Candidates vying for the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) executive ticket discussed how to make the USG Senate more efficient at last night's final debate before tomorrow's election.

In front of a crowd of about 150 students, the six pairs presented ideas for improving the Senate, ranging from building personal relationships with potential senators to alternating the issues discussed at meetings.

Vice presidential candidate Tom Nowlan said he has an advantage in running USG Senate meetings by having had no prior experience in the organization.

"I am not bringing to the table any USG politics," he said.

Cameron Lefevre, also a vice presidential candidate, said he thought the Senate's success would depend on his abilities as Senate chair.

"The key to having a strong and functional Senate is having a strong and reliable leader," he said.

The debate also consisted of three specific questions for each ticket. Each candidate had 90 seconds to respond to the specific questions, followed by 30 seconds for other candidates to rebut the answer.

Throughout the night, the candidates also debated their views on sexual assaults and ways to fix the problem.

Lefevre and running mate Mariel Gniewoz talked about their idea to create a Web site combining several sources for safety information at Penn State.

One of the reasons for creating the site, Lefevre said, is that outlets such as the Women's Resource Center may not always seem completely confidential to students.

Presidential candidate Sandip Trivedi rebutted the idea, saying the plan is not enough to address sexual assaults.

"Having a Web site to control sexual assault seems very passive," he said. "This is kind of like a Band-Aid on a wide, gaping wound."

When asked how providing women with rape kits would address the fact that 85 percent of sexual assaults occur between acquaintances, vice presidential candidate Ivan Baumwell stood behind his and running mate Erin Staab's goal, saying women will not care who the attacker is when trying to escape.

"What difference does it make in the girl's mind being assaulted who it is assaulting her?" he said.

Presidential candidate Galen Foulke disagreed with Baumwell's platform, saying the most important way of dealing with sexual assaults is stopping them before they start.

Debate also arose over ways of curbing the rising cost of tuition.

Gniewoz challenged Trivedi's experience and success as USG governmental relations tuition chair, citing the lack of USG presence at the Council of Commonwealth Student Government's Rally in the Rotunda last Monday.

Candidates Matt Antonelli and John Marsh replied to questions about improving the University Park Allocation Committee's funding of student organizations.

Antonelli said he wants to look at why certain organizations are not getting funding and to correct the problem.

The candidates made closing statements, and many took time to thank people and encourage students to vote.

After the event, vice presidential candidate Luke Adams expressed his frustration with the lack of candidates' challenging one another.

"I thought this was supposed to be a debate," he said.