Student government at Penn has something for everyone - whether it be in student representation, social event planning, fostering class unity, funding student groups, running elections and nominations, or improving education from a think-tank perspective. The Office of Student Life has administrative responsibility for student activities and governance, and you can find more info here. At Penn, we have six branches of student government, each dedicated to a different governance purpose. Check them out below!
Class Boards
Nominations and Elections Committee (NEC)
Social Planning and Events Committee (SPEC)
Student Activities Council (SAC)
Student Committee on Undergraduate Education (SCUE)
Undergraduate Assembly
Class Boards
Class of 2010: www.penn10.org
Class of 2011: www.penn11.com
Class of 2012: http://www.dolphin.upenn.edu/penn12/
The class boards plan social gatherings for their classes and assist the other branches of government with large-scale campus events.
Nominations and Elections Committee (NEC)
www.penn-nec.org
The Nominations and Elections Committee is the branch of undergraduate student government responsible for the administration of student government elections and the nomination of representatives for various University committees.
Social Planning and Events Committee (SPEC)
spec@specevents.net
www.specevents.net
SPEC is one of the six main student government bodies at Penn, and was founded in 1990 to develop, organize, and program campus-wide social and cultural activities for the University community. SPEC-planned events include Spring Fling, fall and spring concerts, movie screenings, speakers, the Locust Walk Crafts Fair, and art gallery shows. The group is comprised of ten committees, each with directors and from ten to one hundred members. Membership in SPEC is open to any undergraduate interested in social planning, and involvement proves to be an exciting and educational experience.
Student Activities Council (SAC)
www.sacfunded.net
sac@sacfunded.net
The Student Activities Council exists to recognize, supervise, and fund undergraduate activities at the University of Pennsylvania. SAC is funded through the Undergraduate Assembly, and is the largest branch of student government on campus. SAC represents over 220 student-run organizations in all fields of interest.
Student Committee on Undergraduate Education (SCUE)
scue@dolphin.upenn.edu
www.scue.org
The oldest existing branch of student government at the University of Pennsylvania, the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education was founded in 1965, at a time when Penn undergraduates had little control over their own education. Since its inception, SCUE has remained an autonomous and apolitical organization whose suggestions and proposals have initiated and shaped some of the most significant academic projects in Penn's history.
Undergraduate Assembly (UA)
chair@pennua.org
www.pennua.org
The Undergraduate Assembly is the elected, representative branch of student government at Penn, charged with improving life for all students through funding, services, and advocacy. The core of our work is advocating for all undergraduates to administrators, student groups, and the wider world; the UA works with everyone at Penn to deliver tangible change for students. In addition, we allocate $1.8 million to ourselves and the other five branches each year, money that eventually reaches almost every group on campus.
On a day-to-day basis, the UA is run by a 33-member General Body, comprised of 24 upperclassmen elected in the Spring and 9 freshmen elected in the fall. In addition, we are guided by UA Steering, a broad deliberative assembly of all coalitions and major undergraduate groups on campus.
