Two candidates contend for top student position
Bokee and O'Brien square off as USG presidential race begins

By HOPE CALDWELL
Collegian Staff Writer

Campaigning officially started yesterday for the Undergraduate Student Government candidates, and this year students will be given only two choices for presidential and vice presidential positions.

The candidates are Josh Bokee, USG Senate president, with running mate Kerith Strano, secretary general of the Penn State Model United Nations Conference 1995; and Corey O'Brien, USG Supreme Court Chief Justice, along with his running mate Kara Annechini former president of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, 10 Wolf.

Bokee said he and his running mate want to give students a new attitude toward USG. Their campaign platform contains two main points that include expanding the number of weekends of the free Loop and a program for students to evaluate their academic advisers.

"Just because your adviser may be lousy doesn't mean you have to suffer," Bokee said. He added that with the program students could evaluate their advisers, then USG would take action by working with them.

The Bokee/Strano campaign will be managed with a team effort. Bokee said they don't believe in having a campaign mananger because "when you start talking about campaign managers it gets too political."

O'Brien said their campaign will concentrate on bringing actual results to students. The major points of the O'Brien/Annechini campaign platform will be Ritenour Health Center reforms, women's rights and effective teacher evaluations.

"The bottom line of the platform is results not rhetoric," O'Brien said. He also said they are going to implement programs that other universities have successfully used.

Rob Carter, USG treasurer, is the O'Brien/Annechini campaign manager. Carter, along with the campaign's committee, works on the platform and other policies.

Last year four candidates ran for USG president, but this year with only two candidates not as many platform issues will be addressed. Ben Ehrhart, candidacy and campaigning elections commissioner, said two campaigns will make his job easier, but that wasn't necessarily good.

"This makes for an extremely polar election and it will probably be very competitive," Ehrhart said.

The next 2 weeks will consist of three debates, campaigning and stamping sessions. Stamping sessions enable the elections commission to keep tabs on the amount of money spent by each campaign, due to the $400 spending limit. Campaigns must turn in financial statements every Sunday until the March 29 election.