Penn State's student government is gearing up once again to hit Harrisburg for the annual Rally in the Rotunda, an effort to increase state funding to the university with the hope of lowering tuition costs.

The biggest problem UPUA will have is the same problem USG had in the past: lack of student awareness and interest. This year UPUA has started to inform students of the rally relatively early. They began discussion about the event in late January, and the rally is tentatively set for March 20.

But will these information sessions really make students care? Why should they? Has the rally really had any major effect on tuition prices in the past? They're still going up every year, and there's no end to rising tuition in sight.

Herein lies the key to a succesful rally: student participation. Strength in numbers will show our state government how strongly we feel about, and need, increased funding for our university.

Unfortunately, the UPUA isn't really doing anything to make the Rally in the Rotunda seem interesting or worthwhile for students to attend. Sure, they're holding an "information session" in late February, but what good will that do? Just the thought of an "information session" sounds boring. UPUA needs to liven up the process and find creative ways to make students care about this rally.

The first thing UPUA should do is to get more student groups involved in the rally. Work collectively with the College Democrats and Republicans to create a cohesive plan of action.

Utilize the College Dems and Reps' resources and contacts to get the word out about the rally. Each group UPUA works with will increase student interest exponentially.

UPUA should utilize its own resources more effectively as well. Use your media personnel to run a statistics campaign that will open the eyes of the average college student. Show them how much they are paying in tuition, by using everyday examples. Post fliers showing the increase in tuition over the last 10 years.

Inform students of the fact that they could buy a brand new Volkswagen Jetta every two years with the amount of money they're paying for tuition, and still have almost $3,000 to spare for gas. There are numerous eye-opening facts like this, just waiting to be tapped.

Tuition prices are getting ridiculous, and Penn State's student government should be applauded for its effort every year to rally for lower tuition in Harrisburg.

But the fact of the matter is that this strategy is crippled by a lack of student interest, so maybe we need to rethink it and come up with a way to get everybody involved.