The Lesbian/Gay Student Alliance endorsed the Janyne Althaus/ Bill Novick Undergraduate Student Government presidential ticket Monday after its annual candidate night, in which representatives of four tickets answered questions and explained platform positions to LGSA members.

LGSA Secretary Brian McKernan said yesterday that LGSA decided its endorsement after considering the candidates' views and knowledge of a variety of campus and lesbian and gay issues.

LGSA chose to endorse Althaus and Novick because "they work well as a team" and displayed a balanced platform with a great deal of experience, McKernan said. Althaus/Novick also garnered support within LGSA because they have no plans to de-emphasize the University Student Advisory Board, a group whose main duty is to advise the University president on major campus issues. LGSA gained a seat on USAB early last month, calling it the only institutional means available to communicate the concerns of gay men and lesbians to the Univeristy administration.

"All the candidates were supportive of gay and lesbian concerns, but it seemed some candidates were not as informed as Althaus and Novick," McKernan said.

McKernan cited Althaus/Novick's reluctance to "cloud other issues with the open budget" as another criterion for LGSA's endorsement.