USG discusses student package lockers, Town Hall, ‘Day of Action’

The Undergraduate Student Government discussed the construction of student package lockers in Frist Campus Center, the “Banning the Box” Town Hall, and a potential “Day of Action” during its weekly meeting on April 29.

University Director of Print and Mail Services Ashley Gorfine presented on the construction of student package lockers over the summer in Frist. The lockers would replace the current student mailboxes, and students could open them via a smartphone app or a self-service kiosk.

“If you’re having your cup of coffee and realize you need your package at two in the morning, you can go get it,” Gorfine said.

According to Gorfine, the renovation would make pickup more convenient and more efficient, as the annual number of received packages exceeds 129,000. While a manned station for large packages and letters would remain in place, Gorfine asserted that the 990 lockers would otherwise be more than adequate for students’ packages.

“You’re not working on our clock,” Gorfine said. “We’re working on yours.”

Academics Committee Chair Olivia Ott ’20 and U-Councilor Diego Negrón-Reichard ’18 submitted a resolution to sponsor the “Banning the Box” Town Hall. According to Ott and Negrón-Reichard, the Town Hall would discuss Students for Prison Education and Reform’s “Ban the Box” policy: the University should remove the box on college applications requiring disclosure of previous criminal history.

The senate voted to pass the resolution.

Campus and Community Affairs Chair Caleb Visser ’20 and Negrón-Reichard introduced a resolution to organize a “Day of Action” during the fall semester. The senate would allocate a recurring $10,000 to the Campus and Community Affairs Committee, as contingent upon the success of the programming.

“This is a non-partisan, non-advocacy event,” Visser said. “It’s really an event that’s geared toward getting people connected to issues that affect the community at large.”

Former Academics Chair Patrick Flanigan ’18 raised concerns about the effect of the funding request on the USG budget. On the other hand, U-Councilor Pooja Patel ’18 maintained that USG regularly holds a surplus at the end of the year and that USG should draw on that surplus.

The senate voted to pass the amendment.

The senate confirmed Tait Helgaas ’20, Virginia Murphy ’21, Jivahn Moradian ’20, Camille Price ’19, and Daniel Che ’20 to the Committee on Discipline with 18 votes in approval and one abstention.

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Historian Emily McLean ’20 presented on her meeting with Valencia Johnson, the Mudd Library Project Archivist for Student Life. To ensure a smoother transition between USG administrations and to increase transparency, USG could store their records at Mudd Library.

Alumni Affairs Committee Chair Dora Zhao ’21 talked about coordinating a reception for previous USG members during Reunions.

Zhao is an assistant opinion editor for The Daily Princetonian.

Additionally, Zhao discussed programming with alumni classes during Homecoming in the fall.

Parliamentarian Jonah Hyman ’20 briefly introduced the possibility of USG campaign spending limits and revisions of the election and referendum procedures.

Projects Board Co-Chair Eliot Chen ’20 and former Projects Board Co-Chair Nick Fernandez ’18 reviewed the potential alterations to the Projects Board Charter. University Student Life Committee Chair Tania Bore ’20 requested that Chen and Fernandez summarize the list of changes to make the amended charter more understandable.

Chen and Fernandez will continue to consider modifications to the Projects Board Charter.