I ran for Undergraduate Student Government (USG) president because I was angry. I was angry because the group that was supposed to be representing me was wasting its time focusing on internal policy and useless infighting.

Instead of complaining about it, I decided to run for USG president on the platform of replacing USG with something that would work. I'm following through on that promise. After becoming president, I created a commission to craft this "something new," and it designed the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA). Now I'm finalizing this platform and hoping to replace USG with UPUA.

The problems with USG stem from it being set up like the federal government. Fundamentally, USG is better suited to tell us what to do than to actually do things for us, like work to lower tuition or extend library hours.

USG is currently separated into four different pieces as a result of this structuring. The four pieces work like four separate governments, and when they disagree, they begin using all the checks and balances that exist in the system to cause all the infighting that disgusts students. How many headlines have we read about scandal, and how few have we read about accomplishment? USG spends too much time fighting with itself to get work done.

UPUA is designed to correct these problems and add new strengths that USG lacks. First, UPUA is designed to advocate for students and not govern them. It is a single student council, not four separate pieces, so that USG's inter-branch problems don't arise. Having one council creates a clear and consolidated voice to represent students. Perhaps most importantly, UPUA eliminates the extensive system of checks and balances that causes the infighting that characterizes USG. Instead of resorting to impeaching one another when members disagree, members of UPUA will rely on communication and cooperation in their efforts. By doing away with the governmental structure, UPUA frees itself from the problems that have destroyed USG's credibility and allows itself the opportunity to get work done for us.

Furthermore, UPUA brings better representation to the table than USG. The UPUA structure would offer voting seats for representatives from several different communities, enhancing representation of the student body. UPUA offers seats for the different academic units, the residence hall community, the off-campus student population, members of the greek community and three underrepresented communities. Right now with USG, we only have representatives based on area of residence and the academic units. UPUA keeps the positive aspects of USG and adds a system of representation that better reflects the students.

Even though UPUA stands to fix the problems that have caused USG to fail, there are some rumors floating around about the group. Some people worry that UPUA will create two competing student governments. This is not true; We would entirely replace USG with UPUA. Some also claim that UPUA will be controlled by the administration, but this statement is false. In fact, with this new structure, UPUA is better designed to oppose the administration if necessary. The only time the administration touches UPUA is during the amendment process. All amendments to the UPUA Constitution will need to be approved by a special committee of two students, a faculty member and the vice president for student affairs. This provision will prevent the organization from being amended in a manner that detracts from its mission.

We have voiced our lack of confidence in USG. Last Thursday we were asked if we thought USG represented students and 85 percent of voters said no. It's time for something new. UPUA is a strong and viable alternative that can truly represent us.