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Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022
Newsletter by Amy Ciceu

USG Senate convenes first in-person meeting of the semester; campus sees steady decline in COVID-19 cases

Timothy Park / The Daily Princetonian

Todays Briefing: 

USG CONVENES FIRST IN-PERSON MEETING OF THE SEMESTER: During their first in-person meeting of the semester, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Senate approved a $230,000 budget and confirmed new committee members, among other items. The approved budget represents a decrease from the one approved last year and suggests that USG will host fewer social events throughout the semester. 

“In the recent semesters, USG had been operating on a significantly larger budget than it previously had, probably because we were receiving additional funds from central University funds to help supplement programming that could build community as we come out of this pandemic. This year we are operating on more of a typical pre-COVID budget,” said USG President Mayu Takeuchi ’23, elaborating on the context underlying the reduced budget. 

Later in the meeting, Academics Chair Austin Davis ’23 provided an overview of a health survey administered last semester assessing students’ health issues, such as the “Princeton Plague” and its detrimental effects on students’ experiences. According to the results of the survey, 84 percent of respondents reported that their illnesses exerted negative impacts on their mental health.

READ THE STORY →


CAMPUS COVID-19 CASES CONTINUE DECLINE: During the second week of the Spring 2022 semester, COVID-19 cases among the University community continued to fall as University administrators loosen undergraduate event restrictions. 

According to the University’s COVID-19 dashboard, positive cases among undergraduates participating in the asymptomatic testing protocol dwindled to 23 during the week ending on Feb. 4, the lowest number recorded so far this year for this group. Additionally, the dashboard indicates that the campus positivity rate currently stands at 0.36 percent. The University’s campus risk status remains “high,” defined by the University as a campus positivity rate over 0.5 percent, according to the dashboard.

As campus COVID-19 cases continued their downward trend, students also participated in Street Week, which occurred in a hybrid format consisting of both in-person and virtual components to comply with University COVID-19 policies.

READ THE STORY →
 

NEWS | Dean Dolan and VP Izzo talk updated COVID-19 policies, returning to pre-pandemic ways, individual responsibility

INTERVIEW WITH DEAN DOLAN & ASSISTANT EHS VP IZZO: On Friday, Feb. 4, The Daily Princetonian sat down with Dean of the College Jill Dolan and Assistant Vice President for Environmental Health and Safety Robin Izzo over Zoom to discuss current and future COVID-19 policies on campus. 

The topics covered include Dolan reaffirming the University’s commitment to resuming a complete in-person learning experience — despite the concerns voiced by immunocompromised students — as well as justifying the importance of compliance with the face mask protocol and the necessity of the return-to-campus restrictions imposed by the University before the start of the spring semester. Furthermore, Dolan stressed the importance of heeding mental health concerns in a proactive manner before, throughout, and post-pandemic.

“I think this is just gonna stay with us in certain ways that will become part of the rituals of the campus. But we'll become accustomed to them, and they'll become part of the fabric of our lives again,” said Dolan, describing how certain remnants of the COVID-19 pandemic will persist among the University community while also emphasizing that the University hopes to move forward toward a sense of normalcy as the pandemic abates.

READ THE STORY →
WATCH THE INTERVIEW 

From Sports:

Men’s track at the Dr. Sander Invitational.
Courtesy of GoPrincetonTigers.com
  • SPORTS RECAP: Read the latest weekly sports recap, which covers the results from the men’s and women’s track at Dr. Sander Invitational; women’s ice hockey against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), St. Lawrence, and Clarkson; men’s ice hockey against RPI and Union; men’s and women’s basketball against Cornell and Columbia; and men’s volleyball against Penn State and Saint Francis. 
  • MEN'S BASKETBALL CLAIMS VICTORY AGAINST COLUMBIA: On Saturday night, the men’s basketball team ended a two-game road trip and completed their season sweep of the Lions in New York City. Head Sports Editor Wilson Conn offers a play-by-play of how the two games unfolded.
  • WOMEN'S HOCKEY SUFFERS TWIN LOSSES: Last weekend, the women’s hockey team suffered two losses: on Friday, the Tigers lost to the St. Lawrence Saints 3–0, followed by a tough 7–1 loss to the Clarkson Golden Knights on Saturday. Despite these blows, the women’s hockey team remains situated to qualify for the ECAC tournament.

At Your Leisure:

Charlie Roth ’25 and Laura Reyes ’25 in Theatre Intime’s Freshman One-Act Festival.
Courtesy of Emily Yang
  • THE PROSPECT: Senior writer for The Prospect Gabe Robare reviews Theatre Intime’s One-Act Freshman Festival, an event featuring plays crafted and performed by first-year students. This installment of the festival, which occurred this past weekend, presented four plays dealing with disparate themes, such as what living a banal life entails, how to live amid times of crisis, and what the medium of the stage can represent. 
  • PODCAST: Listen to the latest episode of Daybreak, The Daily Princetonian's daily news podcast!
Today’s newsletter was copy edited by Alexandra Hong, Aileen Lo, Abby Nishiwaki, Alen Palic, and Howard Wang. Thank you. 
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