USG Senate votes to amend Honor Committee Constitution

During its meeting on Sunday, Nov. 22, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) voted to approve an amendment to the Constitution of the Honor System changing the structure of elected student membership.

The amendment allows the sophomore class president to serve a one-year term on the Honor Committee rather than have a lasting membership until graduation, as the constitution had previously stipulated. The one-year term will be a requirement. Should the class president be reelected and not wish to serve on the Honor Committee again, the vice president of the class will take their place. If another student is elected junior class president, that student will represent their class on the Honor Committee instead.

“We really like having student representation on the Committee,” Honor Committee Chair Dina Kuttab ’21 said. “Sometimes class presidents, just like any other member of the Committee, will want to leave because of time commitments, and when they do, we don’t have anyone [who was elected] to replace them.”

Kuttab noted that the Constitution of the Honor System may be amended in two ways: either the student body can vote or 13 out of 15 members of the Honor Committee and three-quarters of the Senate can vote to approve the amendment.

The Senate also heard task force updates from Naomi Hess ’22 and Riley Martinez ’23.

Hess is an associate news editor for The Daily Princetonian.

Hess presented on behalf of the newly established Disability Task Force, noting that it has added 16 new members and established connections with the Interclub Council to discuss accessibility at the eating clubs. The task force is looking into creating an accessibility guidebook similar to USG’s mental health guidebook and establishing an orientation program focused on accessibility.

Martinez presented updates from the Friends of FLI (First-Generation, Low-Income) and Virtual Community Building Task Forces. He shared that the task force has been working to inform students about work opportunities, and it is looking into collaborating with the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students to potentially match students seeking off-campus housing.

Martinez noted that depending on what is announced in the next few weeks regarding spring semester plans, the Virtual Community Building Task Force will shift its efforts to facilitating a smooth transition back onto campus.

The meeting also included a reminder to all present to vote in USG elections. Election voting began at noon EST on Monday, Nov. 23, and will close at noon on Wednesday.