USG seeks feedback from campus on social code

After first considering a "social honor code" early this semester, the USG's Undergraduate Life Committee is depending on the community for advice on what, if anything, it should do to make students from all groups feel more comfortable on campus.

When ULC chair William Robinson '04 initially proposed the social honor statement, he received a great deal of feedback from USG members. Though responses were generally positive, he said many cautioned there would be large obstacles to any proposal that came down from the administration, suggesting a successful plan would begin instead with the students.

The committee is looking for a way to help students who feel marginalized or harassed become happier here at the University without granting any new disciplinary powers or creating any new regulations.

Economics professor Elizabeth Bogan, who serves on the ULC, explained an impetus for the ULC's move.

"Anecdotally, many of us [in the community] hear stories of people feeling they haven't been respected, have not been understood, and that they have felt left out at times: that there is too much elitism on campus," she said. "And if these things make if difficult for people to learn and participate at Princeton, I'm worried about it."

There is already a section about respecting fellow University community members in "Rights, Rules, Responsibilities" — the handbook that covers University regulations — however there is a feeling that students simply never read the section and are unaware of those obligations.

Bogan and Robinson said the committee is looking for suggestions on how best to highlight these responsibilities without imposing undue restrictions on student expression.

"I think, in general, people who understand what we're working on are supportive," Robinson said.

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"Most criticism comes from people who think it's more like an academic honor code" that would impose additional restrictions on students and offer more enforcement options to administrators, he said.

But the committee is not rushing toward any sort of decision. Nothing will be put in place for the spring semester, and it is likely that the committee will draft several possible options and bring them to campus groups to see which option sits best with students, Robinson said.

Students should be offered more than a handbook which they "throw in their desk drawer and don't ever read," said Owen Conroy '05, president of the College Democrats.

"What we have now is probably not enough," he said. "There is probably more that the University undergraduate community can do to promote tolerance on campus."