It has been an emotionally charged semester for the Undergraduate Student Government (USG), one marked by internal bickering, fights over dual copies of the group's constitution and the failed impeachment of USG President Galen Foulke.

But USG Vice President Luke Adams said he and Foulke are making progress on nearly all their platform goals, including their most important: a commission to review the structure of USG and its constitution.

"Every year leading up to this, there have been instances that scream that this needs to be done," Adams said.

He said Foulke's impeachment is just another example of the infighting inherent in USG's structure.

The impeachment began Nov. 15 when the USG Academic Assembly charged that Foulke had violated his oath of office in voicing criticism of the constitution.

After a trial on Nov. 30, Foulke was found not guilty.

But despite the time-consuming USG court case and impeachment process, Adams said he has pursued one of the pair's more popular platforms, a webcam at the MBNA Fitness Center.

Estimates for the project have been prohibitively high, but Adams is working with university officials to establish a Web site with updated wait times at each on-campus fitness facility. Adams said he hopes the site will be posted by the end of January.

Foulke said he still hopes to get a more reasonable estimate for the cameras but encourages the Web site as an alternative in the meantime.

In their efforts to bolster on-campus safety, Adams has been working with the Association of Residence Hall Students to include "rape cards" in the welcome packets for incoming freshmen. The cards would provide advice and telephone numbers for sexual assault victims.

"We're just going to do it when we get back next semester," he said.

Adams is also working with USG members and representatives from the Penn State Escort Service, 865-WALK, to increase publicity for the program, which should be more visible by the middle of next semester.

"I would like to see some athletic teams involved," he said, adding that the program could get more attention from having higher-profile athletes volunteer as escorts. "Maybe down the road ... they'll still think of 865-WALK."

But Adams said progress can sometimes be slow because of the number of meetings it takes to get different groups to agree on ideas.

"You get the runaround," he said. "There's a lot that goes on that you don't see [from the outside]."

Foulke said internal delays are to blame for the biggest hang-ups, though.

"Unfortunately, with the lawsuit, with the impeachment, with all this absolutely time-consuming strife we've been going through, we haven't been able to focus as much on [platform goals] as we should," he said.

He said some platforms, like working to establish awareness and prevention programs for sexual assault, will have to wait until next semester.

Foulke said getting course availability on eLion updated more frequently and working toward extended hours in Rec Hall and the Intramural Building are goals he wants to complete before his term as USG president ends.

"That's something we're building to address for next semester," he said.

Foulke announced this week that he has been able to work with the administration to establish a shuttle to Lot 83, north of Park Avenue.

"A lot of students are intimidated by that lot and the walk up there," he said.

The shuttle will begin next semester on a trial basis, and its effectiveness will be gauged from its popularity.

In terms of his other parking goals, Foulke said the new off-campus parking garage at the corner of Beaver Avenue and Fraser Street is set to include spaces for lease by anyone, including students, "which is exactly what we asked for."

He said he will continue to advocate for student parking on campus.

"In this situation, I'm not making any promises," he said. "But it would be wrong for a USG president to be in office and not remind the administration that we think parking is not an ideal situation for students."

Adams said plans for a map of off-campus parking availability may be directed to the USG Senate's Operations Committee, and Foulke said he would involve the Off-Campus Student Union in the project.

Foulke said he hoped that the map would be finished by the middle of February.

The promised student complaint department for off-campus housing concerns has been established in the Town Affairs division of USG's Legal Affairs department.

"It's up and running and doing great," Foulke said. "All that needs to be done is to start advertising it."

He said the constitutional review commission has already met, and while he cautioned against rushing an important project, he hoped it would provide recommendations before the current USG term ends.

USG Chief of Staff Erin Ferris said "laid-back" meetings within the executive branch have made for a different atmosphere.

She added that this atmosphere gives her more hands-on involvement than she has had in the past.

"There's something about the two of them that you can't really explain," she said, describing Foulke and Adams as "polar opposites" who provide a good balance in USG.