The following is a guest contribution and reflects the author’s views alone. For information on how to submit a piece to the Opinion section, click here.
The upcoming Winter USG election cycle will determine the majority of the organization’s leadership for the year ahead, shaping how USG works with the University administration. Sixteen of 26 senate seats — including the president, vice president, treasurer, seven committee chairships, and six class senate positions — are up for election.
USG exists to represent the student body to the University, yet few students know who actually sits in the room for day-to-day policy discussions and only turn to USG in the face of major controversy. Unfortunately, this disengagement begins earlier: in the elections themselves.
In the last winter election cycle, only 2,690 undergraduates — just 47 percent — cast a vote in the presidential race. Down-ballot races saw even lower turnout. While higher than in previous years, participation remains strikingly low considering that voting takes only a few minutes through an emailed link.
Of course, convenience alone doesn’t ensure engagement. Many students likely don’t have the time or motivation in their already busy schedules to learn about the candidates and make informed votes. Still, at a University that prides itself on civic and intellectual engagement, it’s worrying that nearly half of the student body does not prioritize the elections of their own representatives.
After my second year in USG, I have a clearer sense of how the organization works with the University and why those processes matter. While USG rarely has the final say on major decisions, it remains the administration’s first touchpoint for student input. Most importantly, the representatives students elect are the ones who begin those conversations and can push the priorities on which they campaigned. Your vote is your chance to make your voice heard across the myriad levels of the Princeton administration.
USG can and has repeatedly brought administrators into contact with student perspectives. When the University announced new dining policy changes on Sept. 28, USG brought administrators to its Sunday senate meeting within days to directly address student concerns. Earlier, when the University decided to eliminate Dean’s Date, USG was consulted in the early stages so it could provide student feedback on the change. And following the encampment and pro-Palestine protests in Spring 2024, USG facilitated a public conversation with Vice President for Campus Life W. Rochelle Calhoun on free expression.
Furthermore, several meetings take place each week behind the scenes, from conversations with administrators to discussions on University committees such as the University Student Life Committee and the Council of the Princeton University Community. This work has produced tangible results such as early-morning TigerTransit service, reduced therapy copays, and the implementation of “suspension not served” among other examples of successful USG initiatives highlighted in a recent Opinion piece. USG fulfills its role as the student body’s representative by engaging administrators on the issues that affect students most, such as disciplinary processes, religious accommodations, and due process.
Even with limited formal power, USG presses administrators to publicly consider — or at least take a position on — student feedback. However, this work depends not only on internal leadership, but also on the democratic process that brings its representatives to office.
For students to feel represented and for that representation to be genuine, elections must have large-scale, informed student participation. The student body must vote for candidates who reflect their views, hold these candidates accountable to the priorities on which they campaigned, and feel empowered enough to run for office themselves.
The problem extends beyond voter apathy. In the last winter cycle, the Chief Elections Manager announced that five of thirteen positions were initially uncontested, including the academic, student life, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) chairships, which are all central to advancing student priorities. Although additional candidates stepped forward after that announcement, joining late left them with little time to campaign or develop platforms grounded in student needs. This is not a one-off. In the 2023 winter elections, five executive positions — including vice president, academic chair, and DEI chair — were initially uncontested.
Uncontested races weaken student democracy. When a candidate runs unopposed, their ideas go unchallenged, and that lack of scrutiny often carries into their time in office.
The attrition becomes even more pronounced among upperclassmen. In the 2024 cycle, only eight of twenty upperclass candidates who ran for executive roles were new faces to USG leadership. Elections open the door for new ideas and new priorities. In a politically critical moment, students should claim this power.
Princeton is in a period of budget reductions during a turbulent time for higher education, including suspended research grants, threats to tax endowments, and cuts to funding. Incidents involving international students, such as the kidnapping of Rümeysa Öztürk and the blocked attempt to ban international students from Harvard, highlight how external policies can quickly impact student life.
As these pressures against higher education grow, students need representatives who can keep student concerns at the center of every conversation with administrators. This may include working with campus partners to support students as departmental budgets shrink, coordinating with the Davis International Center when outside policies put international students at risk, or developing other solutions that can only emerge through direct conversations with administrators.
Other forms of engagement with administration, like protests and open letters, matter, and they should continue. But that does not diminish USG’s potential to be a forceful advocate for student needs, and this begins with elections.
So I encourage undergraduates to dare to challenge. Learn about USG — the work it does, the spaces it opens for feedback, and the people running to lead it. Vote for candidates whose priorities reflect your own. Bring your own ideas and communities to the table. Better yet, dare to run. Question the priorities of incumbents seeking re-election because, even if their work has been commendable, their ideas and motivations should still be challenged.
The first step is simple: Learn how the process works. If you’re unsure what a position entails, reach out. The USG website lists every current representative. Contact them, ask them what they do, and consider whether you could do it, too.
Oscar Barrios is a junior from Guatemala City studying Civil and Environmental Engineering. He enjoys spending his free time outdoors or photographing street scenes that tell everyday stories and may be reached at barrios.oscar[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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