At Wednesday night’s UPUA meeting, State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham kicked off the meeting with a special presentation in which she enlightened the assembly about her role as mayor and encouraged student voting and activisim within the community.
In order to communicate and share ideas with students, Goreham will be holding office hours in the University Park Undergraduate Association office on Wednesdays from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Their office is located in 314 HUB-Robeson Center.
“I have a lot of respect for [the assembly’s] energy, intelligence and commitment to the university as a whole,” Goreham said. “Our community relies on that.”
During her presentation, Goreham also expressed the importance of voting.
“I hope you are registered to vote because this is your town,” Goreham said. “You have an opportunity to speak out, and there is no downside.”
After an extensive interview process, two new freshman representatives were confirmed.
“We interviewed a number of first-year students and met a number of people who are very excited to be here,” UPUA Chairman of the Assembly Spencer Malloy said. “We are very excited to work with them.”
The newly confirmed freshman representatives, Emily McDonald (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) and Adi Krupski (freshman-engineering), each spoke for a few minutes about their interests and reasons for wanting to be a part of UPUA before the assembly voted.
“I was heavily involved in student government when I was in high school, and it was always a really big part of my life,” McDonald said.
In her new position, UPUA President Courtney Lennartz said McDonald is planning to help bring together the freshmen that are split between East Halls, Pollock Halls and South Halls.
“Emily did her research, made every effort and was president of her high school’s student government,” Lennartz (senior-health policy and administration) said. “She brought up that there was a disconnect between freshmen who are living in East, South and Pollock Halls, and she wants to bridge that disconnect.”
Krupski said he is honored to have a voice for the freshman class and is planning to help spread the word about UPUA to students.
“After meeting the freshman class, I would be honored to be able to speak with them and voice my opinion,” Krupski said. “I plan on trying to reach out to the freshmen and spread it around campus that they are always welcome here.”
In addition to the freshman representatives, UPUA confirmed Ryan Naylor as deputy director of the department of records.
“I’ve always wanted to be a part of UPUA since I first arrived on campus,” Naylor said. “I think this position is important because it is important to record minutes as accurately as possible.”
“He took minutes during a three-hour meeting,” UPUA Chair of Internal Development Dray Krishnan said. “I really support him, and I think he will be great.”
