USG boots U-Councilor Lindsay ’12 for inadequate attendance at meetings

According to USG President Bruce Easop ’13, Lindsay violated the USG constitution by missing four USG-related events during his term: two USG Senate meetings, one meeting of the Council of the Princeton University Community and the USG’s fall retreat. Lindsay represented himself in a meeting of executive session, Easop said, but the student government ultimately voted to remove him from the body. Easop declined to comment on the vote total, citing the USG constitution. A majority vote is needed to retain a member.

Lindsay could not immediately be reached for comment.

The USG also announced at its Senate meeting that this spring’s elections will feature two referenda when voting begins April 16: one to eliminate the freshmen student government position titles and another to urge the University to change its investment priorities.

The referendum about the freshmen student government, sponsored by Class of 2012 social chair Tulio Jose Alvarez Burgos, would scrap the current system and create a freshman class council comprised of the top five candidates who receive the most votes during fall elections. Currently, students run for the separate hierarchical positions of president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and social chair. The rationale is that a freshman council would allow for a “more fluid and flexible allocation of responsibility,” according to the referendum. Students would then have the chance to learn about each role’s different duties, which freshmen “may not fully understand” in the fall, it states.

In this way, voters would be more informed in future elections when candidates compete for titled roles.

Twenty-one candidates will begin campaigning for the 15 total class government positions today. Among the contested elections, Josh Bachner ’13 and incumbent Hanna Tian ’13 are running for Class of 2013 treasurer; Tejal Jamidar ’14 and incumbent Luchi Mmwega ’14 are running for Class of 2014 president; former Class of 2014 senator Dylan Ackerman ’14 and incumbent Jason Adleberg ’14 are running for Class of 2014 vice president; and Cameron Henneberg ’14 and Matt Pugliese ’14 are running for Class of 2014 social chair. Three freshmen, Valentin Hernandez ’15, Nabeer Khan ’15 and incumbent Danny Johnson ’15, are running for Class of 2015 social chair. All other positions are uncontested.

Adleberg is a former staff writer, Hernandez is a staff photographer and Johnson is a copy editor for The Daily Princetonian.

A separate referendum sponsored by the Princeton Coalition for Endowment Responsibility calls for the USG to recommend that the University’s endowment “be invested in socially responsible ways.” The two-sentence referendum suggests the creation of “an effective investment oversight committee.”

According to the website for the Occupy Princeton movement, PCER intends to “identify the stakes of different organizations like Occupy Princeton to make sure investment policy of endowment funds takes them into consideration.”

Headed by Yongmin Cho ’14 and Alex Smith ’13, PCER is seeking an official statement from the University about how it intends to ensure responsible investment, including investments that contribute to the development of the local community.

U-Council elections feature 13 candidates competing for 10 positions, including eight candidates from the Class of 2015.

The USG also approved $2,167.50 of Projects Board funding for the dodgeball tournament at Dillon Gymnasium this Thursday. The remainder of the total $16,000 event cost will be funded by University sources, such as the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students and the Alcohol Initiative.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

In the future, P-Boards and Alcohol Initiative will not be able to fully fund free T-shirts because of budget restraints, Jared Peterson ’14, the co-chair of Projects Board, said. Although the shirts will be heavily subsidized, students may have to pay a nominal fee.

$6,000 was also approved for the USG’s Dean Date celebration event, featuring food from Naked Pizza and Louie G’s Italian Ice. Because of budgetary restraints, there will be no apparel giveaways like the blankets and sweatpants given at past Dean’s Date events.

Easop also announced that the faculty committee tasked with choosing a new dean of the Wilson School has asked the student government to solicit student feedback during the search process. The committee has asked the USG to find out “what are the most important issues and ways in which the Wilson School affects the undergraduate student body at large” and “what are the most important qualities and capabilities” they might seek in a new dean.

Easop said he will seek more specific instructions from the committee about what issues should be investigated. The USG will then appoint a subcommittee to solicit suggestions and then provide a letter to the committee representing its findings.

Correction: Due to reporting errors, a previous version of this article listed several inaccuracies about the upcoming USG election and funding. Voting begins on April 16, and there are 13 candidates for U-Council. Also, the USG approved $2167.50 of Projects Board funding for the Dodgeball Tournament. The 'Prince' regrets the errors.