Save Lawnparties, or save service?

After USG president Connor Diemand-Yauman ’10’s e-mail about the referendum reached student inboxes last Sunday, some undergraduates immediately began mobilizing against the referendum. Voicing concerns that allocation of funds to Annual Giving would be a symbolic gesture that would help only a few students on financial aid, students rallied to “save Lawnparties!” The revised referendum now also includes the choice to reallocate both Lawnparties funds and a portion of the Senate Pilot Programs budget to student-initiated service projects, a choice I ask you to support.

The instinct to “save Lawnparties” is, I think, a natural one; the USG concert indeed provides a chance for students uncomfortable with drinking to enjoy the sunny sundress Sunday scene. As one of the best attended events of the year, the concert also provides undergrads of different backgrounds and interests a chance to mingle and interact. Understandably, arguments against the referendum have centered on the issue that the loss of the USG concert would be a major sacrifice for students.

But I ask you to consider the question: Why service? Though I admire the University’s lofty unofficial motto — “Princeton in the nation’s service and in the service of all nations” — and the University’s efforts to fulfill that goal, I support the referendum not because of my respect for the motto. To be sure, student service efforts do help the ever-desperate communities in Princeton and Trenton suffering from the economic downturn. Because the USG budget comes entirely from the Undergraduate Activities Fee paid by every student, however, I will focus my discussion about the referendum on whether reallocation of funds to service projects will have a positive impact on students’ lives.

As a member of the Executive Board of the Student Volunteers Council (SVC), I have seen firsthand the importance of service in the lives of my peers. The SVC runs 40 weekly projects through which volunteers give of themselves in a variety of ways, from teaching English as a second language to adults in Trenton to mentoring elementary school students. Though our student body is studious, involved and athletic, service stands out as a serious commitment for many of my friends.

Through the SVC and Community House, roughly 800 volunteers regularly commit to direct service projects through weekly projects. Student interest in civic engagement and volunteerism is pervasive on campus and binds individuals from diverse backgrounds and with varied interests. Service organizations on campus connect members from all six residential colleges (forcing me to make non-Forbesian friends!) and the many eating clubs, as well as both engineers and humanities majors alike.

A reallocation of USG Lawnparties funds to service organizations is not just a symbolic measure, since its effects will be noticeable. Without the donation, the service organizations will still operate, but they face severe cuts that will affect their capacities to provide the community with assistance that Princeton volunteers are so eager to offer. The Pace Center, under which the SVC and Community House operate, is facing significant cuts for the upcoming fiscal years — cuts affecting alternative break trips to New Orleans and Galveston, Texas, that provide meaningful and fun opportunities during breaks. The donation to service initiatives would have a substantial positive effect, for $60,000 would allow the PACE Center to maintain the vehicle fleet that students use to address the needs of the local population. Princeton undergrads, and not just the community, benefit from service initiatives. Volunteering is, in many ways, a long-term study break; students get the chance to breathe the fresh air outside the Orange Bubble and to form lasting relationships in the community.

The USG budget has never been directly ours, as students, to spend. Through the USG referendum, however, we have a say in how to prioritize our student government’s funding. I recognize that the loss of the USG fall concert would be a sacrifice, but I’ll be content with Lawnpartying it up at other Prospect Avenue clubs. I would rather have our funds support our community in a meaningful way and, more importantly, enhance student life through student service opportunities. It doesn’t mean that I don’t love Lupe — it just means that the same money will have a more notable and lasting impact on the student community if allocated to service initiatives.

Mina Kojima, a member of the SVC Executive Board, is a sophomore from Weston, Mass. She can be reached at mkojima@princeton.edu.