New USG board convenes to create collective vision

The 2003 USG Senate convened for the first time yesterday to form a collective vision for the year. Discussion centered on three themes: achieving broad student input, taking an activist stance to promoting change and enacting substantive reforms.

USG President Pettus Randall '04 and the rest of the Executive Committee planned the five-hour retreat, which was held at the Nassau Inn. Randall said the USG has not held such an event since 1996, but he felt it would help the Senate "work as a cohesive group where we have collective goals and visions for the year."

"By having the team-building activities that we had and by having an informal gathering where we were bouncing ideas off each other and forming respective visions, we'll be able to set a precedent for the year," Randall said. "Only by working together as a team can we effect meaningful change."

All but one of the 25 USG Senators attended.

Randall opened the meeting by emphasizing the need to take an activist approach to student affairs. Acknowledging that the USG has no real authority over policy changes, Randall said, "We want to take an active role in pushing the administration to listen to students."

Active approach

Randall said an activist approach would include writing Senate resolutions, sponsoring forums and working with class governments, the U-Council and minority organizations to reach common goals.

He cited next Wednesday's forum on the athlete's seven-week moratorium as an example of how the USG would sponsor more dialogue between students and administrators.

"We are leading one of the greatest institutions of higher education," Randall concluded. "We need to take that to heart."

Other members of the USG Executive Committee and the chairs of the core committees also spoke briefly about their visions for the year.

U-Council Chair Josh Anderson '04 said the U-Council would tackle its two current issues, intellectualism and precept reform, "with a renewed vigor."

Academics Chair Amy Saltzman '05 said she would focus on restructuring freshman orientation and improving the academic advising system.

Projects board

The Projects Board will look into making funding available for student groups to buy equipment and supplies, as well as implementing a system of accountability for distributed funds, co-chairs Rishi Jaitly '04 and Jennifer Albinson '05 said.

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The Undergraduate Life Committee will examine various campus life issues and bring substantive matters to the attention of the Senate, committee chair William Robinson '04 said.

After hearing from the committee chairs, the Senate broke up into four groups to brainstorm specific ways of reaching the three broad goals Randall set forth.

The group then reconvened and discussed the ideas proposed, which included improving the USG website, increasing publicity for USG initiatives and creating more venues for student input. Randall also stressed the need to create a minority affairs committee within the USG and to have a student voice in the Borough Council.

Though many of these issues have been discussed or examined, little action has been taken in previous years, Randall said.

"We're going to compile a list [of the ideas we came up with] and make that an accountability system for ourselves," Randall said. "At the end of year, we want to able to take out our goals and look at the progress that we made."