Three candidate tickets are competing to become the next Undergraduate Student Government president and vice president.

The candidates announced their campaigns and released their platforms yesterday for the USG elections on April 1.

The candidates are:

Rob Kampia and Beth Schneck

Kampia (senior-engineering science) is president of the Penn State National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and a former columnist for The Daily Collegian.

Schneck (junior-English) is a volunteer at the Women's Resource Center, a literacy tutor and president of the Anthropology Club.

"Activism" is the key word for this ticket, Kampia said.

"We feel that women's issues are one of the biggest issues," Schneck said.

They plan to implement a sexual assault awareness program for first-year students and push for University Health Services to provide women with a full-time gynecologist, according to their platform.

Kampia and Schneck also want the University to institute an equivalent disciplinary policy for alcohol and marijuana violations, Kampia said.

The University also needs to revamp its recycling program to manage basic materials such as newspaper, glass and aluminum cans, Schneck said.

The ticket will expand USG lobbying efforts to fight against tuition increases, Kampia said.

"We want to try lobbying more than four times a year," he said.

Jim Ryerson and Candice Anderson

Ryerson (junior-labor and industrial relations) is the USG executive assistant and was previously a USG senator. He is a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, 524 Locust Lane.

Anderson (junior-political science) is the staff coordinator for USG Legal Affairs and was the vice president for membership of Delta Gamma sorority, 10 Shulze Hall.

Ryerson and Anderson plan to focus on communication in their campaign. Communication needs to be improved inside USG, between USG and the student body and between USG and other student organizations, Ryerson said.

They would use the existing liaison system within the USG Senate to strengthen communication with student groups, Ryerson said. The USG Senate currently sends its members to the meetings of other student organizations, but the system could be improved, he added.

The ticket would establish a USG Department for Education Affordability to advocate increased state appropriations and control tuition increases, according to their platform.

They plan to initiate a student loan program, similar to one at Michigan State University, for students to get small no-interest loans from USG to do things like pay off credit card bills and buy textbooks.

Rich Schaffer and Chris Groton

Schaffer (junior-political science) was the vice president of the student government at Delaware County Campus, a liaison to the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments and is a member of ROTC.

Groton (junior-political science) is also a member of ROTC and a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, 417 E. Prospect Ave.

Schaffer and Groton will stress "action" in their campaign -- going "beyond activism," Schaffer said.

USG currently is unable to get anything done, Schaffer said. The center of their platform is to reorganize USG and combine the USG constitution and bylaws into one cohesive document, he said.

USG members need to get out and meet the students they are representing, Schaffer said, adding that many students do not even know who the USG president is.

"There are ways to overcome apathy," Schaffer said.

Many student groups can work together with USG to run programs, Schaffer said. Instead of just a few groups sponsoring a program, 10 or 20 can work together to get even more students involved, he added.

If elected, Schaffer and Groton have pledged to decline to accept the tuition break that the University gives to the USG president and vice president. They want to put the money into the USG budget to use for other student programs, Schaffer said.