Students wanting to get university e-mails on their cell phones may soon be able to -- but they also might have to get text-messaged advertisements and coupons.

Mallory Gold, University Park Undergraduate Association spokeswoman, said a new service could allow students to have access to weather alerts, e-mails from professors, class cancellations and Centre Area Transportation Authority bus loop service through a service that would send the information to students' cell phones via text-messages. The University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) is working to give Penn State students Mobile Campus, allowing students to register their cell phones for free and access Web features such as Angel. Mobile Campus would, however, send advertisements and coupons as text messages to registered students.

UPUA President Jay Chamberlin said it is possible that students could opt out of receiving the ads and the only charges they would incur would be standard text messaging rates. However, while UPUA has met with Mobile Campus representatives, "the feasibility of the service is not known yet," Chamberlin said.

Craig Bober (freshman-biology) said he was worried about being bothered by the ads but the service would be useful and helpful.

"It would definitely be popular on campus," he said.

UPUA needs to talk to the Information Technology Services (ITS) and other university departments to work on the logistics, Chamberlin said.

Although UPUA is in the "very early planning stages," they have had initial meetings with the Office of the Physical Plant (OPP), who have "shown support," Gold said.

Gold added they are still awaiting approval from the administration and ITS.

Chamberlin said UPUA first became aware of Mobile Campus when the company contacted UPUA and presented the services it could offer.

This is not the first time Mobile Campus has approached student leaders about its services.

Nick Stathes, Undergraduate Student Government (USG) president, said Mobile Campus representatives called him several times in the past.

Stathes said he decided against pursuing Mobile Campus because there were other things the student government should focus on achieving.

"There are so many problems students face because students here don't have the same rights as they do at the other Big Ten schools. Mobile Campus is low on the priority list," he said.

The student government should be "concentrating on getting students more rights," Stathes said.

Other schools such as the University of Florida and The University of Texas at Austin already use Mobile Campus.