Reversing a three year trend of increasing class marshal candidacies, fewer seniors filed petitions by yesterday's deadline raising concern about the new way administrators handled the application process.

While 110 men and women from the class of 1982 applied for the eight positions four each for men and women only 84 members of the class of '83 applied this year.

Some seniors yesterday said they had not found out about the deadline in time and charged that alumni administrators should have better publicized the applications process.

Diane Jellis administrative assistant on the Alumni Office, which is handling the petitions yesterday said a change in the deadline date, which this year was one months earlier than in the past probably caused than in the past probably caused the deadline in applications.

But several applicants said they believed that the difficulty of noticing the marshal information was more to blame for the deadline than the advanced deadline. Last years seniors received individual letters describing the application process, while the class of '83 received sheet in the registration packets.

It took me less than an hour to get the 25 signatures (of seniors needed to file the petition). "Maureen Gildea '83 said yesterday, "but I almost didn't find out about the whole things, since I didn't get any information letter in my registration packet.

Jells said the alumni office did not have any plans to change the new process, adding that the new filing procedures did not appear to have a notable effect on the type of candidates. "They're the usual mix of finals clubs, athletic and musical participants," said Jellis of the 49 men and 35 women, "except that they're less comical than in the past."