WASHINGTON, D.C. — Elected student representatives encouraged Penn State's Board of Trustees to keep students' needs at the forefront of all decisions during its meeting last week.

The student leaders also stressed the importance of strong communication between administrators and students during their remarks to the trustees Friday.

Kristopher Ankarlo, president of the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments, and Justin Zartman, president of the Undergraduate Student Government, addressed the board. Ozgur Tunceli, president of the Graduate Student Association, left the meeting early and was unable to address the board.

This was the last time they would be able to speak before the board as student representatives. Their terms expire before the board's next meeting in May.

Ankarlo and Zartman spoke about possible tuition increases.

"It is our responsibility to ensure that Penn State's numerous accomplishments do not come with an increased cost to students," Zartman said.

Ankarlo, who is running for the USG vice presidency, said he understood the reason behind the tuition increase, but he asked the board to do everything in its power to keep tuition low.

The amount of the state appropriations will be known when the state approves its final budget this summer.

Ankarlo told the trustees about a "Rally at the Rotunda" to encourage lawmakers to increase appropriations to Penn State. The rally will be next Monday at the state capitol in Harrisburg.

"We're going to put a face on what state appropriations mean for Penn State. Hopefully we will start to change the perception of Penn State in Harrisburg," Ankarlo said.

He added that several hundred students are expected to attend.

Student trustee Geoff Grivner said Ankarlo's lobbying efforts, such as the planned rally in Harrisburg, show that he has worked hard as CCSG president.

Ankarlo said more should be done for students who feel that they are only numbers at Penn State.

"There are a lot of students throughout the Penn State system that feel that they are kind of commodities. Because of that, their higher education experience isn't what we are all working together to make it," Ankarlo said.

Because some students may feel overlooked at such a large university, Zartman stressed the importance of a strong connection between elected student leaders and the administration.

"Penn State must take the lead in working in conjunction with students and their ideas," Zartman said, adding that too often simple ideas that could be easily discussed and implemented are instead lost in what he called Penn State's bureaucracy and red tape.

Grivner said that while the relationship between students and administrators is strong, there is room for improvement.

"It's definitely a concern, and it should be a concern," he said.

Ankarlo also spoke about his concern for the experiences of students at Commonwealth Campuses.

He said the services at Commonwealth Campuses are not growing at the same rate as the enrollment. He said this was a concern because Commonwealth Campus students should get the same experience as University Park students.

Collegian Staff Writer Renée Petrina contributed to this report.