This year's University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) presidential candidates gathered in South Halls for their second day of campaigning last night. While the candidates hoped to introduce themselves and interact with the student body, confusion regarding table reservations forced them to shift their campaigning to the entranceway of Redifer Commons.

Some candidates faced difficulty handing out their flyers, campaign buttons and T-shirts after the location switch.

Jay Bundy, who is running for president, said the set up was very poorly done.

"It was inefficiently structured. In the future hopefully the candidates will be able to facilitate more interaction [with students]," he said.

Election commissioner Tom Hudson said the disorder of the event was due to a time scheduling issue.

At future Meet the Candidates events, the candidates would be able to more actively engage students and more effectively campaign, Hudson said.

Of the seven candidates, only five were interacting with students. Gavin Keirans, Ricardo Torres, Jay Bundy, Hillary Lewis and Daniel Hadas were in attendance. Keirans, Torres and Bundy circulated around Redifer to better publicize their campaigns and platforms. Lewis and Hadas made appearances and left soon afterwards. Jonathan Gremminger, a registrant, and Peter Johnson were absent.

Keirans said he decided to run for UPUA president because after being involved in the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and observing UPUA, he thought the student government has not been doing enough to unite students.

"Students should move from an advisory position to decision-making power," he said.

Keirans said if elected, his main issue would be to put the student activity fee back into students' hands and to help students establish more power like students at other Big Ten schools enjoy.

Torres said he decided to run because the student government should be educating the student body and "dispelling the myth of apathy."

Once leaders are elected, it is their job to continue to know and figure out new ways to improve the campus, he said.

When asked why he ran, Bundy stated that he has a genuine desire to serve the public interest.

"I'm fortunate enough to have experience that will prove beneficial to students," Bundy said.

If elected, Bundy said he would concentrate on educating students about mental health and holding leaders accountable in order to restore independence and legitimacy to the student government.

"I would also produce a 100-day plan so that students know exactly what to expect," he added.

As far as campaigns go, all the candidates agreed things had begun positively.

"We've had a very positive response. So far 293 unique visitors went to our Web site without advertising," Keirans said.

Torres said he was also pleased with the reception he received.

"[The support] means a lot to me," he said.