USG begins planning upcoming events following retreat

While Undergraduate Student Government president Ella Cheng ’16 made only one specific campaign promise — a Chipotle study break — she said the Undergraduate Student Government will see significant change this year.

“The plan was first that we restructure USG, secondly explore and execute projects, both new and old, and then getting the word out better,” Cheng said.

Cheng is a former staff writer for The Daily Princetonian.

At the USG senate retreat this past weekend, USG members discussed the results from the recent “What Matters” campaign and brainstormed projects based on that information.

“In all my experience with the USG, it’s surprising to me, we’ve never actually reached out to students before going to retreats and figuring out what to do for the year," she said.

USG members will publicly announce a more detailed agenda for the year within the next week, including a list of priorities.

Cheng said the goal of her campaign was to present a broader plan for how USG might carry out tasks this year, including incorporating the ideas of students before actually starting to take action.

“It’s a multi-step process, and often I think we get stuck at different parts of it,” Cheng said. “As much as I love USG and embrace it and see it as an effective platform, I also knew that it was not reaching its full potential. I really want to loop in and meet with people who are disgruntled, because I want to hear why.”

There will now be six members on the communications committee who will help plan focus groups, study breaks, videos and social media. USG also plans to hold more open forums, where students who are not formally part of USG can engage with members, Cheng said.

USG is also working on building a new website, USG vice president Aleksandra Czulak ’17 said, adding that she envisions a blog-like format for each committee with regular updates to increase transparency and accessibility.

While USG did not begin working on new, more specific projects before the retreat, the new leadership of USG has been working on old projects in the meantime. For example, Czulak is examining why some of the recommendations of a 2010 task force on eating clubs have not been implemented. USG is also compiling results from a survey about eating clubs sent to students earlier in the year and plans to reach out to the Interclub Council as well as administrators afterward.

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In addition, some committees have already begun planning upcoming events, including Mental Health Week and Lawnparties.

University Student Life Committee chair Kathy Chow '17 said that one of her goals for the year is to reach out to different groups on campus that might have been left out before.

“Something I’m really excited about and I hope will be implemented quickly is the food request project. Campus Dining has expressed that it would be open to listening to what students want in dining halls,” Chow explained, adding that she hopes USG will focus on projects that impact students the most and that are the most feasible. “So we’re going to design a survey that will be sent out soon to identify the top five most desirable food items.”

The main goal of the information technology committee is to better incorporate student feedback, committee co-chair Zachary Liu ’18 said.

“One of our primary functions is to act as the student liaison between the student body and OIT,” Liu said. “We will try to facilitate the communication between students and administrators on how to proceed with applications.”

Liu said the IT Committee also plans to expand its presence on campus by taking more members. While the committee included only four people in the past, this year Liu said they hope to have around eight members to work on multiple projects at the same time.

Academics chair Ramie Fathy '16 and information technology co-chair Akash Levy '18 did not respond to a request for comment. Social chair Simon Wu '17 and communications committee chair Nick Horvath '17 declined to comment.