While the former student government's decision to dissolve will become official tonight, students were markedly uninterested by the Undergraduate Student Government's decision.

"To be honest, I don't really feel like USG has done that much, because I don't know much about them," Gretchen Lasser (senior-animal sciences) said. "I'm kind of apathetic."

The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) has offered a merger with the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) that would transfer USG's estimated $25,000 in assets to UPUA. The assets will be transferred as long as UPUA meets USG's guidelines, including progressing past the designation of student advocacy group and becoming a more traditional student government with some power in regard to governance of the university.

Many other students agreed with Lasser.

"I never followed USG to begin with," Michael Liberatore (senior-information, sciences and technology) said. "I never thought they did too much."

Justin Gutting (junior-accounting) said students had no real reason to care about student government.

"I don't think student government was a good representation of students anymore. I don't think they have a lot of influence with the administration," he said. "The amount of people that voted since I was a freshman has dropped consistently."

In the 2005 USG elections, when Gutting was a freshman, 6,950 students voted. In last fall's UPUA elections, 2,602 students voted.

Penn State President Graham Spanier addressed the dissolution last night while speaking a fraternity. He said the administration tried to stay uninvolved.

"I said all along no matter how this turns out, it's fine," Spanier said. "Instead ... of quarrelling ... [UPUA and USG] can get on with representing students."

Some students were able to offer an opinion on the dissolution, and their opinions, for the most part, took two approaches. Various students felt USG was still playing a unique role in representing students and wanted it to continue as it had for almost a year.

"I think it's a bad idea," Ryan Simmons (sophomore-telecommunications) said. "With all its problems, I think there was still a chance for them [USG] to come back and show the student body how poorly we are represented."

Other students were pleased the student voice had been consolidated.

"It's a good thing," Caitlin Fisher (freshman-secondary education) said. "Why have two separate things if they are basically the same thing and the goal is the same?"

In stark contrast from the general disinterest presented by most students, 2001 USG President Justin Zartman was disappointed by the group's decision.

"It's offending to me that there isn't a USG any more, because the way the other organization [UPUA] was kind of, well, kind of shady," Zartman said. "USG, as much as it had its problems, was focused on students."

Zartman said as long as UPUA met USG's requirements and became an effective student government, he would agree with the proposed merger. However, he questioned whether that was a possibility, based on his experience as a USG president.

"They [the administration] try to make it seem like a student organization," he said. "Really, they call the shots. At least, that's how it was in my year."

Benson Lichtig, 1971 USG president, was also emphatic in his support of student representation, be it by USG or UPUA.

"As a former USG president, I'm a little sorry to see USG go, but times change and students change," he said. "But my only concern would be that there's some type of student organization representing student interests to the administration."

Collegian staff writer Lauren McCormack contributed to this report.