USG presidential election attracts numerous candidates

Looking around the room at the information session for Undergraduate Student Government presidential and vice presidential candidates last night, the USG Elections Commissioners realized they had their work cut out for them.

Eight pairs of students applied for candidacy and a place on the ballot. Not counting a possible write-in campaign, the commission must monitor the actions of 16 students for the next two-and-a-half weeks.

Although Head Commissioner Angelo Annese said some adjustments will have to be made, he is happy to see so many students taking an interest in the elections.

"It gives students an opportunity to really be represented," Annese said. "The tickets represent a good cross-section of students."

The tickets are:

• Wesley Bowser/Mark Wilders
  

• Jason Covener, director of USG department of the political and international affairs/Jeremy Nightingale, treasurer of Penn State Young Americans for Freedom
  

• Jaime Desmond, USG chief of staff/John Polk, vice president of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, 215 HUB
  

• Thane J. Fake, former Student Government Association president at the York Campus/Blythe D. Barron
  

• Darin Loccarini, president of Students Reinforcing Adherence In General Heterosexual Traditions/Christopher D. Pirrotta
  

• Michael Landsberg/Brent Barbe
  

• Blaine Rummel, vice president of Delta Phi fraternity, 515 E. Beaver Ave./Kendra Ciesla, Senate Appointments Review Board chair
  

• Hank Saur, Jazz Club president/Christina Robbins, USG town senator

"We weren't taking that into consideration," Annese said. "When I was reserving the rooms, I took what was available."

Regulating the activities of the individual campaigns will have increased importance as well.

"There will be a lot more campaigning going on and there will be more a lot more violations," Campaigning and Candidacy Commissioner Todd Waltman said.

Even students not directly affected by the campaigns will feel the effect of the increased number of tickets. Each campaign can use up to 8,000 sheets of paper, according to the USG Elections Code. But Waltman said 64,000 sheets is less than what was used last year, when there was no limit on the number of sheets.

The debates will also be adjusted to allow for equal speaking time for all candidates, but the length of time of the debate itself will remain the same, Debates and Publicity Commissioner Tracy Greca said. Some of the two-minute responses may be reduced to one or one-and-a-half minutes, and the crossfire section may be removed from the second debate.

"We're afraid that we'll lose the attention of the audience," Greca said. "We're going to tell the candidates that they have to be very concise."

Overall, the eight tickets could help the commission achieve its goal of increasing voter turnout.

"These people will be recruiting people to help so it will make people aware of what's going on," Voting and Tallying Commissioner Laura C. Taylor said. "We're already preparing ourselves for more voter turnout."