USG senate discusses changes to elections handbook

The Undergraduate Student Government senate discussed changes to the elections handbook during the weekly meeting on Sunday.

The senate voted to split the elections handbook into two separate handbooks, one governing candidacy and the other governing referenda specifically.

The senate then approved voting and passing thresholds for referenda, making it necessary that at least one-third of the student body vote on a referendum for that referendum to be on the ballot and that of those students, more than 50 percent must vote in favor for the referendum to pass.

Some members of the senate said that it would be desirable to have referenda only during regular USG election cycles instead of allowing students to vote on referenda at any point during the year.

“I think this is a reasonable action to take,” U-councilor Ethan Marcus 18 said. “We have limited resources. We have one elections manager, who has to deal with two elections.”

Other members disagreed, saying that pressing issues should be addressed quickly and effectively, regardless of the time of the year.

“As leaders of the university, us as a USG, it’s our job to facilitate conversations,” U-councilor Dallas Nan ’16 said. “If we choose this option, I think we're doing a disservice to our peers. It should not be our job to decide what is and isn’t a pressing issue to them.”

Nan added that rather than taking into account what peer institutions do regarding referenda, we should support and give voice to students who wish to discuss topics affecting them here and now.

In past elections, 200 signatures during elections cycle and 500 signatures off-season were required for a petition to be considered. The new referenda handbook contained a tentative clause requiring 400 signatures to be on the ballot.

U-councilor Jacob Cannon ’17 said that the number of signatures required for a petition should be a percentage of the school's population, as the population of the school changes every year and a percentage would better reflect how much support the petition has. He noted that he thinks this percent should be 10 percent specifically.

USG president Ella Cheng ’16 noted that during theHose Bicker referendum, those seeking to petition had been actively impeded and had a hard time reaching the required number of 500 signatures. People had ripped the paper ballots, Cheng noted.

Cheng said that she was afraid something similar could happen with more controversial referenda.

Cheng is a former staff writer for the Daily Princetonian.

After extensive discussion, the senate passed the 10 percent amendment.

Princeton Perspective Project chair Mary Manning ’17 presented a brief overview of the direction the project is heading this year. Whereas they had focused on acquiring stories to put on the website last year, the group hopes to spark more conversations this year.

“Getting people talking is more important than increasing the number of stories on our site,” Manning said.

One of the events that PPP has been organizing is the Battle for Burrito in the residential colleges, she noted.

Manning added that the PPP is more than open to possible collaborations with other student groups on campus. For example, Manning explained that PPP hopes to reach out to freshmen through residential college advisers, since freshmen in particular might be more overwhelmed because everything is new to them.

Mental Health Initiatives Board co-chair and U-council chair Naimah Hakim ’16 said that the MHIB will also be working with PPP for Mental Health Week.

USG vice president Aleksandra Czulak ’17 said that the USG has been looking into working with the Interclub Council in the past.

ICC president Jean-Carlos Arenas ’16 said he hopes to increase cooperation with USG, noting that the hydration stations set up at 1879 Arch during Princetoween had been successful.

Arenas is a former chief copy editor and staff writer for the ‘Prince.’

Czulak said that it was necessary to also consider the needs of students on financial aid, or those that are independent or in co-ops.

“At this point, we’re at the stage when we can consolidate our efforts,” Arenas said regarding ICC and USG’s work on financial aid for eating clubs.

Cheng noted the fact that cultural or affinity groups on campus have recently been experiencing difficulty in procuring funds or booking rooms for events.

Cheng also noted that students had recently noticed late meal prices going up.

“There’s no reason a sandwich would cost six dollars,” U-councilor Miranda Rosen ’18 said regarding late meal prices.

Correction: An earlier version inaccurately stated the location of the hydration station. It was 1879 Arch, not Campus Club. The 'Prince' regrets the error.