It is a shame that the opening of a new lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and allies resource center may be put on hold until more resources become available. This situation could have easily been avoided had students been able to give their input during the planning process of the center.

Last week, concerned campus organizations met with university officials to discuss the new LGTBA Student Resource Center. The center, which is scheduled for completion before the end of the semester, does not have the additional features that the LGTBA organizations requested. The LGBTA organizations sent a proposal in early March to Penn State President Graham Spanier asking that the center include a full-time director, assistant, staff adviser, part-time graduate student assistant and part-time counselor. After the university denied the additional requests, the LGTBA organizations asked the university to put the opening of the center on hold.

On a related note, the concept of student governance came up during the recent Undergraduate Student Government election. The LGBTA organizations' current headache from dealing with a future resource center that is inadequate to their needs is an example of how student governance could have worked for both the students and the administration. Had there been a student representative from the LGBTA organizations on the planning committee for the resource center, they would have been able to address this issue before any decisions were made. In effect, they would find themselves in the difficult position they are in now.

With this is mind, we encourage student government leaders and university officials to work on implementing student governance within Penn State. While some university committees do have student members, not all are required to have student input. This should not be the case. Not only do the students bring a valuable perspective to the table, they also have a right to have a say about what goes on at their university.

Moreover, the center is a valuable resource for the university, especially one that is supposed to be committed to diversity issues and concerns. If the center's opening is stalled, it would not reflect positively on the university, and it would be a detriment to those who really need the center the most — the LGBTA community at Penn State. We encourage the LGBTA organizations to work with the university as much as possible to avoid the loss of a much-needed resource.