Students at eight of the Big Ten schools passed a resolution rejecting the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA), Penn State's newly recognized student government.

Despite dissent to the new organization, UPUA still plans to hold elections on Oct. 11 and take the place of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG), Penn State's previously recognized student government.

The schools passed the resolution at last month's Association of Big Ten Students (ABTS) conference. Four members of USG attended the conference and proposed the resolution.

About 60 percent of about 4,000 students voted in favor of UPUA in a referendum last spring. Following the referendum, Penn State's administration chose to replace USG with UPUA as the official student voice.

USG President Nick Stathes said last week that USG plans to stay in existence even after UPUA holds elections. Critics of UPUA, many of whom are members of USG, have questioned the legitimacy of the referendum and the process that led to the creation of UPUA.

The resolution passed by ABTS raises similar concerns.

According to the resolution, "the ABTS rejects both UPUA and the Penn State administration's decision to recognize UPUA as the official student voice, as well as all other attempts to lessen the rights of students in favor of administrative control."

The resolution also raises concerns about the increased participation of administrators and appointed students in the allocation of the student activity fee.

Stathes said he learned a lot about how other student governments functioned at the conference. He said while many of the other governments had structures similar to that of UPUA, the process that created them was different.

"Students wrote the constitution, not administrators and students appointed by administrators," Stathes said.

Former USG president Galen Foulke wrote in an e-mail message to The Daily Collegian that Penn State students had already voted explicitly for UPUA.

"I am disturbed by Stathes' disregard for the opinion of the students he claims to represent and even more disturbed that he cares more about what Michigan and Ohio State students have to say about UPUA than Penn State students ourselves," he wrote.

Scott Lachman, executive director of ABTS, said the organization "firmly supports" USG.

"I think the students really need to step up and support the student voice at Penn State," he said.

Lachman said Foulke had not attended ABTS during Foulke's two terms as USG President. He added that previous USG presidents had attended the conference.

"Penn State was one of the original schools that thought of the idea," he said.

Foulke wrote that he did not attend the conference because he thought the time and money could be better spent elsewhere. He added that past USG presidents had also advised him that the conference was a "waste of time."

Foulke wrote that he instead focused on building ties with other Penn State organizations, including the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments and the Association of Residence Hall Students.