The International Student Council last night voted to include the Penn State Filipino Association among its members after a presentation by Elvessa Aragon, president of the association.

"It's great to be a part of ISC. We expect to benefit from our membership in ISC. As an international organization it's natural to want to be in an umbrella organization (such as ISC) for international students," Aragon (graduate-statistics) said after the meeting.

In other business, James Lynch, ISC adviser, spoke to members about a bill that protects Chinese students in the United States. The bill was vetoed by President Bush, but is expected to be overridden in Congress this week. An informational meeting for Chinese students at the University will be held from 5:45 to 7:45 p.m. tonight in 214 Boucke, Lynch said.

The Office of International Students will present information received from the federal immigration department over the past few months and is holding tonight's meeting to clarify any new developments for the University's Chinese students, said Maureen Costello, assistant ISC adviser.

Costello announced plans for the upcoming International Festival, co-sponsored by ISC and the Office of International Students. This year's festival will be from Feb. 12 to 18, she said, and will include a coffeehouse, a foreign film and a guest speaker from the United Nations. It will end with a food and cultural fair in the HUB.

Last night's meeting was the ISC's first General Assembly meeting of the semester.

Elections for new ISC officers will be held Feb. 21, said Alexander Wang, chairman of the election committee. One change in this year's applications is the inclusion of a waiver that candidates must sign to allow the Office of International Students to verify candidates as full-time students in good academic standing, Wang said.

Some candidates will not have to carry 12 credits to qualify as full- time students if they have graduate-student status, Costello said.

This year's International Volleyball Tournament will be held Feb. 3, said Abbas Aminmansour, ISC president. He added that four organizations have already registered teams and he encouraged other groups to register at $15 a team.