Editorial: Making the Money Count

Particularly during an economic downturn, sacrificing to aid the less-privileged is a worthwhile and commendable goal. The board feels, however, that the charitable good advanced through programs such as Inter-Action ultimately does not outweigh the utility of USG-sponsored social events, particularly the Lawnparties concert at Quad.

The USG-sponsored concert provides all students with an opportunity to spend an afternoon together enjoying a free concert by a well-known artist. The appeal of an alcohol-free environment allows and encourages students who are uncomfortable or otherwise unacquainted with the Street to participate in this Princeton tradition. Other USG-sponsored social events, such as study breaks and the annual dodgeball tournament, also provide an important service — they are popular events to which all students have equal access, regardless of class year or affiliation.

While the Pace Center programs are also meaningful and certainly laudable, directing funds toward these programs was an inefficient way of accomplishing the charitable goals of last spring’s referendum. Unfortunately, programs such as Inter-Action are burdened by large overhead costs, such as transporting, training and feeding participants. Other individual student projects could only accommodate a limited number of students and, like Inter-Action, spent a large portion of their funding on overhead costs. While it is unclear how much of an impact these programs actually made, it is a lamentable reality that the funds, taken from the undergraduate activities fee paid by all students, were used to facilitate a limited number of students’ participation in civic service projects.

Programs such as Inter-Action are a valuable opportunity for civic engagement, but there are many more efficient ways — such as direct cash donations — to accomplish the charitable goals of the referendum. Unfortunately, the University’s non-profit status prevents the USG from donating its social budget to other non-profit organizations such as the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. To combine the advantages of Lawnparties and charitable giving, the USG should request a small donation at the entrance to the concert. This donation would not impede students from attending, and the funds could be donated directly to a chosen charity or cause. Rather than paying for a select few of their peers to travel to Trenton and volunteer, students would be giving out of their own pockets to a worthy cause — a sacrifice that is much more charitable.