Sphinx News - April 19, 2007

From the front pages of the DP:

Jason Karsh elected UA chairman

After five hours of debate and difficult questions last night, the Undergraduate Assembly elected its executive board for the 2007-2008 school year.

The race was one of the more contested in recent history, with 10 people running for five positions. The high level of competition stands in stark contrast to last year's election, which included only one contested race for all five positions.

And though Karsh managed to beat out College junior Sarah Abroms, Karsh will have big shoes to fill.

The UA passed over 40 proposals during Wharton senior Brett Thalmann's term as chairman and brought the students Ruckus, the free music downloading service, and free copies of The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and USA Today.

But Karsh has an agenda full of plans for the fall, when he will officially begin his term.

As Thalmann prepares to hand over the reigns to Karsh, he isn't worried about his successors.

"I'm really impressed with the new board," he said. "I hope they can achieve some of their ambitious goals to reach out to students directly."

The United States Cross-Cultural requirement was approved unanimously by SAS faculty

"It was a very long process, but I'm thrilled" with the outcome, said College senior Shakirah Simley, the former chairwoman of the Undergraduate Minorities Council and a member of the task force.

Student Health to relocate, double in size

If the University administration has its way, the Student Health Services offices will be moving to a new home on 3535 Market St.

The UA, too, has been involved in the move and has been discussing the issue with the administration since the fall of 2005.

The undergraduate body's main concerns have been increased privacy, size, the development of a well-lit, comforting environment and a common entrance for all of the offices, UA Chairman and Wharton senior Brett Thalmann said.

"The need is urgent enough that this move and this change is extremely timely and should happen as soon as possible," he said.

In the meantime, the UA will work on improving Student Health hours, creating a possible transit service to the offices and increasing security, among other things, Thalmann added.

W. Lax Wins Ivy League Title!

Playing against its archrival, the women's lacrosse team won at least a share of its first Ivy League Championship since 1982, beating the No. 15 Tigers 14-10 during Senior Night at Franklin Field. The Quakers can win the league outright with a victory over Brown on Saturday.

The win, the first over the Tigers (6-5, 2-2) in 14 years, gave the No. 3 Quakers (12-1, 6-0) their first NCAA tournament bid since 1984. They would hold the tiebreaker over second-place Yale.

~Sphinx Newsie