Princeton students often underappreciate the work that the USG does for them. Over the last year, the USG has committed itself to being more responsive to student concerns and making tangible improvements to campus life. The USG has done a good job of identifying key gaps in service on campus, such as DVD rentals and healthy post-workout snacks at Dillon Gym. Unfortunately, while the USG does an excellent job of identifying services that students want, it does a poor job of actually providing them.
Take, for instance, USG DVD, which could fill an important niche, since there is no DVD rental store within walking distance of the University. The service is marred by poor execution. The USG’s store is open at very inconvenient times and stocks relatively few titles. The healthy snack food store at Dillon — another good idea — never took off either.
The University needs to pay attention to how the USG implements its initiatives. Both the administration and USG, for example, are interested in creating options so that students do not feel that their main social options are going out to the Street or drinking on campus. The administration has invested heavily in Alcohol Initiative events, which occasionally provide a fun and safe alternative to the eating clubs. But these are one-off events, and the rest of the time, students find there is a dearth of activities to complement the Street. A better-run USG DVD and a more robust Undergraduate Film Organization with more movie showings could contribute to filling the void and would complement the University’s own efforts.
Since the University provides the USG with its budget, the administration has a vested interest in ensuring effective implementation of USG initiatives that complement University goals. When important and well-intentioned USG efforts fail to gain traction, the University should offer to take over direct administration of the effort.
Before taking more direct control of services, however, the University must listen carefully to students. Should the University step in because it has the logistical skills, resources and professional staff to better provide the service, student input should continue to guide the effort. Students providing services to their fellow students is a powerful idea that has a long history at Princeton. Sometimes, however, student enthusiasm should give way to University professionalism. The USG has proven adept at proposing innovative ideas for improving the quality of life on campus. The University has, with occasional exceptions, shown its ability to administer good ideas well. The USG and the University should recognize and build upon each other’s core competencies for the common good.
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