Redefining Tradition.
Adopting a fresh approach to leadership by proactively identifying areas where processes feel stagnant, outdated, or unresponsive. Instead of maintaining systems simply because “that’s how it’s always been,” this approach involves introducing new perspectives, utilizing student feedback more effectively, and exploring creative solutions to long-standing issues. This might include restructuring meeting formats to encourage participation, improving communication channels with students, or evaluating existing programs to determine how they can better serve the university community.
What can the executive branch do?
The Executive Branch can launch programs, advocate to administrators, and manage day‑to‑day student‑facing work, but it is limited by the fact that it cannot spend UPUA funds, change policy, or mandate university‑wide actions on its own. Executive initiatives must stay within what the President can directly control: creating executive teams, running outreach or education efforts, meeting with administrators, and implementing legislation that already exists. Anything that requires money, a formal policy stance, or structural change is outside executive authority and cannot be promised as an “executive‑only” campaign initiative.
Who does everything else?
The Legislative Branch, by comparison, holds the power to approve funding, pass bills, amend governing documents, and formally authorize major initiatives. Representatives decide whether UPUA will take an official position, allocate money to a project, or change internal rules. This creates a clear contrast: the Executive can act quickly and implement programs within its administrative scope, but the Legislature controls the resources and legal authority needed for larger or campus‑wide changes. In practice, this means many campaign ideas require legislative approval to become real.
Redefining
Representation
(1)
This campaign is redefining representation by committing to hosting executive office hours in public spaces in the HUB and other public places, to meet students where they are and hear what they have to say.
(2)
This campaign is redefining representation by committing to connecting with the representatives and leaders of community affiliated organization that are affiliated with the UPUA to ensure that they feel connected to and supported by the UPUA network at large- not just the legislative branch.
(3)
This campaign is redefining representation by committing to making visits to identity-based centers, academic colleges, and student organization meetings in an effort to identify the needs and wants of the student body- meeting them where they are.
The act of ensuring that the executive branch of the UPUA is accessible to the student body. Not expecting students to come to us, but meeting students where they are to best represent and benefit them.
Redefining
Transparency
The act of working to make the actions, initiatives, programs, and opportunities that exist within the UPUA are all visible and accessible to the student body. Ending the precedent that students need to have experience with or extensive knowledge about the UPUA to benefit from it.
(1)
This campaign is redefining transparency by looking into the use of pre-existing digital connections to students (Penn State Go) to better educate students on what is going on within the organization and how they can benefit from it.
(2)
This campaign is redefining transparency by looking to work with the other branches to establish an ethics code for any elected member of the UPUA. This would ensure that everyone acts in the best interest of the students, while maintaining the capacity to advocate on their behalf.
(3)
This campaign is redefining transparency by committing to creating a Public Dashboard that identifies project timelines, budget allocations, and department initiatives to align better with the standards set by The Student Fee Board, THON, and the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity (CSGD).
Redefining
Impact
The act of exercising the capabilities of the UPUA executive branch to better mobilize the UPUA in supporting students. Supporting students in their initiatives, growth, and accessibility.
(1)
This campaign is redefining impact by looking to collaborate with on-campus offices to provide optional educational sessions on “best-practices” for new executive members of any registered student organization on campus, to support and uplift other student leaders.
(2)
This campaign is redefining impact by committing to ensuring the collaboration of UPUA with other student-led representative bodies or student groups with subject-matter experience to better deploy and implement the initiatives passed by the legislative body.
(3)
This campaign is redefining impact by committing to ensuring the collaboration of UPUA with other student-led representative bodies or student groups with subject-matter experience to better deploy and implement the initiatives passed by the legislative body.