USG passes ‘One Too Many’ campaign resolution, faces criticism from UHS

At its Sunday meeting, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) senate passed a resolution adopting the “One Too Many” campaign’s statement letter on student mental health, which elicited criticism from University Health Services (UHS). The USG also heard preliminary findings from the Academic Life Total Assessment (ALTA) survey on AI use in classes, and received updates from the academics and sustainability committees. 

The resolution adopting the “One Too Many” campaign’s letter, submitted by Mental Health Committee Chair Aakansh Yerpude ’27, passed 24–0, with one abstention. The statement letter will be published on the official USG website alongside a tally of the vote count, functioning as a formal USG position that senators will bring directly to University administrators. 

According to Yerpude, the letter is the product of seven months of work spanning two USG administrations. It draws on an online survey of 207 students, and in-person interviews with over one hundred students. Yerpude noted several revisions since last week, including a shift away from “crisis” language that exaggerates the mental health situation on campus to avoid risks associated with sensationalizing suicide, and updated descriptions of existing University processes around Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) referrals, housing, and leaves of absence.

Following the passing of the resolution, a letter from John Kolligian, executive director of UHS was sent to USG members on Sunday night. It expressed several concerns surrounding the research cited in a draft of the letter and the “language and characterizations” around mental health. 

Kolligian wrote that he had planned to send his comments before the vote, having understood the resolution would be heard a week later, at the April 19 meeting. While affirming a shared “commitment to improving student well-being,” Kolligian raised several concerns about the drafted letter, including that its central claims rely on survey findings whose statistical methodology is not made available for review, that it leans heavily on opinion pieces and campus journalism rather than peer-reviewed research, and that some language could “unintentionally heighten distress among vulnerable students and discourage help-seeking.” 

He also noted that Princeton’s internal data shows a high level of student satisfaction with CPS and timely access to initial consultations, a picture he suggested was “more complex” than the drafted letter conveys. Kolligian additionally pointed to a forthcoming report from the University’s Task Force on Mental Health produced in partnership with the Jed Foundation, which he said covers many of the same themes, and encouraged USG to review it before moving forward. 

In an interview with The Daily Princetonian directly following the meeting, Yerpude said the strength of the campaign’s letter lies in its consolidation of years of fragmented advocacy. “One thing that I think is different about this letter and this movement is that it’s sort of a collective of everything that has been happening for the past five or six years,” he said. 

Yerpude identified integrating wellbeing into pedagogy as the recommendation most likely to face resistance, calling it “the meatiest recommendation,” given the number of stakeholders involved. Specifically, the letter proposes implementing the Well-Being in Learning Spaces Toolkit developed by TigerWell, adding “reflection periods” during intense points of the semester, as well as audits of student workload, among other recommendations.   

In an interview with the ‘Prince’ following Kolligian’s letter, USG Vice President Anuj Krishnan ’27 and Yerpude said that they made revisions to the final version of the letter that was passed in the Sunday resolution. 

“Our goal was never to create this statistically significant report or survey,” Yerpude said. “It was more so just to surface voices,” he stated, noting that the framing of mental health issues on campus has evolved, and statistics cited in the final letter have been further contextualized compared to a previous draft they said was shared with UHS.

Regarding USG’s decision to vote on the resolution today, Krishnan said that “we decided that it was the right course of action to vote on it today, because we had a chance to speak with students, members of USG, and we received admin feedback.” He added that the resolution was “a starting point” for future conversations around mental health with University administrators.

Former Mental Health Committee Chair Allen Nieva ’26, who helped initiate the efforts in the past, called the resolution’s passage “a very powerful and symbolic move” at the meeting.  

In addition to the passing of the resolution, USG President Quentin Colón Roosevelt ’27 delivered both the president’s and treasurer’s reports, standing in for USG Treasurer Marvel Jem Roth ’28, who was away at a flag football event. Colón Roosevelt looked ahead to an upcoming meeting with University Executive Vice President Katie Callow-Wright, and noted that USG elections voting would open on Monday at noon.

U-Councilor Shria Ajay ’27 then presented preliminary findings on student AI use from the ALTA survey, a product of a USG initiative which drew responses from 1,193 undergraduates, approximately 21 percent of the student body. 

The survey found that 64 percent of Princeton students use AI in academics on a weekly basis, up from 24 percent who reported doing so in high school. ChatGPT was the most widely used tool, followed by Gemini and Claude. Students most commonly used AI for detailed topic explanations, broad summaries, and help with studying, while coding and data analysis ranked near the bottom — a result Ajay described as surprising.  

A full report of results from the ALTA survey is expected to be published within the next two weeks, with Ajay set to meet again with Dean of the College Michael Gordin and the Office of Institutional Research to walk through the findings.

The Sustainability Committee then previewed its upcoming symposium, scheduled for April 23, which will feature 10 to 15 tabling organizations, including the African Wildlife Foundation and League of Conservation Voters, followed by five panelists from a range of sustainability-oriented groups. 

Academics Committee Chair Isaac Bernstein ’28 reported his work over the past week, including a joint meeting with the USG Civil Liberties Working Group on due process and disciplinary reform; his attendance at a virtual multi-university mental health and academic policy conference alongside representatives from UCLA, McGill, Oxford, Toronto, and Cornell; and ongoing work on a project to update outdated minor degree requirement information.

Bernstein ’28 is a former staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’

In an interview with the ‘Prince’ following Sunday’s USG meeting, Bernstein emphasized both the intensity of student interest in the proctoring debate and the steps he took to represent student views to administrators. 

“The fact that we were able to get 806 responses in six to seven days shows that this is an issue the University community really cares about,” he said. He also noted that the results of a survey he distributed to the student body on the proctoring debate narrowly skewed to supporting proctoring in-person exams, with 50.1 percent of participants supporting proctoring and 44.9 percent opposed. The survey results were shared with Gordin and the Committee on Examinations and Standing prior to their vote. 

Bernstein said he personally reviewed roughly 277 open-ended responses, “extracted the most common responses” for a summary circulated to students and the dean, and also provided the raw spreadsheet of all responses for University administrators “in case they wanted to review that further.”

Bernstein also raised concerns about due process in student disciplinary structures, highlighting the Student Group Accountability Board (SGAB), which “has jurisdiction over all clubs on campus” and “is able to impose punishments” on student groups who have violated University policy, but has no constitution and anonymous membership. 

Extracurricular disciplinary processes can create “stress and pressure” that shapes students’ “academic experience,” Bernstein said. He and other student leaders are planning to meet with ODUS Assistant Dean for Student Programming Jelani Johnson and members of the SGAB to learn more about the board’s procedures, goals, and jurisdiction, and to “brainstorm some ways to create reform to help students be better supported in their club environments.”

The USG senate meets every Sunday at 5 p.m. in Robertson 016 and is open to all students.

Andrew Arthur is a staff News writer from London and is on general assignment.

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