With new U-Council, USG plans to combat do-nothing image

USG welcomed 10 newly elected U-Council members to its meeting last night. Josh Anderson '04, Allison Arensman '04, David Gail '03, Jim McQuade '03, Justin Mirabal '03, Edward Park '02, Daniel Pastor '03, Shasha Rao '04 and Brad Simmons '03 will join Adam Dressner '02 to form the U-Council.

The addition of these new faces to the USG came appropriately at a time when the group's discussion focused on ways to improve the USG's image in the eyes of the students.

"We need to address the perception that the USG doesn't do anything and ensure that the USG remains involved with student issues," Dressner said.

At the request of USG president Joe Kochan '02, a group of senators, U-Councilors and other USG officers met to address this problem. Together they came up with several suggestions to improve student government's capabilities for outreach on campus.

The most popular idea was to hold a USG forum in the Frist Campus Center once a month, after its weekly Senate meeting.

The forum would consist of a brief presentation by the Senate, followed by a question and answer period. USG members said they felt that by holding the meeting at a populated location such as in the Frist Cafe, they could reach students who otherwise might not have time to stay informed about USG projects.

Other outreach ideas include a monthly USG newsletter to be distributed either to mailboxes or to dorm rooms, a USG bulletin board in Frist, possibly on the display wall outside the cafe, the addition of suggestion boxes to the USG's Frist office and improved accessibility to the USG web-link on the University homepage.

"We want to show the student body that we are working on things that they asked for," Class of 2004 senator Sonya Mirbagheri said.

Also at the meeting, the New Jersey Community Water Watch and the Princeton Pool Club brought proposals that they should be recognized as official student organizations.

NJCWW aims to educate the campus community about the quality of New Jersey water. It sponsors routine stream walks and various other forms of aquatic clean-up in the area.

"The legitimacy that USG recognition would afford us would be valuable," NJCWW leader Ellison Ward '04 said.

Pool Club president Jarrett Walters '04 said his goal was to offer a chance for all University students who enjoy pool to participate in competitions and learn more about the game of pool. Both proposals were unanimously approved.

Get the best of ‘the Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

The treasurer's report projected that the USG will end the year with a surplus of about $45,000.

Kochan noted that the rollover would give the USG some extra flexibility for the following year and said that it might help to facilitate a stadium concert that the USG tentatively plans to sponsor next spring.