USG discusses tighter budget, task force proposals

The Undergraduate Student Government discussed a more stringent spring semester budget proposal, seven task force proposals, and various position appointments during its weekly meeting on Sunday, Feb. 24.

Treasurer Brad Spicher ’20 submitted a budget proposal for the spring semester. According to Spicher, because of increased spending last semester on the buses to the Yale football game, Fall Lawnparties, and the bonfire, the spring semester budget will be much tighter than usual.

Spicher is a photographer for the ‘Prince.’

The proposed change to the budget allocates $82,500 to Spring Lawnparties, compared to the $108,000 that USG spent on Lawnparties last Spring.

The Senate voted to confirm the budget proposal.

USG President Zarnab Virk ’20 introduced the Independent Students Task Force, a committee which aims to encourage communication between the ICC, the Co-op Council, and a re-instituted Independent Students Association. Class of 2020 Senator Tania Bore ’20, however, expressed the idea that a permanent seat on USG might serve the interests of independent students better than an Independent Students Association.

“When I spoke with the independent students, they mentioned that they would actually like to re-route from an Independent Students Association to something on USG,” Bore said.

Vice President Chitra Parikh ’21 recommended the continuation of the Design Thinking Task Force, which will act to implement at least one initiative where people eating alone could meet others in the dining halls, and also will serve as a resource for all USG projects to draw on.

Class of 2020 Senator Andy Zheng ’20 proposed a Work-Study Opportunities Task Force that would seek to make more research assistant positions available for students on work-study programs.

U-Councilor Aditya Shah ’21 and Class of 2021 Senator Elizabeth Bailey ’21 spoke on the Transportation Task Force, which will look into bringing electric scooters to campus, improving the Weekend Shopper, and expanding the Thanksgiving buses to other breaks.

Then, U-Councilor Morgan Carmen ’21 spoke about the Sustainability Task Force and its plans to establish a center of sustainability in Frist Campus Center and to reduce waste at USG events.

Class of 2022 Senator Andres Larrieu ’22 discussed how the Transparency Task Force will continue USG office hours at which different students or faculty that represent particular interests on campus can come to ask the student body’s questions. Larrieu also raised the possibility of moving USG office hours to a more-trafficked location in order to increase attendance.

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“I agree that you [should] make the marketing a lot better rather than focusing on the food expenses because we had some issues with that last semester,” U-Councilor Rachel Hazan ’21 said. “Because we ordered twenty bobas and a hundred people lined up.”

U-Councilor Yousef Elzalabany ’20 presented on the Meditation Space Task Force and discussed the possibility of establishing meditation and prayer spaces in both the E-Quad and the planned residential college.

Following an introduction by the Student Group Recognition Committee Co-Chair Emma Parish ’21, the Senate decided to approve two new student groups: the Princeton African Investment Consortium and Princeton Mock Diagnosis.

The Senate also voted to confirm the following members: Henry Barrett ’22 as U-Councilor, Jonah Hyman ’20 as Parliamentarian, Patrycja Pajdak ’21 as Director of Communications, Thomas Johnson ’22 as Alumni Affairs Chair, Claire McCarriher ’21 as Executive Secretary, Laura Zecca ’20 as Chief Elections Manager, and Katherine French ’22 as Historian.