When I ran for the UPUA last year, I made a promise that I would advance the interests of the Schreyer Honors College and Schreyer students within the forum of our student government. I’ve done a lot in this respect, but one of the things I’m most proud of is my work to get the 19-credit surcharge fee eliminated. In July 2023, the Board of Trustees adopted a proposal from President Bendapudi to attach an additional fee of about $800 to each credit a student takes above 19 credits. I’m a double major myself, and I know that Schreyer students are some of the people most likely to be punished by a surcharge discouraging academic excellence. In fact, it was a Schreyer student at Penn State on scholarship who first brought this issue to the attention of the UPUA.
To get this surcharge repealed and to help students pay tuition in the meantime, the UPUA adopted a series of resolutions and bills designed around spreading awareness of the policy and its harms. If you’d like to read more on this topic, Assembly Bill 12-18 and Resolution 07-18, passed on October 4th and November 8th respectively, provide more details on the subject. You can access our minutes at the link https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JdxTfgDS7YYV-GwvutH0qDsIlIifRZbP, and you can email me if you’d like to go over the textual content of each piece of legislation.
Of course, in the 19th Assembly I aspire to create new programs and do new things to help Schreyer students, not just focus on the repeal of bad old policies. Here’s a list of things that I plan to do in the 19th Assembly.
Items I’m already working on:
• Create a transfer guide for Penn State change-of-campus students transitioning to University Park
• Publicize and expand Lion Surplus’ annual electronics recycling program
• Create a Living Learning Community for neurodivergent students at Penn State
Items I want to accomplish:
• Increase the number of students with access to Thanksgiving/Winter Break UPUA Lyft subsides to and from the State College Airport
• Expand the Penn State Sustainability Summit
• Whatever ideas you have! I can be contacted at cdg5413@psu.edu.
If you’d like to see these ideas implemented and if you’re satisfied with my performance as Schreyer Honors College Representative in the 18th Assembly, I’d very much appreciate your vote on March 27th.