A refreshing change occurred in the Undergraduate Student Government Senate meeting on Feb. 26.

Policy replaced politics.

The senators passed a resolution urging Penn State President Graham Spanier not to follow the recommendation made by University Faculty Senate to remove fall break.

The USG resolution said that student opinion helped create fall break in 1999 and that many students want the four-day weekend to remain.

The Faculty Senate had voted earlier that day to recommend to Spanier that the semester be shortened by half a week, changing final exams to a four-day assessment period and moving fall break to the week of Thanksgiving.

Faculty Senate's recommendation will be presented to Spanier in a meeting next month. Depending on Spanier's decision, the calendar change could be made as early as Fall 2003.

The USG Senate deserves praise for using its role as a representative student body to speak for Penn State students' concerns. USG's Academic Assembly also deserves recognition for passing a similar resolution last fall.

USG President Justin Zartman said he's gotten more student feedback on this issue than any other.

The senate should be commended for remembering how hard many students worked to get fall break added to the calendar and for working to make sure their efforts are not made futile by an administrative decision.

The Daily Collegian's Board of Opinion has been openly critical of the USG Senate this year, but its members want to give senate praise when praise is due.

The board also wants to encourage the senate to continue to make student issues the focus of its meetings.

This is the work senators were elected for, and we hope that the senate uses the second half of this semester to concentrate on student concerns.

Censures, censors, partisans and political games don't benefit Penn State students.

But using USG's name and clout to further student issues does.

Nice work, USG Senate. Let's keep it up.