As a sophomore at Penn State, I served in the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA)’s First Assembly. The UPUA, Penn State’s student government, was reorganized in that year—though student government at Penn State originated sometime around 1910, though I forget the precise date.

This year’s 12th Assembly organized the first UPUA Alumni Weekend, and it provided an enjoyable chance to reunite with so many friends and faces from more than a decade ago, and to connect with today’s Penn Staters and discover what they’re working on and what sort of people they are.

I was very proud of UPUA, for instance, for just having achieved a revision to Penn State’s medical amnesty policy, ensuring that neither impaired students who need medical attention, nor their friends or bystanders who call for assistance, will be subject to prosecution. That’s a humane approach to an issue that impacts many, and it’s something I hope Pennsylvania adopts as law across the commonwealth.

Also visited The LION 90.7fm studios before heading to the Nittany Lion Inn for the UPUA Alumni Weekend’s closing dinner and remarks by Gavin Keirans, Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims, and others:

It was a good weekend. I’m not sure I’ll be attending these alumni weekends in the future, except sporadically, but I’m grateful that they’re happening.