Gavin Keirans wants to unite the Penn State student body through the proposed All-College Cabinet, but some student leaders are worried about what the proposal means for the future of their organizations.
Keirans, the recently re-elected University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) president, said he reached out to student organizations about his proposal, an initiative he campaigned on heavily during last month's UPUA elections.
The UPUA president would facilitate the cabinet and would bring together the presidents of prominent organizations on campus to discuss student issues, but it would not be a voting portion of UPUA.
"It's supposed to foster a forum for collaborative thought and dialogue," Keirans (junior-business management) said.
One of those organizations Keirans wants to sit on the cabinet is the University Park Allocation Committee (UPAC), which allocates the student activity fee to student organizations on campus.
UPAC Chairwoman Kendra Carr said she opposes the cabinet.
"Right now a lot of this stuff is being done behind closed doors," Carr (junior-finance) said. "Student organizations need to be aware of what UPUA has in store for them next year."
Interfraternity Council (IFC) President Luke Pierce, who would be a member of the cabinet, disagreed.
"The argument of a secretive government is a complete bogus argument," Pierce (junior-economics) said. "This isn't Gavin establishing some sort of force behind him. This is a way for Gavin to be in better touch with the major organizations on campus."
Carr said she likes the idea of student leaders meeting for "open discussion, rather than UPUA having control," and she added it seems like Keirans would be willing to compromise to address her concerns. However, she said the student activity fee should be separate from student government politics.
Another opponent of the current proposal is Kayla McPherson, who, as president of the Association of Residence Hall Students (ARHS), would also sit on the cabinet.
McPherson called Keirans "very gracious" for letting her look over his initial All-College Cabinet proposal, but said she's still not satisfied with his revisions.
"He came back with a better version, but it's not good enough," McPherson (junior-international politics and medieval studies) said.
One of McPherson's main concerns is that the UPUA president would serve as chairman of the group.
"We don't want it so that the president of UPUA is the leader of this group. There shouldn't be a leader; we're all equals. There's no hierarchy to this. We're all on the same page," McPherson said. "The way it looks now, [Keirans] would still be in charge."
McPherson said she would support the cabinet if it is "completely separated from UPUA, if [Keirans] wasn't the chair and if any organization could attend."
"They've still got a long road to go before they become the official voice of the students," McPherson said of UPUA.
Keirans said student leaders in the past have united to discuss campus issues, noting the 1940s and the 1950s when a similar cabinet existed. In recent years, student leaders assembled in the Cabinet of Student Leaders (COSL). After Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims was hired, COSL was discontinued, Keirans said. Administrators chose the COSL members, Keirans said, noting this would not be the case for the cabinet.
Instead, a recently formed UPUA commission will look into which organizations should be included and the details pertaining to the cabinet.
UPUA voted at its Wednesday night meeting to create an exploratory commission to look into the logistics of creating the cabinet.
