In an effort to protest the university's proposed tuition freeze at 20 Penn State campuses, excluding University Park, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) plans to hold an "Extend the Freeze" rally.

But it's been almost two months since the Penn State Board of Trustees first announced the possible freeze, and USG has pushed back the date of an already late rally, currently scheduled for Nov. 9, for one reason or another.

For an organization whose sole purpose is to be an advocate for the students, it would appear as though it's taking its good old time to do some advocating.

The rally was set for this week, but organizers said they needed more time to publicize the event. Evidently two months wasn't enough time for the university's elected student leaders to say, "Hey, it really isn't fair that other campuses have their tuition frozen while our tuition increases."

Now that some leaders are moving forward to work on this serious issue, which affects the entire student body, USG President Galen Foulke has said he wants to create a committee or two to investigate the merits of a rally.

Hopefully USG can get its act together and hold some sort of rally to demonstrate its position on the tuition freeze. The USG Senate needs to speed up the process by hunkering down and publicizing it the old-fashioned way: grassroots. There's nothing wrong with shaking hands and talking to people as they're eating lunch in the HUB, and it has proven to be pretty effective in the past. Isn't this how a lot of USG presidents have been elected anyway? They need to return to the basics and do exactly what got them to where they are now.

Stand in the HUB with a big sign, pass out fliers, talk to classes and hold informational meetings. Send out mass e-mails and make phone calls to various groups letting them know about the rally, the freeze, how they are affected and why they should care.

Maybe an few hundred dollars per semester isn't enough to spur Senate action, but it does affect many students, and it is the student officials' responsibility to recognize this and act on our behalf.

Foulke has said previously that he wants USG to be more of an advocacy group. Well, here's its big chance, and so far the group has blown it.

Advocate on behalf of the student body. Hold a rally, talk to administrators, go to Harrisburg, do something. Don't tie it up in committee meetings that will drag the process out. It's admirable that USG wants to do something to help the student body, but it needs to be quicker and more efficient to make a lasting impression at University Park.