U-Council discusses alcohol, USG reports

Administrators and student government officials convened yesterday afternoon for the year's first meeting of the Council of the Princeton University Community.

After President Tilghman welcomed attendees to the CPUC, often referred to as the U-Council, a student inquired about the University's position on the proposed Borough alcohol ordinance.

University administrators have been reluctant to support the ordinance, which they believe will dissuade students from bringing intoxicated friends to health facilities.

Dean of Undergraduate Students Kathleen Deignan said, "The University is certainly prepared to adjust our own University policies to be in accord with whatever the Borough passes . . . Our feeling has been that the current situation — that is to say that the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages by persons less than 21 is not currently illegal in the State of New Jersey — allows us to tell [students]" that they can bring their peers to McCosh or Princeton Medical Center.

USG president Joe Kochan '02 then introduced two new USG-sponsored committee reports on minority and women's issues.

USG vice president Traci Strickland '02 presented the Report of the USG Committee on Women's Issues.

The report discussed several causes for insecurity among women on campus. It suggested increasing the number of female faculty members as a possible solution to "low confidence among many female students" in the classroom, and raised concerns about body image and diet issues.

It also investigated sexual harassment and abuse in the eating clubs. Almost 40 percent of Princeton women say they have been sexually harassed at the clubs, the report noted.

The report made eight concluding suggestions, such as streamlining counseling programs. At the end of the meeting, electrical engineering professor Ruby Lee said he was worried that the report was a "muted cry for help that apparently [shows] a sustained environment of sexual assault and not just sexual harassment."

Vice President for Student Life Janet Dickerson assured the attendees that the University "will respond directly to this. I will make sure that the deans and people in health services have access to this and coordinate a response."

Minority issues committee chair Adamma Mba-Jonas '02 followed with the "Report of the USG Committee on Minority Issues."

"The report does not have all the answers to all the questions about minority issues," she said. However, she added that the USG's work can help enhance the lives of future students as the University becomes more aware of minority concerns.

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The committee reported that students "believe that the best solution for the race relations problem on campus is increasing the minority student body." The report continues that simply increasing the minority population will not necessarily improve race relations. Rather, it pointed to the problem of "self-segregation" on campus as a divisive force among students of different races.

The report concluded that efforts to improve the condition of minorities on campus "include refining the programs already in place, strengthening the relationship between minorities and Princeton's faculty, further diversifying the faculty, diversifying the student body, and addressing the unusual campus social scene."

After these reports, Provost Amy Gutmann laid out a ten-point plan to address workers' compensation issues. She emphasized that while the University will work to increase the wages of all workers, it will especially focus on increasing the wages of its lowest-paid workers. She said the minimum pay will be raised to $11 per hour.

"Everybody should be paid a really decent minimum," she said. "We should be able as an institution that stands for excellence to reward all of our workers according to merit."

The provost moved on to discuss the University budget and ongoing searches for new deans in the engineering, architecture and Wilson schools.

Rising costs have created budget difficulties, Gutmann said. "We closed the past fiscal year balancing the budget, but not without some real struggles . . . One of the reasons that Princeton remains as good as it is is that we're very ambitious in what we do."

During this fiscal year, Gutmann suggested that the University will continue to spend more than it originally planned. But she said this will not cause financial difficulties in the near future.

The final business of the CPUC involved the University's response to the events of Sept. 11. Dickerson praised the entire community.

"What we did in response was that we tried to work as a collective group . . . Princeton has done a remarkable job of responding to the needs of individuals and of an intellectual community."

In one of the final statements of the meeting, Tilghman offered her agreement.

"One of the most gratifying things through this period," she said, "has been the degree to which the University community has looked for ways to help." She suggested projects for Princeton to help directly in New York City. "The flavor here is not just to write a check . . . it's to use what we have here, which is extraordinary talent and extraordinary eagerness to help."