Before yesterday, Jason Clark (senior-marketing) never really saw Penn State President Graham Spanier interact on a personal level with students.

Clark was involved with the Village, the April 2001 protest in which students camped out in the HUB-Robeson Center until university officials agreed to meet with them to discuss race issues. After this experience, Clark formed a negative attitude about Spanier.

However, after spending a day shadowing the president, Clark said his attitude has changed and he has more respect for Spanier and the president's job.

"So many concerns come to one person," Clark said. "He as president has to go through so many means to approve his actions. I do respect his decisions more."

Clark won the chance to shadow Spanier through an Undergraduate Student Government (USG) raffle. The $109.50 raised by the raffle will go toward the Interfraternity/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (Thon), USG spokesman Mike Kennedy (junior-finance) said.

The raffle was USG President Rubina Javeri's idea, Kennedy said, adding that she is very enthusiastic about Thon.

Clark's day in Old Main began at 9 a.m., but since Spanier was "five to 10 minutes late," a "nice and warm" staff greeted him instead.

After Spanier explained his daily process to Clark, the two read through Spanier's many e-mails. They also spent time reading the New York Times, the Centre Daily Times and The Daily Collegian, something Spanier told Clark he does every day.

Clark also sat in on Spanier's video and telephone interviews, attended lunch in Waring Commons with him and went to dinner at Spanier's home with deans and campus executive officers, he said.

"Today [Spanier] said he had a light day," Clark said. "It was basically just an observation thing. I got to sit in the chair for a couple of minutes."

During lunch, Clark said he brought up two concerns with Spanier -- study abroad programs and on-campus parking.

Clark said studying abroad is something that is very hard to do because a lot of students do not know what it entails. In reaction to his concerns, Clark said Spanier "sort of just said 'yeah' and we continued eating lunch."

Although Spanier didn't give Clark any immediate feedback on his concerns, Clark said it is important to approach Spanier with student-related issues.

"I would say, if you have a concern, to bring it up with him," he said. "Just respect his office and his time."

Clark said Spanier is nice, sociable and cordial, but also very busy.

"For him to act on something, it has to be substantial," Clark said. "If you want results with someone like him, you would have to be concise and tactful."

Javeri said Spanier was eager to have a student shadow him.

"I do this a couple times each year, as part of fund raising for student government programs," Spanier said. "This was one tangible way to help raise funds [for Thon]."

When Clark bought the raffle ticket, he did not expect to spend the day with Spanier.

"It was more of a donation for Thon," he said. "When I actually won, I felt like I had to do it."