We don't intend to beat a dead horse, but this one may have expired a long time ago anyway.

The polls open tomorrow morning for the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) elections. Student outrage and apathy at Penn State have appeared to have risen to an all-time high when it comes to student government representation. The apathy has even spread to the USG offices, where a record-high 18 resignations have rocked the USG Senate this year. That's seven more than last year. And this year, a paltry 12 candidates are running for 27 open Senate seats.

Students are frustrated, senators are leaving office, and the entire situation is dangerously close to coming to a volatile head. "Who cares," has become an all-too-common rebuttal to the question of what can be done to improve USG.

So, why should students care? Why should they take a few moments out of their usual Wednesday to place a vote? Because never before has the student voice been so crucial.

The executive race, by most accounts, is wide open. There are no clear-cut favorites among the six tickets running for president and vice president. Add to that the heavy influx of write-in candidates that will find seats in Senate.

Student input will have a tremendous effect on who enters USG.

Ultimately, students need to create a personal ultimatum if they want to see transformation within USG. Ask yourself: Do I want to see better representation in USG? Do I want to see student clubs getting that sum of money they desperately need to attend a national conference? Do I want more available student parking? Just what do I want? Admittedly, it's been awfully hard to care about USG, aside from a controversial Halloween party or a missing squirrel head. Both occurrences have been fodder for joking criticism. Is that what USG has become? A punchline that would be good material for Jon Stewart to skewer?

The only way things are going to change -- be they ideological measures, like simply supporting student interests or tangible, like extending gym hours or providing copies of textbooks -- lies with the students' vote.

Tomorrow, students can vote online at www.vote.psu.edu be-tween 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. or 1st floor HUB from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. It takes the same amount of time it would to get that cup of coffee in the HUB's long lines.

Exercise that right to vote. Don't let USG be the butt of jokes that it's sadly become.