The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Supreme Court decided last week to void the results of referendum questions that appeared on the 2004 USG elections ballot because it determined former Senate President Erin Ferris called an unconstitutional meeting to vote on the questions.

The results of the questions would have been used to shape USG policies for the upcoming year based on students' responses. The Court made the correct decision in following proper procedure and the USG Constitution, which states that a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate or Academic Assembly is required to approve the questions. However, in a year in which a record 10,977 students (31 percent) voted, it is disappointing and inexcusable that the questions were so vague and pointless. They could have, and should have, focused on a greater variety of issues.

The majority of the questions dealt with diversity issues, which, while they can be a large problem on this campus, are not the only issues students deal with in their daily lives. Also, students were forced to select answers from the four or five responses USG members felt would cover all students' opinions. In the future, USG needs to allow students to write in their own responses. USG should have used the opportunity to gauge students' satisfaction with issues that affect everyone, such as Napster. Or, USG could look at itself through its constituents' eyes. However, the questions seemed more like a "top 10" list of sorts and had no real point.

Rather than truly attempting to hear constituents' voices, USG completely wasted the chance to ask important questions and once again failed to accomplish anything.

USG President Galen Foulke said he would still consider the results of the referenda. But instead of stopping there, he should consider doing something similar periodically throughout his term. Penn State sends e-mail surveys to students all the time; why can't USG? In the future, USG needs to follow its constitution to avoid having the results discounted. By doing so, it would save itself a great deal of time, effort and internal bickering, and it would show students that their representatives care about them.

USG needs to consider what students really want to voice their feelings on, and ask pertinent questions if it wants students to continue voting in record numbers each year. Otherwise, stop wasting voters' time.