed policing methods
and policies, comprehensive diversity training, and promoting safety on and off-
campus, such as when using the SEPTA.
Executive Vice President (EVP)
On Thursday, March 24th, UA Cabinet met with EVP Craig Carnaroli. Topics discussed
included having election day as a holiday in future academic calendars, creating a
universal booking tool for spaces on campus, details about the second year housing and
dining plans, and Penn’s purchase of various lands in West Philadelphia and its impact
on the community.

UA Cabinet
cabinet@pennua.org
Fall 2021
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. Topicsdiscussed 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.

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
36 | Contact

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 | 37

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
38 | 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 | 39
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.
40 | 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 | 41

• 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
42 | Project Report

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

UA Annual Report 49th Session.pdf

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