The Undergraduate Student Government voted to dissolve and merge with the University Park Undergraduate Association Saturday, consolidating the student voice and ending a debate between student leaders over the future of student government.

The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) will transfer its remaining $25,000 in assets to University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA), if UPUA meets several requirements outlined in the resolution.

USG Senator Ralph Crivello, who helped write the resolution, said merging was the right decision because of the progress UPUA has made in recent months by passing bylaws, choosing to hold spring elections and becoming a more functional body.

Crivello is also a UPUA representative.

"It's a necessary action for the good of the students," he said. "Should we be divisive? What's going to be accomplished then?"

UPUA replaced USG as the official student voice after students voted in favor of it in a referendum last spring. However, USG, which became the student government in 1962, continued to exist as a club until Saturday.

Katelyn Holmes, USG senator and UPUA representative, agreed with the decision, even though she doesn't support UPUA.

"Because I care so much about independent student representation, I'm willing to sit on an organization that I don't agree with the founding of," she said.

According to the resolution, UPUA must revise its constitution to make it a more democratic, accountable and autonomous student government. The changes must be made by April 27.

The resolution also requires that UPUA become a member in "shared governance," of the university, along with faculty and administration.

Crivello said the terms of the merger were intentionally broad so they can accommodate UPUA.

However, the resolution does contain 11 specific complaints about UPUA, including UPUA's lack of power as a student government, its lack of internal checks and its unbalanced membership between small

and large constituencies. Other complaints included the fact that the process to amend its constitution gives a large degree of control to administrators.

The requirements of the merger echo the complaints about UPUA and administrators outlined in a resolution from the Association of Big Ten Students (ABTS), which was also presented during the joint session.

The ABTS resolution asks for "extensive constitutional revisions of the UPUA." According to the resolution, the ABTS also "condemns the Division of Student Affairs and its chief officer, the Vice President of Student Affairs Vicky Triponey," for giving increased power to administrators and administrator-appointed students and stripping it from elected student leaders.

Triponey could not be reached for comment by press time.

The resolution also establishes a USG Trust, which will have the power to decide whether or not UPUA has met the requirements. USG President Nick Stathes will oversee the trust and said the trust would speak with UPUA to determine the specifics of the requirements.

"We want to give them some guidance," he said.

Jay Chamberlin, UPUA president, said he had not spoken to anyone from USG about the resolution before the USG joint session. UPUA's internal development committee is meeting this Wednesday to discuss USG's proposal, and UPUA has also formed an ad-hoc committee to evaluate its constitution.

Overall, Chamberlin viewed the resolution as a step in the right direction.

"It's positive to have one solidified voice," he said.

UPUA has 21 academic days to respond to the resolution. If they outright reject the merger or fail to meet all the requirements, it will be left up to the trust to decide where to allocate USG's remaining assets. The Association of Residence Hall Students (ARHS) and the Off-Campus Student Union were mentioned as possible alternative beneficiaries of USG's funds.