USG's role in politics

Pettus Randall's term as USG President is off to a promising start. His early work on alcohol, the athletics moratorium and eating club costs demonstrates a keen focus on the issues that matter most to students.

As part of that focus, Randall has informally urged the USG to avoid taking stands on partisan political issues that are not specifically relevant to Princeton. We see his point — the USG's mandate is to serve Princeton students, not to participate in national or global political debates.

At the same time, national debates sometimes coincide with campus concerns. With the University of Michigan's affirmative action case pending before the Supreme Court, Princeton's own ability to maintain its current admissions policies in the future is uncertain. The case matters to Princeton, and several members of the USG Senate have expressed a desire to see the USG take a stand. Randall, on reflection, has agreed to let the issue come up for a vote, and is now working with a group of interested Senators to draft a resolution endorsing Princeton's use of race-based affirmative action.

A majority of the Opinion Board sees a need for greater emphasis on economic factors in admission, as opposed to race. We are glad to see the USG take a stand — even if it differs from our own. As with last semester's USG condemnation of the federal law denying drug offenders access to federal student aid, a resolution on affirmative action would be both timely and relevant to students.

We think the current practice of addressing only those national issues that are directly relevant to students strikes a good balance. It allows the USG to stand up for the interests of Princeton students in a national sphere without becoming bogged down in partisan debates. — The Daily Princetonian Opinion Board