SPEC Sound Access to Williams

[Marenco-Garcia, Gabe]

Hi Chris, 

Hope you're doing well! Now that we're getting settled in for the year, SPEC Sound had its first meeting of the semester this evening and we discussed a few things for this year related to the group's operations. One of them is access to Williams Hall as it seemed that it was a pain point for them at times. I know last year they would send over dates as they became available that they needed access for. However, there were times that their cards weren't working for a specific date or time even after ample notice. They did note that the building managers were always helpful, but they, too, were sometimes busy with other events or needs in the building. Additionally, there were times their events would go pretty late (past Houston's building hours) which made storing equipment a challenge. I know we can't give students the level of access we used to, but I'd love to figure out some potential solutions to help make this process a bit smoother both for you and them. 

Glad we're starting this conversation much earlier this year on our end! =) 

Thanks, 

Gabe

Gabe Marenco-Garcia, M.S. (they/them)

Associate Director | Office of Student Affairs

University Life | University of Pennsylvania

Please use the following link to schedule a meeting with me either in-person or virtually: https://calendly.com/marencog

 

I work and reside on the Indigenous territory known as Lenapehoking, the ancestral homelands of the Lenape people, past, present, and future.

 

[Marenco-Garcia, Gabe]

Hey Chris, 

Good to run into you today! It would be great to chat sometime this week about this. My schedule is stacked (and I'm remote most of tomorrow), so just give me a heads up on when you'd be able to come by. 

Thanks!

Gabe

---

From: Marenco-Garcia, Gabe
Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2025 6:45 PM
To: Kessler, Chris <ckes...@upenn.edu>
Cc: SPEC Sound <so...@specevents.net>; Teja Vankireddy <te...@specevents.net>
Subject: SPEC Sound Access to Williams

 

[Kessler, Chris]

Hi Gabe,

 

Yes! So sorry, had meant to stop back down in the afternoon but things kept popping up.  I am pretty open on Thursday if you are around.  I am remote on Friday.  Let me know what might be a good time to stop down.

 

-Chris

[Kessler, Chris]

Hi all,

 

I met with Gabe this afternoon and we discussed how we can improve your access experience for the coming year.  The issues we experienced last year seem to come from programming issues by the University’s access office.  Somewhere along the line the info is not being updated in the system as it changes from event to event.  I will work with them to make sure they are getting the accurate info and making the appropriate changes.  If you find that you were not able to swipe at a certain time that was requested, please email me the following information, so that we can investigate where in the process the issue is occurring:

• Name and PennCard number of the person whose card didn’t work
• Date and approximate time they tried to swipe their card
• Which door they were not able to swipe on

 

Please note that you will only be able to swipe in at the building entrance closest to your storage closet- the east exterior door, which is on the path between Houston and Williams, next to the PSA Office.

 

We will follow the same procedure we had last year for requesting access- providing us with the google spreadsheet with the information as far ahead as possible, and noting that for last-minute pop-ups the Access office needs one full business day’s notice for requests, so for a weekend request you would need to notify me no later than 3pm on Thursday.  If you have trouble swiping in, you can contact the Space & Events staff on-duty for assistance at 215-399-6019, though they are only available during our operating hours, 8am-11pm daily.

 

Any questions about anything feel free to reach out.  I look forward to working with you all this year!

 

-Chris

 

From: Marenco-Garcia, Gabe <mare...@upenn.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2025 6:45 PM
To: Kessler, Chris <ckes...@upenn.edu>
Cc: SPEC Sound <so...@specevents.net>; Teja Vankireddy <te...@specevents.net>
Subject: SPEC Sound Access to Williams

 

Hi Chris, 

[Kessler, Chris]

Hi Carol!

 

Thanks for the updated info.  I am good with highlighting the listings to confirm the requests have been processed.  I will get things set up for the event on Friday once you list the techs that will be working.  Just a reminder that for a Friday event I will need that info no later than 4pm on Thursday.

 

-Chris

 

From: SPEC Sound <so...@specevents.net>

Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2025 5:55 PM
To: Kessler, Chris <ckes...@upenn.edu>

Cc: Marenco-Garcia, Gabe <mare...@upenn.edu>; Teja Vankireddy <te...@specevents.net>
Subject: Re: SPEC Sound Access to Williams

 

Hello Chris, 

 

Thanks for the information! We have created a new spreadsheet for our Events this school year. We will update it as soon as we have confirmation for our events and our technicians. When the access is granted, would you be able to highlight the event to indicate that the request has been processed? 

Link to spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jDHuRn2-MQgrIBahUOUkx4DJdDSp49s9DAk7mdeoXGc/edit?usp=sharing 

 

Just want to give you a heads up that we have one upcoming event this Friday and would need access from 2 PM-2 AM. We will send out another email once we confirm our technicians. 

 

Thank you so much, and have an amazing day!

Best,

Carol 

--

SPEC Sound

University of Pennsylvania 

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Eevee Darling: ev...@seas.upenn.edu | 617-939-4552

Trinity Nieves: n...@sas.upenn.edu | 267-665-8355

Carol Rau: caro...@sas.upenn.edu | 626-652-5107

Instagram | Facebook |Event Request Form

[Kessler, Chris]

Hi Carol!

 

Thanks for sending this along.  Just one question- does Trinity have a last name?  I will need their name as it appears on their PennCard to submit to the access office.

 

-Chris

 

From: SPEC Sound <so...@specevents.net>
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2025 3:22 PM
To: Kessler, Chris <ckes...@upenn.edu>
Subject: Re: SPEC Sound Access to Williams

 

Hello Chris, 

 

The spreadsheet has been updated! Please let us know if you need anything else. I appreciate your help!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jDHuRn2-MQgrIBahUOUkx4DJdDSp49s9DAk7mdeoXGc/edit?usp=sharing 

 

Have an amazing day!

Best,

Carol

[Kessler, Chris]

Thanks Carol!  I submitted the access request and received confirmation that it has been processed, so the folks listed should be good to go for tomorrow night.  If anyone has issues swiping in, please let me know and forward along the following details about the issue so that I can follow up with the access office:

• Name and PennCard number of the person whose card didn’t work
• Date and approximate time they tried to swipe their card
• Which door they were not able to swipe on

Have a good event!

 

-Chris

 

From: SPEC Sound <so...@specevents.net>
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2025 3:44 PM
To: Kessler, Chris <ckes...@upenn.edu>
Subject: Re: SPEC Sound Access to Williams

 

Hello Chris, 

 

Yes, her last name is Nieves. I just added it to the spreadsheet. Thanks again!

 

Best,

Carol

[Kessler, Chris]

HI Carol,

I have submitted the request, but due to the late notice I cannot guarantee that it will be processed by the access office in time.  I will let you know what they say.

Fortunately this is during normal hours for Houston, so the staff on-duty will be able to assist with swiping you in if the access req does not go through.  I will let you know closer to 5pm if the request went through.

-Chris

---

From: SPEC Sound <so...@specevents.net>
Sent: Friday, October 3, 2025 1:08 PM

To: Kessler, Chris <ckes...@upenn.edu>
Subject: Re: SPEC Sound Access to Williams

 

Hello Chris,

We have a last minute event request for Sunday 10/5. We have updated the spreadsheet for that. We understand that it’s a last minute request for access, so if it cannot be processed, please let us know! Thank you so much and we appreciate your help!

Best,

Carol

SPEC Sound

University of Pennsylvania 

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Eevee Darling: ev...@seas.upenn.edu | 617-939-4552

Justin Duong: jud...@sas.upenn.edu  | 267-237-8211

Trinity Nieves: n...@sas.upenn.edu | 267-665-8355

Carol Rau: caro...@sas.upenn.edu | 626-652-5107

Instagram | Facebook |Event Request Form

[Kessler, Chris]

Hi Carol,

I received confirmation that the request has been processed, so you should be good to go for Sunday. I am out of office and unable to highlight the listing on the spreadsheet.

If you have trouble swiping in, you can still call the Space & Events staff on duty at 215-399-6019 for assistance. Have a good event!

-Chris

---

From: Kessler, Chris <ckes...@upenn.edu>
Sent: Friday, October 3, 2025 1:20 PM
To: so...@specevents.net <so...@specevents.net>

[Kessler, Chris]

Hi Carol,

 

I did thanks, hope you did as well!

 

I have set up your access for the new events as requested, so you should be good to go. 

 

Just an FYI, I will be away from the office from tomorrow until Tuesday, 10/28.  If you happen to have any events pop up outside of the normal open hours, you can contact my colleague Mo Wood, who is copied on this email, to make arrangements for access.  Please be sure to adhere to the usual deadlines with any requests.

 

Have a good event!

 

-Chris

 

From: SPEC Sound <so...@specevents.net>
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2025 5:53 PM
To: Kessler, Chris <ckes...@upenn.edu>
Subject: Re: SPEC Sound Access to Williams

 

Hello Chris, 

 

I hope you had a restful weekend and a good start to the week! We added two events to the spreadsheet. Thank you so much for your help, and we appreciate you!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jDHuRn2-MQgrIBahUOUkx4DJdDSp49s9DAk7mdeoXGc/edit?usp=sharing

 

Best, 

Carol

[Marenco-Garcia, Gabe]

Hello,
 
Thank you for contacting the Office of Student Affairs at the University of Pennsylvania. Due to my role with Penn's Spring Fling tradition, there will be delays in my responses to anything that is not directly tied to that event through Monday, April 20. Thank you for your patience and understanding. 

If you have questions about participating in Spring Fling as an attendee, please direct them to ex...@specevents.net and someone from the Executive Committee will promptly reply. 

 

With gratitude,

Gabe Marenco-Garcia (they/them)

Associate Director