With Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sending young Republicans around the state in an RV and Phil Angelides using his daughters to recruit student campaigners and woo voters, both gubernatorial candidates have begun campaigning to college students.

In the weeks leading up to the Nov. 7 election, students should be searching for candidates who consider the biggest issues affecting students today: tuition, financial aid and admissions, said Bill Schiebler, president of the University of California Student Association.

Though Schwarzenegger and Angelides are proposing possible solutions to those issues, they have different ways of approaching the problems.

Schwarzenegger said he will try to keep tuition at its current rate and Angelides has promised to roll student fees back to 2002 rates, which could save students up to $5,000 a year.

Angelides also guaranteed he would double the number of counselors at high schools, increase Cal Grants and admit 20,000 more students to state universities.

But though admitting 20,000 more students to state universities and saving students $5,000 a year seems like quite a pleasing proposal, some education experts have said it may be more easily proposed than accomplished. In an interview last spring, Norton Grubb, a professor of higher education at UC Berkeley, said coming up with the money to fund such a large fee increase would be a difficult task.

Angelides’ proposal has also been criticized for its intent. In a Los Angeles Times article, Schwarzenegger campaign spokesman Matt David said it was a “tax increase disguised as a tax cut” because it would require increased taxes elsewhere.

Schwarzenegger stopped fee increases this year by using money from increased state revenues to “buy back” the increases.

Because of better fiscal policies, Schwarzenegger said in a statement at the end of August “students no longer have to carry a heavier burden because of California’s bad spending habits.”

But the chance the fee freeze will last more than this year relies on the health of state revenues, said Katherine McLane, spokeswoman for Schwarzenegger.

“The governor is optimistic that, as our revenues grow and improve, we can take the burden off of our students,” McLane said.

Fourth-year sociology major Jamie Lane said she wants to hear less about candidates’ goals and more about how they will achieve them.

“I do want to see more about what they are planning to do after they are elected,” Lane said. “It’s important for them to explain how they will follow through on their promises.”

Lane said she is also concerned about the burdens put on the environment.

“I would like to see a governor that champions environmental issues, looks for sustainable and alternative energy sources,” Lane said, who has not decided who to vote for yet.

Both Angelides and Schwarzenegger have committed to improving the use of solar and hydrogen energy. Angelides has specifically said he will try to end oil drilling and begin desalination plants on the California coast.

Last month, Schwarzenegger made California the first state in the nation to impose a cap on all greenhouse gas emissions. By 2020, the state will have had to reduce the pollutants by approximately 25 percent.

So far, these decisions and current platforms have gained Schwarzenegger a sufficient number of followers.

Schwarzenegger held 45 percent of California’s potential vote compared to 37 percent for Angelides, according to a Field poll taken in mid-July. Of the Democrats surveyed, only 39 percent believed Angelides had a chance of winning. Fifteen percent of the respondents were undecided.

As part of their campaigns, both candidates are venturing into new technological avenues. For example, Angelides’ 27-year-old daughter Megan Garcia has launched an online campaign geared at students. She encourages them to become campaign team leaders by starting their own Web pages, adding friends and raising money for the campaign.

Utilizing a different medium, the Schwarzenegger campaign is using cell phones as a gateway to the younger demographic. In addition to calling houses, campaign volunteers are now text-messaging potential voters.

Schwarzenegger will also have ring tones that supporters can download from his Web site.

But Schiebler said the most important thing for students to do is participate in the election.

“College students need to be involved and vote in this election so that come November 8, we can hold them accountable to their promises,” he said.