USG plans to revamp Point, register voters

Correction appended.

In their first meeting of the academic year, USG officials outlined their agenda for the semester, including major initiatives such as launching a new version of Point, the possibility of on-campus polling stations for the November general election and improving communication between the USG and the student body.

The new version of Point will be released Oct. 15, USG president Josh Weinstein ’09 said. The new system will include a module to show the status of all of the printers on campus, a new suggestion box submission system and an improved events module, Weinstein explained in an e-mail to The Daily Princetonian after the meeting.

Weinstein also outlined what he called “huge changes” to Dillon Gym, noting the addition of exercise equipment and the extension of the gym’s Saturday hours.

Campus and Community Affairs chair Cindy Hong ’09 explained the USG’s voter registration initiative. She noted that the USG might be able to help set up polling stations in Jadwin Hall and Dillon Gym. Hong is also a columnist for the ‘Prince.’

Hong also noted that Labyrinth Books is implementing changes in response to students’ complaints, specifically aiming to let customers browse as much of the collection as possible.

Communications director Andrew Malcolm ’09 briefly outlined the Communication Committee’s efforts to make the USG website more user-friendly and to increase readership of school-wide e-mails. “This project is in its preliminary phases ... but we will ensure that the USG website is an invaluable resource for the student body,” he explained in an e-mail after the meeting.

Weinstein also praised the USG Social Board’s planning for the recent Lawnparties. Social chair Julia Jacobson ’10 said the event yielded the “highest number of people at Quad ever,” with more than 3,000 people coming to see Matt Nathanson and Lupe Fiasco. She added that the T-shirts offered by the USG “sold out within the first hour.”

Proceeds from those sales went to Operation Smile, which, according to the organization’s website, “[repairs] childhood facial deformities while building public and private partnerships that advocate for sustainable healthcare systems for children and families.”

Jacobson added that she would like to plan something extraordinary for the 100th anniversary of Spring Lawnparties and advocated increasing the budget for the event.

Projects Board co-chair Will Wallace ’09 quickly described the various projects that the Projects Board and Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students (ODUS) are planning to fund this semester.

These projects include the water fight, which happened this past Saturday in Dod Courtyard. The event was sponsored by the Colosseum Club and the Freshman-Sophomore Council and received $750 from the Projects Board.

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P-Votes also received $955 from ODUS for each of its two debate-watching sessions, during which students can watch the presidential debates, eat free food and register to vote.

Prior to the Senate meeting, students from the Class of 2012 interested in running for freshman class government attended an open house in Frist

Campus Center, where senior elections manager Braeden Kepner-Kraus ’10, upperclass officers and other USG officials explained procedures for running.

Correction:

The original version of this article stated that the USG might be able to help set up polling stations in Jadwin Gymnasium. In fact, the polling stations would be in Jadwin Hall.