Advocacy group, student government and even, in its early days, "a f---ing shitshow"-- UPUA and its administrations have been labeled a variety of things since it came into existence more than three years ago.

Three years after the University Park Undergraduate Association's (UPUA) controversial start, a record voter turnout in this year's elections capped off a year of significant milestones, including nearly $140,000 total in secured funds for next year's budget.

But before recently re-elected UPUA President Gavin Keirans could lead his assembly through his first term, former student leaders fought against administrators, the media and each other in order to assimilate the organization to the Penn State community.

Rocky Start

Jay Bundy was the first student elected UPUA president, but after he was selected, he said his UPUA administration would be "a f---ing shit show." He was soon replaced by first-runner-up Jay Chamberlin because of campaign violations.

"It's sort of one of those things I have mixed emotions about," Bundy said of his comments. "On one hand, you always say, 'What if we would've taken a different approach?' But on the other hand, if we took the conventional approach, we would've gotten the conventional results."

His comments launched a Penn State controversy.

Bundy, who said he now works for a marketing company in Newark, N.J., said the only thing his administration wanted was to be the "absolute most genuine and focused student leaders" who would also have a great time and invite "the entire campus to the party."

That party began during Bundy's campaign, which he described as "an unbelievable ride."

"We had a dog out with us during the day, we were at parties at night, we were showing up at any organization that would have us," Bundy said.

Yet even before Bundy's comments, UPUA's mere existence was controversial.

After the university decided to recognize UPUA, displacing the Undergraduate Student Government (USG), many questioned whether the administration had destroyed student representation.

Nick Stathes, USG's last president, was concerned that UPUA's connection with the administration would make it more an advocacy group than a student body government.

"How legitimate is any student voice if the administrators are the ones deciding if they'll recognize it?" Stathes said. "All this talk about advocacy, it's sort of a code word for 'You don't have any power -- you don't have any governing power, so all you can do is beg to [the university].' That's not the way it should work."

Advocacy vs. Action

Deciding the way UPUA should work has been something current and former leaders have worked on for the past three years, which culminated in the organization's constitution.

Chamberlin said he focused on laying UPUA's foundations when he took office after Bundy was removed.

"I really saw myself as an interim coach for a sports team," Chamberlin said.

Hillary Lewis, the next UPUA president after Chamberlin, said there was division within the assembly before the constitution's implementation.

"When I first accepted the position, I didn't think we were going to make it through the year," Lewis said. "I didn't let people know that, but I thought we were going to be USG all over again."

She feared UPUA would fall apart.

It wasn't until UPUA passed its constitution that UPUA was able to fully devote itself to bettering the experience of Penn State students, she said.

"[Passing the constitution] was something that had to happen in order for the organization to stop dealing with internal structure issues and to start actually addressing student needs," said Frank Keller, who served as Lewis' vice president. Lewis said she now works for Barclays Capital in New York City with Keller. The duo eat lunch together weekly.

Over three years later, Chamberlin said he looks at UPUA and sees similarities to USG. Currently, UPUA has an executive, legislative and a judiciary branch, just like USG had, Chamberlin explained. But with a secured design, Chamberlin said UPUA has been able to accomplish more.

"As we've been able to see over these past three years, with each new president, UPUA has been able to do more and more things," he said.

Last year, Keirans and his assembly secured funds for free legal services, started an online student book exchange and launched a Tenant-Landlord Mediation program.

"We went from an advocacy group without any authority to a major force on campus that provides benefits for students," Keirans said. "UPUA continues to establish itself as an ever-growing part of this campus."

The Administration

As UPUA worked to develop a constitution, they struggled with administrators -- like Vicky Triponey -- to have their voices recognized.

Stathes said Triponey, the former vice president for Student Affairs, was the catalyst for USG's demise. The university created a committee to review Penn State student government and drafted UPUA, Stathes said -- and Triponey was a central figure.

"She had decided UPUA was in and USG was out," Stathes said. "They kept it incredibly shady. They kept what was going on away from students. It was being pushed down people's throats without any real debate."

That said, since UPUA's creation, the organization has evolved into a student government "that is speaking up for the students," Stathes said.

While Stathes and other former student leaders might have struggled to work with Triponey, others said they had a positive relationship with her.

"My interactions with Dr. Triponey were always very good," Chamberlin said. "She and I had a great relationship. We worked hard for the students."

Triponey resigned in September of 2007, and the university launched a search for her replacement.

Triponey could not be reached for comment. Her husband, Mike Meacham, declined comment on her behalf.

Penn State President Graham Spanier wrote in an e-mail that he did not have "anything to contribute" regarding Triponey for this article.

Keller said the vacated position in Student Affairs limited what UPUA could accomplish.

"A lot of people within Student Affairs weren't receptive to shaking things up because they didn't want to rock the boat for the next person who would permanently fill that role," Keller said.

Enter Damon Sims. Since Sims took over as vice president of Student Affairs last August, he and UPUA have developed a "strong working relationship" Keirans said.

Sims and Keirans communicate with each other at least once a week, Keirans said.

"Damon has shown respect to the student leaders and is always open to communication," Keirans said.

"UPUA and its leaders have "matured immensely in the past year," Sims wrote in an e-mail. Sims went on to write that UPUA has gained respect throughout their different constituencies.

"I am confident that UPUA's stature will continue to evolve in the coming years," Sims wrote. "I'm particularly grateful for the opportunity to enjoy a second year working in concert with Gavin Keirans. It's unusual to have the president of a student government organization serve more than a single year, and we should maximize the advantages that his continuity brings to all of us."

The Future

UPUA has come a long way since its inception. It's dealt with scandal among student leaders like Bundy and struggled with the administration during times of transition in Student Affairs.

Whether UPUA will continue to accomplish its goals remains to be seen, Keirans said

But he said he is confident that with the right leadership, it'll be able to succeed.

Looking forward, Keirans said UPUA's future depends on the student government's ability to maintain its momentum.

One of the organization's goals is to be "highly involved in all decision making" with Penn State administrators and reaching out to incoming freshman, he said.

"It's really about reaching out to the future of this university," he said.