The Alpha Party wants Student Government to make a difference for greeks and non-greeks.

An all-greek party, the Alpha Party, will run four candidates in the April 17 and 18 Student Government elections: Paul Lytle, a junior speech communication major, for student body president; Rachel Foster, a sophomore science/sociology major, for vice president for public affairs; Joe Geocaris, a junior English major, for vice president for academic affairs; and Megan Flichinger, a junior secondary education major, for vice president for student affairs.

The Alpha Party is the third party to announce candidacy, joining the Students First Party and the Student Pride Party.

The party hopes to give greeks more representation in Student Government.

“The greek community is the largest organization on campus but is continually underrepresented in the Student Senate and Student Government,” Lytle, a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, said. “They’re just bypassed in Student Government because they’re primarily involved with their houses or other greek-run events.”

Despite their involvement with their houses, Lytle said the four candidates will “be able to manage time to do a competent job.”

The Alpha Party believes voters need to see a difference in Student Government.

“I’ve seen no significant changes in the past two years that can be attributed to the Student Government,” Lytle said. “I don’t think that many people think that student government is making a difference in their lives.”

Lytle said one big reason for the ineffectiveness of Student Government is because members focus on issues and projects that are too long-term to be relevant to current students and are outside the senate’s jurisdiction, such as getting a Denny’s near campus.

“To get a Denny’s, you’ve got to do more than just lobby,” Lytle said. “I mean, I can lobby for an amusement park in the South Quad all I want, but I’m not going to get it.

“In reality, it’s out of Student Government’s hands. I’d like to see a Denny’s, but I’d like to get an air conditioning system that works first,” he said.

If elected, Alpha Party members would work on short-term projects that would have an immediate impact for students, Lytle said. The party would address several problems that greeks face, such as improving greek court ethernet connections and permitting parking in front of greek court housing, he said.

Lytle said the Alpha Party also will work on non-greek issues, such as working with the city to implement a proposed landlord registration program that would have city officials inspect off-campus housing.

Party members also will work to increase greek turnout from last year’s Student Government elections when only 500 of the 3,000 greeks on campus voted, Lytle said.