About 25 students met last night for an information session on the Undergraduate Student Government's (USG) emerging off-campus student union.

About one-fourth of the students in attendance were USG members.

The union will address legal, political, housing and consumer issues affecting students. There will be 10 departments in the union dealing with different aspects of off-campus life.

USG lacks enough personnel to try to accomplish all of the union's goals, USG Vice President Kris Ankarlo said.

"I know it seems a little bit broad, but that's the basis for it," Ankarlo said.

The main purpose of the session was to recruit more members for the union, he said. The union currently has 12 members, but Ankarlo said he would like it to have about 40 members.

There are 35,000 students residing in State College, Ankarlo said. For the union to be effective, at least half of those students must be informed on and concerned about matters related to life in the borough, he added.

Chris Martinez, USG legal affairs director, said the union will help students in small claims court cases as well as make students aware of their legal rights.

Martinez criticized Penn State's off-campus student conduct policy, saying that under its "global reach," judicial affairs could expel a student for shoplifting in another country. The Office of Judicial Affairs operates differently than regular judicial procedures, and students are often unaware of their rights when brought before it, Martinez added.

"To go up against judicial affairs, you'll get grilled," he said. "They put you through the ringer."

Dan Matos, the union's political affairs director, said the union hopes to create coordinatiogn between the State College Borough Council, State College Mayor Bill Welch and off-campus students.

There is no student representation during council meetings, nor has a movement been made to enhance student representation, Matos said. The union hopes to expand student representation in council by creating a voter guide to inform students on which representatives running for office are most concerned about them, he said.

By registering students living in downtown State College to vote, the council will expand their representation, Matos said. The political climate in the borough can change if at least 7,000 students are registered, he added.

"We have to unite to have our voices heard in this town because otherwise we will continue to be oppressed by the elected representatives that run this town," he said.

Conor Moran, the union's employment affairs director, said students need more part-time employment opportunities.

The union plans to help students receive employment from local businesses by listing openings on its Web site, Moran said. The union will also try to bring the need for student jobs to employers' attention, he added.

Moran said he expects to distribute surveys to the employees of different establishments and then inform students about how those employees are treated.