Who do I think should be Undergraduate Student Government president and vice president? I have been observing USG for the last three years and am just an average student who's entitled to his opinion. Neither of the two upstanding candidates this year do I think should be USG president. They both fit into the traditional white-male oppressor model who couldn't give a damn about doing anything constructive for this institution or its students. Why has there been such low voter turnout at such a large university? Why is there so much apathy? Sorry guys, the rest of us are really not interested in the length of your resumes.

We, the thinking student body, won't go to a poll to vote for a lawyer who is promising to sue the administration for us! Whether you're going to win us free Loop or free pot, we don't give a flying fig, and we don't want an attorney. What we are looking for is a visionary, a leader. We want someone who's going to give this institution a reputation for something other than how much alcohol we consume (which isn't a bad thing, but it can seem a bit superficial). Getting wasted is cool, and it's certainly preferable to bickering and arguing on the second floor of the HUB about a range of topics that don't mean jack shit to Penn State students.

Why doesn't USG have any power? Because in order to have it, they have to have the wide-scale student backing they don't want. They want a tight clique unified by secret societies so they can micro-manage who gets in and who stays out. Nobody who desires change wants anything to do with that kind of club. We need someone who is going to unite the student body, someone who is willing to include everyone in the student government at the expense of losing the novelty of Penn State president recommendations. We need someone who can motivate the bodies of 38,000 individuals on the Old Main lawn to light candles and sing, "I'd like to buy Joab a Coke," just because it's a cool thing to do.

And really guys, the issues just keep re-occurring. I'm convinced that once the new president takes office, he (I use the masculine pronoun only because I haven't seen a female president) doesn't do anything, to ensure that next year's candidate has issues to champion. Women's issues? Doesn't anyone find it a bit disturbing that these candidates consistently uphold America's immature treatment of women by picking a pretty face to run on their ticket? I mean no disrespect to female vice presidential candidates, past or present, but you have been, traditionally, overshadowed and dominated by the ego of your respective running mate (at the debates, at least). Why isn't Strano running for president? She's the only female candidate I've seen in these last years who's shown a little life! Why don't we be the first university to attack the root of the problem for women, the American female image? Let's not continue to play society's game of touting the chastity women are supposed to have and treating them like objects in every aspect of our lives. Crime? This is fortunately not the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race. Perhaps we wouldn't have as much crime if we tried to create an atmosphere at this institution where its members could mature naturally rather than relish in their immaturity. There are things to be done about crime, but shouldn't that come from the administration? If the students want something done, the student government should reach out to all students and unite them to take action, not cut everyone off in the same old elitist ruling class/working class governmental relationship we've seen since the dawn of time.

I don't have the answers and neither do our two candidates this year, nor in any years past for that matter. I wish just once we could get a politician to say, "You know, that's a real good question, but I don't have a nine-second sound bite for it. Perhaps we could get some folks together, get some beers, and try to find an answer." When are we going to stop playing immature games and start treating each other like human beings? I hope whoever wins will abolish the USG Senate and declare himself imperator, just to demonstrate the power trip he's so obviously on.