The Althaus/Novick ticket promises to improve student life through negotiations with the administration and to create a new department in the executive branch of the Undergraduate Student Government to deal with the increasingly visible issue of University safety.

"We need to increase tolerance, safety and make the University more conducive to academics," Janyne Althaus said.

Althaus and Bill Novick said they do not foresee a need to restructure USG, though they will slightly revise the executive branch by adding a department of safety and revitalizing the existing department of human relations.

Althaus said the department will be charged with monitoring University safety efforts, promoting the safety-related aspects of existing campus organizations, and working with student advisory boards. "The department of safety is going to be a watchdog, coordinator and liaison organization," Novick said.

The department will work to "bring issues to the forefront," which Althaus cited as the key to working successfully with the University administration. She said the University's recent record on safety, which includes installing brighter lighting and creating a mobile escort service, shows that bringing issues to the University's attention and helping to mobilize its resources can be effective.

The ticket is proposing the safety department because the racial climate and similar safety issues have been increasing in importance recently. "There's been a definite change in the climate," Althaus said.

While it does not plan to restructure USG, the ticket does promise to improve the organization's internal relations, Althaus said.

Althaus and Novick promise they will be less adversarial with the University administration than the current USG executives are. "You can say no without being rude," Althaus said. "A conversant relationship . . . can allow you to look for alternatives."

Althaus and Novick said they plan to utilize this relationship to fight future tuition increases and an open budget.

"We're looking at the ramifications of opening the budget. Who is to decide if something is being misap-propriated?" she said.

Althaus said the University must look to sources other than undergraduate tuition to create revenue, adding that the University would be more amenable to such suggestions when dealing with a student government that did not "alienate" the sides.

The ticket also plans to advise the administration to reverse its decreasing emphasis on academics in favor of research, Althaus said. She said she has no statistics that indicate the University is moving in favor of research at the expense of other areas, but said some of the University's recent moves, such as changing Beam Hall to an office building, have indicated that is the case.

Althaus is co-director of the USG Department of Women's Concerns, a member of the Golden Key national honor society and has been a member of the women's concerns department for four years. Novick's experience includes his service as USG Senate Vice President since November and several semesters as a USG Pollock Halls Senator.