To promote messages of inclusion, diversity and respect, the University Park Undergraduate Association will lead an âEvery Person Belongs Hereâ banner campaign for the fall semester.
According to Penn State News, UPUA will hang 90 banners along sidewalks and campus walkways beginning in August.Â
The âEvery Person Belongs Hereâ campaign stems from the âYou Are Welcome Hereâ banner initiative, which started as a collaboration between the State College borough and UPUA years prior.
Lexy Pathickal, the former UPUA vice president, said the previous âYou Are Welcome Hereâ campaign served to welcome international students to the State College community.
However, the message expanded to welcome âunderrepresented and marginalized groupsâ in recent years, especially with the âEvery Person Belongs Hereâ initiative, Pathickal said in Penn State News.
New UPUA president talks about her role advocating for students
Erin Boas (junior, international politics and economics), was recently elected president of the University Park Undergraduate Association.
Image: Courtesy of Erin Boas
New UPUA president talks about her role advocating for students
Katie Moats
May 04, 2021
Erin Boas, a junior in international politics and economics, felt a range of emotions after being elected University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) president in March.
“It was very humbling,” Boas said. “You get into these areas of learning about student needs. [With] the whole process of campaigning and trying to reach out to different students and trying to find different student needs, you gain a lot of responsibility and you feel that responsibility.”
IMAGE: Penn State
“It’s like we’re laying out a welcome mat,” said Rodriguez, a sophomore who co-led the initiative while serving as the student government’s Justice and Equity Committee chair and College of the Liberal Arts representative. “The banners will be a physical representation of our University values to create a welcoming and inclusive community for all, and to promote the idea that Penn State is a family and a home for every student.”
What started a few years ago as a “You Are Welcome Here” banner initiative by UPUA in collaboration with the Borough of State College to welcome international students to campus and community has now expanded to offer a broader message of belonging and support for those from historically underrepresented and marginalized groups, according to Lexy Pathickal, immediate past vice president of UPUA and Penn State senior, who collaborated with Rodriguez on the project.
April 29 Night of Remembrance vigil to honor students who have passed away
The Night of Remembrance, seen here in a 2019 archival photo, is held annually to honor and remember students who passed away within the academic year.Image: Patrick Mansell
April 29 Night of Remembrance vigil to honor students who have passed away
April 26, 2021
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. The annual Night of Remembrance vigil will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on April 29. The vigil will be available to view remotely through a livestream provided by WPSU and also will include an in-person component, to be held on the steps of Old Main on Penn State’s University Park campus and following masking and distancing guidelines.