The USG elections will begin soon and some of you may be wondering what's it all for. "Student government is a joke," they say -- "all they do is petty squabbling among themselves," people remark.

In USG, as in any organization, disagreements arise and mistakes are made. However, do not lose faith so easily in your student government -- there's much more to USG than the headlinemaking controversies. I'd like to give some people credit where credit is due and let you, the students we represent, understand what USG does for you.

First, USG is not only a representative body, it is a service organization as well. Our Department of Legal Affairs, led by Daryl Hummel, helps hundreds of students each semester with free legal advice for problems with landlords, parking tickets, citations, etc.

These students train for an entire semester before they are added to the staff which counsels students. Our Department of Political and International Affairs, headed by Bill Bailey and Amy Dusche, worked very hard to hold the very first Penn State Model United Nations Conference last fall in which over 100 students participated.

In addition, Political Affairs brings in speakers and holds debates, like the one last semester on the presidential elections. The Department also provides workshops for students planning to study abroad to prepare them for their trip.

Next, the Department of Women's Concerns (co-directors, Janyne Althaus and Beth Stokes) holds workshops on acquaintance rape, pornography and women in the media. Every year, they hold a Take Back The Night March to alert the community to the very real problem of sexual assault.

This spring they are planning a music festival featuring women artists and are sponsoring buses to transport students, faculty and staff to the Washington D.C. March for Women's Lives on April 9th.

Our Business Department (Director Jacqui Janishek, Asst. Director Marc Barmat) runs service projects such as providing bus trips home for breaks, selling International Student ID's and running Spring Break trips to several locations. Because of the HARD work of this department, USG was in a position to immediately allocate $500 to the Veterans Organization when those students were recently in need of help.

The business department this year can also be credited with getting USG out of debt, a situation which paralyzed past administrations. Part of the credit for this also goes to Steve Lauser, USG's Treasurer, who must also handle every single expenditure which USG makes with an SOBC budget of $24,000 and business projects which sometimes require the processing of funds exceeding $65,000.

I could go on and on with more details of how the hard work of these people affect the lives of students positively every day, however my space is limited.

While the above comments were in regard to the Executive Branch of USG (headed by Seth Williams), the Legislative and Judicial Branches work equally hard. Kendall Houk and Maria Witmer, who head the USG Senate and Academic Assembly, respectively, are to be commended for their success in coordinating large and diverse bodies into productive organizations.

As a result of USG working with the administration, students are able to ride the Campus Loop later on the weekends. Women students are now provided with a full-time rape counselor in the Center for Women Students (Ms. Patricia Johnstone) and can look forward to a mobile escort service to be implemented this semester.

USG has worked with the Child Care Coalition to help establish the administration's Child Care Task Force which is charged with improving the child care facilities for students with children.

In addition, Seth Williams and myself ran on a campaign to open Penn State's budget. For decades, on and off, student government has tried to make some headway on this issue. Thanks to the hard work of Seth, Travis Parchman, John Orr and others, progress has been made for the first time.

Most of the students who put their time and energy into USG do not get paid. Many of them hold jobs in addition to their positions. Most of the students who work in student give up the aspects of student life which other students enjoy -- parties, bars, spring break trips, etc.

I am proud to work with the individuals I have spoken of here. Their unselfish commitment should be applauded by the student body, not ridiculed.

You have the right to criticize Seth and me if you disagree with us, but please do not say that the student government does not do anything for students. Too many people work too hard to be insulted in this manner by uninvolved and uninformed commentators.

I wish to mention that none of the above efforts are due solely to USG. Most of them could not be accomplished without the cooperation of other organizations on campus and without the administration.

I want to thank all of those individuals who work everyday to make Penn State a better place. Even if some students do not recognize and appreciate your efforts, I certainly do.