Despite a campaign this fall that tried to convince students to recycle their newspapers, students apparently have not been influenced enough to clean up their act.

The event was organized by the Undergraduate Student Government's (USG) "We Are" campaign and included piling up a week's worth of newspaper trash outside the HUB-Robeson Center to show students how much trash accumulates.

Greg Andersen, Office of Physical Plant (OPP) area services manager, said that while there are no numbers or surveys to gauge the success of the "We Are" campaign, the janitorial supervisors at Penn State have not reported a decrease in the amount of trash being collected.

Janitorial supervisor Eileen Long, who spends significant time each night cleaning classrooms, said the "We Are" campaign did not have the effect on the students the janitorial staff was hoping for.

During the week of Nov. 15, with the help of OPP, "We Are" director Missi Lau and about 20 volunteers collected newspapers and other articles of trash from the floors of the Willard Building, the Forum Building and the Thomas Building.

On Nov. 19, they displayed an eight-foot-long wooden cage full of the week's trash collection in front of the HUB.

Long said the campaign suffered from a lack of help.

"From what I understand, they didn't have too many volunteers, and another problem was the evening classes -- their timing was a little off," Long added.

Long said the trash is still a problem, especially in the larger classrooms across campus.

"Some days are not as bad as others," she said, "but it is nothing to get four to five large bags of trash off the floor in one night."

Lau said OPP asked USG President Galen Foulke for help with the newspaper problem at the end of last semester.

"We wanted to raise awareness," she said. "People don't even realize that they are leaving [their newspaper] sometimes."

Lau said that while she is disappointed there has been no decrease in classroom trash, she does not plan to give up.

"It is such an important issue, and it affects so many students," she said. "I definitely want to see it happen again."

Al Matyasovsky, supervisor of OPP's Central Support Services, said he is optimistic for the future of the "We Are" program.

"There are other groups that are getting involved to see an increase of cleanliness and decrease of litter," he said.

Beta Phi Pi Fraternity, Inc. is one group that hopes to help.

Community Service Chair Jeremiah Yeomas said the brothers in his fraternity have noticed that the classrooms and buildings are often noticeably dirty, and they believe taking pride in the cleanliness of the classrooms will promote a better atmosphere.

"Our goal is to get everyone involved," he said.

Matyasovsky said there is a lot of meaningful discussion to get students involved.

"This is just one component of many efforts and discussions," he said.