Ask the average Penn State student the score of last weekend's football game, they'll most likely know the answer. Ask them which bars have the best happy hours, and they'll give you a laundry list of places.

But how does student representation fall into the everyday life of a Penn State student?

This year, a new chapter has begun in the area of student representation at Penn State. Undergraduate Student Government (USG) will no longer be recognized as the official voice of the students by the university.

As of Oct. 11, the day of University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) elections, USG will be a regular student club. UPUA, touted as a student advocacy group rather than a government, will be recognized as the new student voice.

Two new boards will be added to exist alongside the University Park Allocation Committee (UPAC), changing the way student funds are allocated.

With these changes brings uncertainty to student leaders. While administrators say these changes will benefit students, some are questioning the role of student voice on campus.

Who's the official student voice?

Last spring, Penn State President Graham Spanier said he approved UPUA after two referendums were held asking the student body its input on the current structure of USG and the new structure of UPUA.

But Felicia McGinty, associate vice president of student engagement, said at this point, USG remains the official voice of the students.

Even though university officials said USG is still the recognized entity, USG President Nick Stathes said he does not feel his organization is recognized by the university and has felt that way since he joined the organization at the end of sophomore year.

"The entire time I've been in USG, I never felt like the university has recognized Undergraduate Student Government," he said.

And now more than ever, USG's voice is dwindling.

The USG president was not asked to speak at the Freshman Convocation, and was recently not invited to the Penn State Board of Trustees meeting to represent the students.

However, administrators have justified that invitations to those events are not reserved solely for the USG president.

But Stathes said his organization won't forget why they were elected.

With the weeks remaining as the official recognized student voice and throughout the year, Stathes said, USG will continue to represent the students and find ways to improve student government.

However, the exact role of USG remains unclear. Stathes said legislation passed by USG doesn't mean anything because it can only advocate for students, and cannot make final decisions like the university.

"Right now, we don't have the power over anything," he said. "We may be wasting our time."

Andrew Reeve, chairman of the UPUA transition group, said the leaders who have run student government in the past have actually made the student voice decline. He said UPUA will be different.

"We're gonna have a single majority voice," he said. "We hope to reinvigorate student interest."

UPUA will consist of just one body with 36 members, including a president, vice president and representatives from many other areas on campus. USG is composed of three branches -- executive, legislative and judicial, along with an Academic Assembly.

But will the problems be solved with a new, unilateral body? Although Reeve is optimistic, Stathes isn't so sure.

Stathes said it doesn't matter what form of student representation the university recognizes, because UPUA will probably run into the same problems USG encountered with the administration in previous years.

"We can advocate for thousands of things at the university, but the university doesn't have to listen to us or pretend they heard us," Stathes said.

Who's handling the student funds?

The controversy continues.

Not only is student government trying to find its voice, but there is uncertainty over the new way student funds will be allocated.

By next semester, two new boards -- the Fee Allocation Board and the Student Programming Association -- will be implemented to co-exist with UPAC.

The Fee Allocation Board will receive the rest of the student activity fee, after money is taken out for such payments as the HUB-Robeson Center debt and childcare services for students. The board will allocate the rest of the funds to UPAC and the Student Programming Association upon request.

UPAC will continue allocating funds to student organizations, while the Student Programming Association will focus on campus programs, as well as find ways to improve programs, Stan Latta, director of Union and Student Activities, said.

Triponey said there will be a presence of faculty members on the new Fee Allocation Board. Because the university collects the student activity fee, it has a "fiscal responsibility," she said.

"We're not saying students can't make those decisions," Triponey said. "The only thing that is different is my staff and I are re-engaging to be partners in these kinds of endeavors."

However, UPAC Chairman Greg Heleniak said the formation of the Fee Allocation Board shows a lack of trust in the student-run committee.

"Students should be concerned that students won't be in control of the student activity fee," Heleniak said. "I have no problem with the [Student Programming Association]. It's been needed for awhile...The Fee Allocation Board is another story."

Latta said having faculty on the Fee Allocation Board will ensure accountability and continuity in decisions, such as how much money recreational sports receives each year. He added that because there are more students than faculty on the Fee Allocation Board, students can still have a majority vote in the decisions.

"We have strengthened the student voice," Latta said, adding the university has added two new centers -- Center for Student Engagement and Center for Student Activities and Programming -- to enhance student activities and programming.

Heleniak said he feels the whole process of the formation of the boards was "very rushed" and there was not enough student input because those involved in the planning of the boards were comprised of people "handpicked" by Triponey.

However, Triponey said the representatives chosen were from different groups on campus.

While administrators say these changes will help students, Brian Borawski, Graduate Student Association judiciary, said the university is doing the complete opposite.

"I think it's gone well beyond helping," Borawski said. "I think we are a moving a little more toward control, away from supervision."

Triponey, who has worked at other universities such as University of Connecticut, said Penn State has a very student-friendly administration.

"I'm not doing my job if I'm not listening to students," she said.

But do students care enough about their voices being heard?

Who cares?

As the face of student representation changes, some students say these changes just don't fit in their Penn State lives.

Matt Rubin (junior-kinesology) said he doesn't know about the changes within student government and UPAC.

"I don't care per se, but maybe I would if I knew what was going on," Rubin said.

Brendan O'Connor (sophomore-management information systems) said he hasn't seen an impact made by student government, but added that he's not interested in what is going on.

"It's not a big part of my life," he said.

Reeve said he can understand why some students feel this way.

"[Students] pretty much think that student government is crap. Nothing goes on there," Reeve said. "I think students have come to see student government as ineffective and as a result they have become apathetic."

Stathes blames the university for students' lack of interest in student government affairs.

"To a normal student who wants to have a good time at Penn State, it's difficult to become engaged because the administration and other actors have made it less significant than it should be," Stathes said.