USG Senate approves four new student groups at meeting

The USG approved four new student groups at the USG Senate meeting held in Frist Campus Center on Sunday night. Princeton Equality Project, Princeton Flutes, Princeton Scandinavian Association and Princeton Opera Company were unanimously approved by the USG Senate.

Jack Ching ’13 of the Student Groups Recognition Committee presented the four groups to the Senate, explaining their objectives and the SGRC’s reasons for recommending approval for these groups.

The main purpose of the Princeton Equality Project is to raise political and social awareness and promote LGBT equality at different levels, from on-campus involvement to engagement on a global level. Ching said that what separates this group from other LGBT groups on campus is its focus on effecting policy changes.

The group already has a strong existing membership and several projects planned, group founder Andrew Blumenfeld ’13 explained. Blumenfeld wrote a column for The Daily Princetonian on Friday announcing the formation of the group.

Princeton Flutes will specialize in flute choir repertoire, bringing in students of varying experience with the goal of providing flute players with more opportunities to perform outside of current performing groups, which are seen as “highly competitive.” The group already has several planned performances at residential colleges.

The Princeton Scandinavian Association will bring together students and faculty with connections to Scandinavia and share Scandinavian culture with the Princeton community through cuisine, music, traditional dances, workshops and talks by Scandinavian public figures.

Princeton Opera Company, which is supported by the music department, will combine student performances with organizing opera-related events on campus. The group plans to host full staged performances on March 6 and April 30.

The USG Senate also opened the floor for a discussion with Vice President for Campus Life Cynthia Cherrey, who shared the goals and projects she has been working on with the Senate and said she hoped the conversation between the USG and administrators would strengthen the partnership between the two parties.

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The projects that Cherrey is working on include improving the residential college system, reevaluating the housing system and reformatting Career Services in order to “prepare students for their life’s work,” rather than simply providing internship and job information.

Projects manager Charissa Shen ’14 also spoke at the meeting and presented several projects with which the USG is currently involved, including "Battle of the Bands," a competition among campus bands that will be held during the second weekend of Princeton Preview, meal exchange reform and improvements to the USG’s DVD collection.

The final presentation of the meeting came from Stephen Stolzenberg ’13, who attended the Ivy Council's policy conference held at Dartmouth last weekend. Taking inspiration from Dartmouth and Harvard, Stolzenberg proposed a course review process and a campus group catalogue that would match users with organizations that might interest them. No decision has been made on these proposals.