Go vote

There is an organization on the second floor of the HUB called the Undergraduate Student Government, or more affectionately USG -- maybe you've heard of it.

Today many of the members of this group, including its president and vice president, are going to be elected.

Regardless of whether students think much of USG, or even think of it at all, a few facts about the group remain. By tonight a new USG president and the vice president will be elected whether or not the majority of students vote.

And once elected, the administration will turn to these students as representative of the student voice. The USG president will be only one of three students officially recognized by the University Board of Trustees at its meetings. These student leaders will most likely be the ones who travel to the state capital and lobby for more student funding.

And perhaps the most important point of all, the USG president and vice president will receive stipends equal to 100 percent and 80 percent of in-state tuition, respectively.

If you choose not to vote for who is going to represent you -- to the administration, the Board of Trustees and in Harrisburg -- at least vote for your pocketbook.

The president and vice president are not the only students being elected today. Students can vote for their USG senators to represent them in USG's legislative branch. Also, on-campus students can vote for their representatives to the Association of Residence Hall Students and, in some cases, their area presidents.

And for the first time, students can vote for the people who allocate their general funds and the much-debated student activity fee. Although the fee is a done deal for the next 25 years, you can have a say how it is distributed by casting our vote for the people who distribute it.

If you live in the fraternities, vote in the HUB or at Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, 328 E. Fairmount Ave. Other off-campus students can cast their votes in the HUB, at the Student Book Store, 330 E. College Ave., and at the University Gates at the corner of Allen Street and College Avenue.

On-campus students must vote in their living area. Voting can be done in students' respective common areas. Students living in Center Halls can vote in either Simmons Hall or McElwain Hall, and students living in South Halls also can vote in Atherton Hall.

You can listen to The Daily Collegian Board of Opinion, when it tells you to vote for Michael Landsberg and Brent Barbe and not to vote for Jaime Desmond and John Polk.

Or you can look at the voter's guide in this paper, read the fliers, banners and thousands of handbills cluttering the campus today and decide for yourself.

Or you can seek out the candidates themselves and ask them why they deserve your vote. They've all said they wanted to get more student input to represent the real student concerns -- what better time to test them?

Or you can vote for whoever you think has the best name and most creative slogan.

Whatever criteria you choose, just vote. If you don't, tomorrow morning will come and you will have forfeited your right to vote for the office that hits closest to home and can affect your life at the University the most.

You can spend the rest of the year complaining about USG or ignoring it, but today is your one chance to do something about it.