The USG discussed the USG-moderated Class of 2017 Facebook group and the upcoming COMBO IV survey at its meeting Sunday evening.
The Princeton 2017 team has been working on updating the Princeton 2017 website and publicizing it through the Path to Princeton and Undergraduate Admission websites, as well as the Princeton 2017+ Facebook group.
The Princeton 2017+ Facebook group, which is administered by members of the USG for the first time in part due to problems with the Class of 2016 Facebook group, currently has 2,126 members from the Class of 2017 and classes of current undergraduates at Princeton, according to U-Councilor Paul Riley ’15, one of the administrators of the group.
The problem the group’s administrators now face is how to handle the transition from the 2017+ Facebook group to a group only for the Class of 2017.
The administrators are also experiencing difficulty managing the posts and comments of so many group members.
“We’re going through the post approval system where people will send in posts and then we’ll approve them,” Riley said. “We’ve had problems with trolls on the site, posting things, discouraging people from coming, so the question is, how do we handle that?”
U-Councilor Katherine Clifton ’15, another Facebook group administrator, added that managing the posts has been “a little bit overwhelming” at times and wondered if members of the USG had ideas for a more authoritarian body that could manage the page, such as members of the admissions office. She noted that the Facebook groups of other schools are run by their respective admissions offices.
Academics Committee chair Dillon Sharp ’14 said he thought that it was “strange” that admissions offices of other schools administered these pages. He said he did not think the USG should encourage this practice.
“I think we should get out of the business of managing this page as quickly as possible,” U-Councilor Elan Kugelmass ’14 said, adding that “these problems will disappear after May 1,” when students will have committed to Princeton.
The USG also discussed the upcoming COMBO IV survey, which will be sent out to students once the Mental Health Initiative survey ends around Dean’s Date. Students will then have about a month and a half to complete the survey.
According to U-Councilor Farrah Bui ’14, the COMBO IV project is ahead of schedule in the hopes of avoiding the delays experienced before releasing the results of COMBO III. The results of that survey, which was conducted in the summer of 2011, were released in December 2012.
One big change for this survey is that the data analysis will be conducted by Data and Statistical Services, a part of the Social Science Reference Center in Firestone Library that offers statistical consulting services to members of the University, rather than by students. This work will be done free of charge.
Those who complete the survey will be entered into a drawing to receive one of three iPad Minis. The results of the survey are scheduled for release by the beginning of the next school year.
The USG also unanimously approved a $6,000 funding request for the Dean’s Date celebration on May 14. The Social Committee is partnering with the Princeton Student Events Committee this semester to create an outdoor event with carnival games, fun races, competitions and food trucks. The $6,000 will cover the food trucks.
The Academics Committee discussed the initiatives it is planning for next fall, including a meeting with the Committee on Examinations and Standing regarding exam period. Sharp requested feedback from the senate about exam period and other academic issues.
Campus and Community Affairs chair Trap Yates ’14, who serves as the USG liaison to SHARE, gave a presentation on possible projects for collaboration between SHARE and the USG. Their potential projects included a USG-sponsored poll on students’ social and sexual experiences, a USG-sponsored video message to promote a better understanding of sexual assault and a mentorship program tasked with addressing sexual assault from a masculine perspective.
Yates is a former associate editor for the Street section of The Daily Princetonian.
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