Undergraduate Student Government (USG) senators rallied at the steps of Old Main yesterday afternoon in an effort to find out what sacrifices Penn State students would be willing to make to pay less for tuition.

Senators took turns speaking into a microphone to tell students walking by Old Main about their message -- lower tuition could be a reality if the administration were a little thriftier. Vicky Cangelosi, Senate governmental relations director and primary organizer of the rally, was the first speaker.

"We're asking students today: What things are you willing to give up?" she said.

Senators handed out surveys to passers-by, asking them to indicate what measures the university should take to curb spending and lower tuition. Many students kept walking, saying they were late for class and did not have time to fill out a survey.

"It takes less than a minute," said Nick Stathes, a USG senator and presidential candidate in the upcoming USG election. He held out surveys to two students, urging each of them to fill one out. They gave a polite yet dismissive wave and continued on their ways. Other students walked by listening to their iPods or talking on cell phones.

"Apathy kills, folks, apathy kills!" Senate Vice President Alex Ibrahim yelled. At times, several students would gather curiously to speak to senators, then take a survey to fill out.

The survey included such options as "I am willing to have janitorial staff clean classrooms less frequently" and "I am willing to see more advertising messages every day."

Penn State has advertising contracts with only two companies, Pepsi and Nike, Cangelosi said, suggesting that more revenue might be available if more advertisers were solicited. "I don't think anyone ran that decision by the students before they made it," she said.

In addition to handing out surveys, senators held up signs to alert students of their mission. The signs read: "Your $$ don't make cents," "Stop tuition hikes," and "Tuition is soaring, stop flying;" a reference to two planes that the university operates to fly administrators to far-away meetings.

"Prices are too high to go to a state school," said Matt Bertschman (senior-communication arts and sciences), who filled out a survey.

Cangelosi had called Penn State the "most expensive state school in the entire nation."

No administrators attended the rally. Penn State President Graham Spanier's secretary said he was in back-to-back meetings and unavailable for comment.

At the conclusion of the rally, Cangelosi said she thought it went well, adding that her aim in organizing it had been "to hear from the students." She estimated that students had filled out about 200 surveys.

Looking over the survey in his office after the rally, Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said it was "oversimplifying the way the university's revenue system works."

"It would be foolish to think that the university isn't looking for every possible way to cut back costs," Kendig said. "We've identified more than $100 million over the past decade in internal cost-cutting measures."

This rally marked the second time this year that USG Senate gathered to voice dissatisfaction with rising tuition.

Last November, in response to the Penn State Board of Trustees proposal to freeze tuition at 20 of the 23 Penn State campuses, excluding University Park, Senate held the "Extend the Freeze Rally." The rally, which was held in the same location, was aimed to encourage administrators to stop tuition increases at University Park.