The meeting on October 30 began with a presentation from Cheryl Zeljak who spoke about the Student Parent Child Care Subsidy. This program helps fund childcare for Penn State student parents and is funded through student fees and a national grant. Cheryl spoke on the eligibility requirements for the program as well as outlined her goals to spread awareness of the program to student parents on campus.
In executive office reports, President Claire Kelling spoke about the importance of quorum and how it is needed at each meeting in order to conduct business. She also touched on her recent meeting with the Dean of the Graduate School and the progress being made in regard in regard to the leave of absence policy. Vice President Charles spoke about the PSU Votes steering committee and its efforts to increase student voter turnout.
In New Business, four new delegates were confirmed by unanimous consent. Katy Gerace, Samantha Staskiewicz, Emily Lesher, and Frank Ross are each excited about joining the association and hope to make positive contributions through their positions. The Town Hall, which will take place on December 9th, was approved with unanimous consent. This event will be held to gather feedback from graduate and professional students and encourage more conversation around difficulties they face. A resolution was also passed by unanimous consent in support of holistic application review and abolishing the GRE requirement for the Graduate School at Penn State.
In Reports, Speaker of the Assembly Terry Torres Cruz congratulated the committees for their hard work this year and encouraged them to keep improving. The committees each updated the assembly on their upcoming plans, particularly focusing on the annual Winter Gala. Tickets are on sale now!