UPUA needs to be active, not lost in piles of papers

In regards to the editorial ("Check on UPUA spending sensible," April 30) in Tuesday's Collegian, several points need to be addressed. Unlike the closed door meeting that consolidated FAB and UPAC earlier this year, The Collegian has always been welcome to come sit with UPUA.

The student body is worse off for having had their government denied fiscal flexibility to prepare programming. The students' votes will be wasted while UPUA representatives have their time tied up navigating the UPAC bureaucracy, defending projects on a one-by-one basis in allocation sessions.

Apparently, the editorial staff does not think voters are intelligent enough to hold UPUA accountable via the ballot. For the record, the "I'm pissed about this" campaign has already been subsided. No committee submitted private dinners that enriched only the UPUA members. Finally, it absolutely must be clarified that unrestricted funds raised internally paid for the Chili's dinner, not Student Activity Fee money.

Our president is not the only member of UPUA bent on change, just the most public. This is a missed opportunity to empower Penn State's student advocates.

Matthew Smith

sophomore-international politics

off-campus UPUA representative