The deadline has been set, and in two weeks University students will have a new association to replace the Undergraduate Student Government.

After hours of work and deliberation Saturday afternoon, members of USG, the Association of Residence Hall Students, the Organization for Town Independent Students and USG Academic Assembly agreed to write and pass a new constitution during the next two weeks.

Current restructuring efforts began in January when some former Executive Student Action Council members tried to dissolve the organization and then resigned from it. Since then, student leaders have been meeting on weekends to discuss the structure of the new association.

The constitution will mark the beginning of a new USG -- unofficially called the Penn State University Student Association (PSUSA).

"I want to make sure USG is dissolved before I get out of office and something better is in place," said USG President Chris Saunders.

PSUSA would put all organizations under one heading to provide a more powerful and productive organization, with ARHS and OTIS as its foundation.

Although ARHS and OTIS would continue their current services, the groups would be called the town and campus assemblies. All senators would be assembly members based on their constituency.

Senators would still have their old duties, but there will "be a slight division internally," with town senators on town assembly and campus senators on campus assembly, said ARHS Vice President Jim Stephens.

Other assembly members would be popularly elected as area representatives and the assembly presidents will be elected internally. Senators, who would make up a congress, would elect the overall congress president. Each assembly would also have representatives who would not sit on the congress as non-voting members.

The president would sit on both assemblies and "has to have a good perspective of what everybody wants," Saunders said.

The Council of Commonwealth Student Governments, the Graduate Student Association and the student representative to the University Board of Trustees will be offered positions in PSUSA. Currently they do not want to be lumped under PSUSA's banner, and instead may be part of an executive roundtable, said Saunders, but added that he does not know what the roundtable will be.

Although each group will be self-administrating, it will be more effective with everyone working closer together, said Town Senator Josh Bokee. The administration is more likely to work as a unified organization, he added.

One concern among student leaders at the meeting was where the recently formed Communities Coalition will fit into PSUSA.

The coalition was formed last weekend by representatives of underrepresented groups and several organizations currently on ESAC. The coalition is an advisory board that will eventually replace ESAC.

Mark Shiner, Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Student Alliance political co-director, said the coalition does not want to be a part of PSUSA because it would be "silenced" by having to go through the organization to get things done. Some coalition members also think PSUSA would deal with a lot of the issues that don't concern them.

Marisa Mayeski, director of the USG Women's Affairs Department, said it is a "sticky issue," but the coalition needs to know why it should be involved. Trust needs to be formed between the two groups, she said.

Continuity also concerns PSUSA. An environment has to be created so senators will "stick around," said Senate Staff Director Tracy Farmer. The structure, as it stands now, causes frustration because it is hard to get things done, she added.

"At the first restructuring meeting, there were 40 to 50 people, and now we're down to eight. There's a problem with commitment," she said.

The last link in the new plan is the treasury. The USG Business Department would have an all-inclusive treasury, although the town and campus assemblies would make budget requests.

Each group would have a treasury representative, but there would be an overall treasurer accountable for where all money is spent.

Having clarified many of the details, the restructuring group will spend the next week writing a new constitution and the week after passing it.

"We are under a deadline now. Remember we are doing this because we care about students," Mayeski said.