The hidden decision

The community has known for some time that, soon, Labyrinth will sell textbooks and the U-Store will open a satellite location on Nassau Street. Tucked at the end of an announcement of the opening ceremonies for the new facilities was a surprise revelation on the fate of the U-Store's current home on University Place. The second and third floors of the building will be cleared to make room for four offices: Career Services, the Study Abroad Program, Health Professions Advising (HPA) and the Community Based Learning Initiative.

It is encouraging that all the vacated space will go toward agencies that directly serve students. Without the painfully long walk to Career Services, hopefully more students will utilize its resources. Nonetheless, student input should inform the University's use of the former U-Store property. Lack of significant student input has been a trend of late, and The Daily Princetonian has suggested repeatedly that all the administration's reforms would be better served by soliciting student opinion.

Several concerns might have been raised had students been widely consulted. The announcement makes no mention of the possibility of using the former U-Store space to house a grocery store, which the 'Prince' has argued would be a boon to independent students in particular. In addition, making Career Services more accessible to students is a clear priority, and it should receive primary consideration in the allocation of the former U-Store space.

Student consultation should be central to the structure of any significant decision-making process that affects student life. Making HPA, Career Services and other administrative agencies more accessible to students is a laudable initiative, but one that would be enriched with a greater degree of student input.