Two tickets recently announced their candidacy for president and vice president of the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments for the 2001-2002 academic year.

Presidential candidate Kristopher Ankarlo (junior-political science) and vice presidential candidate Maribeth Collins (junior-political science) will run against Melissa Daykon (senior-civil engineering) and running mate Christopher Zegar (junior-secondary education).

Some of the goals of Ankarlo and Collins' "Ambition, Achievement and Accountability" platform include increasing lobbying in Harrisburg for more commonwealth funding and improving career services at commonwealth locations.

"Our strongest goal is lobbying, to remind the legislature when they think of Penn State, they don't just think of University Park. There are approximately 40,000 other students across the commonwealth," Collins said.

The Daykon and Zegar ticket platform includes improving campus communication, the transfer student orientation program and health services.

"I'd like to see improvement in all the locations at Penn State and try to make Penn State one university state-wide. ... I want to be able to help (commonwealth students) with any accomplishments they may want or need. Our main purpose is to serve the students of the commonwealth," Daykon said.

The Ankarlo and Collins ticket also hopes to form more issue forums for discussion of commonwealth problems, to create student information technology positions and to provide an information technology board at the commonwealth student government locations.

Daykon and Zegar also hope to initiate a comprehensive survey of disability services, standardize information technology fee regulations and initiate surveys on the quality of student services at commonwealth locations.

Ankarlo currently works in the CCSG as the Two-Location Caucus director and Collins works as the Southeast Caucus director. Daykon is secretary for the CCSG, and Zegar works as the Northeast Caucus director.