Electing strong student leadership is essential to making the Penn State campus a place of positive change and greater student involvement.

Next week, students can make their voices heard through participation in the Undergraduate Student Government elections.

By taking an active role in the election process, undergraduates can vote for the candidates who they think will best represent their views to the University.

The USG executives serve as the primary representatives of undergraduates to the administration. They have the authority, and consequently the responsibility, to relay students' views on issues such as tuition increases to University officials.

The president and vice president sit on the University Student Advisory Board, which represents student views to the University President. The USG president also has a non-voting seat on the University Board of Trustees, which approves all administrative decisions.

Candidates for USG president and vice president include: Tony Dutzik and Kelly Glazier; Eric Epp and Sue Donohue; Brad Haartz and Doug DeLong; Jeff McCarty and Drew Maerz; J.P. Muir and Sue Williams; Allistair Rae and David Bindseil; and James Van Horn and Denys Wilmer.

To decide which ticket to support, students have many opportunities to hear the candidates' proposals and campaign promises.

In upcoming debates, presidential and vice presidential candidates will state their platforms and answer questions from a panel of student leaders. Audience members also will be able to question the candidates.

While the first of three debates was held last night for the presidential candidates, vice-presidential candidates will square off at 7 Wednesday evening in Pollock Recreation Room.

The final debate among the full tickets will take place at 7 p.m. March 19 in 10 Sparks. Elections for USG executives will be held Wednesday, March 21.

Without leaders who care about students' issues, undergraduates cannot expect to have their needs addressed. And unless undergraduates know the USG candidates' platforms, they will not be able to select effective leaders.

By attending the debates and listening to the candidates' ideas for USG, students will have the knowledge needed to cast an intelligent vote for next year's student representation.