They're at it again.

Not long after committing $1,500 to send 35 of their own to a Conservative Political Action Conference in Arlington, Va., members of the Undergraduate Student Government Senate have engaged in behavior that clearly puts their own interests ahead of those of students.

This time, senate chose to ignore its own bylaws and not advertise for an open Town Senate seat.

Sixteen of the 25 members of senate are involved in the College Republicans, and several of senate's actions have been perceived to be politicallly motivated. This perception has led some students and The Daily Collegian's editorial board to criticize senate for these decisions, and the fact that there are 16 College Republicans on board has led to allegations that senate is "stacking the deck."

Fair or not, the perception exists, and this makes senate's decision to not advertise an open seat an unwise one.

When senate has been criticized for its perceived conservative bent in the past, its response has generally been the same: "Other students can always apply to join senate themselves."

But when open seats are not advertised, students have less of an opportunity to become a part of senate. Exhortations of "get involved" ring hollow when students have no idea that senate has an opening.

When questioned about the missing advertisement, Town Sen. Brendan Holloway's response was dubious. "When I'm reading the Collegian I'll look for it," Holloway said, "but I won't go out of my way to look for it."

Of course Holloway is not going to look for an advertisement. He is already a member of senate. But students who are not presently members and want to get involved will not have the opportunity as long as Holloway and his compatriots in senate keep openings a secret.

To be fair, senate insists that the advertisement was not missing because members had a secret to keep. Instead, Holloway blames a lack of organization. He said that it was his responsibility to have an advertisement in the Collegian, but that bylaws prevented him from withdrawing money from the senate account. Someone else was required to do that. Of course, that someone else never did. Why is senate not more organized?

In light of all that has gone on recently, that trip to the Conservative Political Action Conference offers a glimmer of hope. Holloway said the conference afforded him and his fellow senators an opportunity to "bring back better leadership skills to Penn State."

Maybe someone in Virginia can teach senate how to get organized.