The Marino/Connolly ticket plans to make the Undergraduate Student Government more service-oriented and will concentrate its energy on short-term goals.

Student issues are central to the ticket's campaign, said presidential candidate James Marino. Marino and vice presidential candidate Pauline Connolly plan to pursue a plan that would call for a study building open 24-hours a day, a 24-hour a day microcomputer lab, and ultimately the expansion of the HUB.

"We are just average students," Connolly said. "We know there is a need for (24-hour a day study space) because we are average students and we feel the need for it."

The Marino/Connolly ticket also plans to start a second student newspaper to compete with The Daily Collegian, Connolly said. Marino said the newspaper is intended to give students not on the Collegian an opportunity to become involved in journalism in addition to giving another viewpoint on the news. The newspaper will be completely independent of USG and will be funded by the administration in a subscription agreement similar to its agreement with the Collegian, she said.

Completely opening the University budget to stop tuition increases and improving student life are the other important aspects of the ticket, Marino said. He said the ticket will advocate an open budget by writing letters to parents, using the influence of the University alumni association, and continuing the current administration's lobbying efforts in Harrisburg.

"The alumni association is a powerful group," Marino said, indicating it could help USG in its efforts to persuade legislators to move toward an open budget. "A lot of issues tie back into the open budget."

The student life aspect of the platform includes Marino's plan to make USG a more cooperative, student-serving organization. Marino said intra-USG relations are "non-existent" and for that reason he will look to restructure the organization using the Strategic Analysis Research Team proposal, which would combine the USG Senate and USG Academic Assembly into one legislative body. However, if there appears to be a great amount of resistance to the idea, the ticket will not pursue it, he said.

"We will work within the system," he said. "There is no use in fighting something that won't be restructured."

Marino and Connolly also pledged to improve the communication within USG and between USG and the student body so students are better served by the organization. He said the widely-publicized incident in which USG President Seth Williams called for the resignation of Vice President for Student Services William W. Asbury was perceived wrongly by students because Williams had not explained his rationale to students or other members of USG.

Marino, a member of USG's business board of directors, served as public relations chairman of this year's Interfraternity Council Dance Marathon. Connolly has been a member of USG's Department of Political and International Affairs for three years.