Friends keep asking me what I've been up to lately. When I explain my busy schedule they turn skeptical and question, "If you have been doing so much as president, how come I haven't heard of any news or changes on campus?"
I think this pretty well defines the image of USG most people have.
The past week included numerous individual meetings with administrators, committee meetings and panel discussions. And yet I had little free time to draft plans for the issues at hand — the hot issues discussed leading up to December's elections. One of the problems with the USG is the incredible time and energy spent filling the administration's committees. The theory might be that we students do not want the administration making decisions without our input, yet students rarely hear about a new decision based on their input.
I hope to strengthen the USG's role as a tool for quality control. As these committees are formed, I want to see student members explain why changes need to be made. The University's Task Force on Health and Well Being closely watches student behavior, but it will likely be the USG that explains that the current machines and locker facilities are not cutting it. The Freshman Experience Committee may ask the whole student body its opinion of Tiger Night, but it will be your fellow students from USG who will explain the frustration of too many meetings in Richardson and the lack of relaxing bonding experience during orientation.
The second primary obstacle for USG is the same for most students: Few people know what the multiple associate deans of the college do. Too much time is spent in USG figuring out who makes decisions on campus. Traditionally the USG begins by assigning individual projects and then gives senators and U-councilors free range to achieve those goals as we manage the aforementioned administrative committees. This year will be different. Once projects are assigned, contact people will be determined and deadlines will be set. No more updates, only accomplishments.
These projects will include a 24-hour study space; reduced book and Pequod prices; increased wireless locations; a better organized West College for student groups; and a website incorporating all eating club student group, residential college and public lecture events. These are issues of logistics and funds.
We will attack the loftier issues piece by piece. The USG is totally student based, and I admit that we sometimes get mired in the abstract. So we will go after what we know to be the problems. A new design for orientation based on academic, cultural and social events will soon be presented to the student body and administration to demonstrate what is lacking from our first week on campus. A plan to introduce departmental representatives to freshmen and sophomores to improve advising so they do not simply rely on SCORE and all-class meetings will be finished soon after.
Additionally, we will discuss the parts of Princeton that are not discussed. Yes, there is a faction of students not in eating clubs. They need better information regarding other dining options. Yes, there are minority student organizations that host events open to all students. Their events need to be recognized for what they are: a chance for people to meet new people. Otherwise this campus does not bring its student body together. At Stanford, near my home, the entire student body rallies around sports teams. That does not happen here, so we need to find new ways to publicize sporting events.
A student government should not define its students; students should define their student government. In recent months, several popular professors have been denied tenure or a similar situation. Accordingly, the USG will pursue a more transparent tenure process and advocate that student opinion be given more weight in this decision.
We are going to pursue these issues. Some may not succeed, but along the way we will increase the amount of debate on this campus — we will not be hindered by our goals, we will put them at the front of our agenda. That will be the legacy of this USG term.
Matt Margolin is the USG president. He is a politics major from Palo Alto, Cal. You can reach him at margolin@princeton.edu.
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