The Undergraduate Student Government’s University Student Life Committee will host its first ever coat giveaway Thursday evening, according to USLC chair Kathy Chow ’17.
The USLC partnered with the Princeton Hidden Minority Council to organize the event.
Chow said that all students are invited to attend the giveaway, but that the event is targeted at those unequipped for a New Jersey winter.
“The idea is not for it to be a flea market type-thing, but to be more for students who genuinely need a coat,” Jessica Reed ’18, a USLC committee member, said.
Reed explained the original idea for the coat giveaway stemmed from many students’ lack of preparation for winter, a need for coats on campus that USLC noticed. In addition to serving students who cannot afford coats, she said the giveaway is targeted at others from warmer regions.
“We all have those friends who came from California and don’t know what an actual winter is like,” Reed said.
The coat giveaway has been in the works since last spring, Chow said.
Reed said the committee placed donation boxes in the offices of the Directors of Student Life of each residential college last spring and collected several large bags of coats for redistribution.
Hidden Minority Council co-chair Dallas Nan ’16 said that while students have been told that residential colleges typically have emergency funds to serve students’ needs and that they can contact their residential college’s staff if they need a coat, the process can be confusing.
“People were getting told the wrong information, and no one knew what the [emergency] fund was, and money was kind of appearing out of midair to do this, and so we were like, there’s got to be a better way,” he said.
Chow explained that through initiatives like the coat giveaway, USLC hopes to fulfill its mission of improving student life in general by serving the student body. The success of Thursday’s event will likely influence whether the project will continue in the future, Reed said.
Nan said the event is intended to be inclusive.
“We don’t want to make any presumptions about an individual’s ability to purchase a coat or not,” he said.
Nan explained that the coat drive fits in with Princeton Hidden Minority Council’s goal to provide resources and programming for first-generation or low-income students.
“When we talk about resources, it can a lot of times be material,” he said. “And when it comes to stuff like coats, it’s integral for your safety, your warmth, your comfort on this campus.”
Reed said that she is concerned the stigmas associated with such an event might prevent students from coming.
“There’s also the fear that people will think it’s not cool to come get a coat,” she said.
However, Nan added that he believes this event would play an important role in reducing the stigma attached to coming from a low-income household.
“I know from personal experience, being a first generation low-income student means that sometimes you don’t reach out for those resources; you feel as though you need to do this on your own because you feel everyone else is, so when resources come out, sometimes you don’t take advantage of them,” he said. “This idea that we’re saying some students on this campus can’t afford a coat is a great way to reduce the stigma, to inform students about what experiences people are going through.”
“If you need a coat, come get a coat,” he said.
The event will take place in Campus Club starting at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Read More
University released final exam schedule early, allowing earlier travel booking
Sena Chang and Eojin ParkThe Registrar’s office released the final exam schedule a month earlier than in previous years. International students shared that they supported the early release by allowing them to book travel earlier, and domestic students also backed the change.
The Registrar’s office released the final exam schedule a month earlier than in previous years. International students shared that they supported the early release by allowing them to book travel earlier, and domestic students also backed the change.
ECE chair responds to ‘Princeton’s Genocide Incubator’ article targeting professors’ research
Olivia SanchezElectrical and Chemical Engineering Chair James Sturm defended the research programs targeted in a published to a Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest-affiliated website named “Popular University Wire” in an email sent to the department Monday. The article names several University-sponsored research projects, accusing them of having “deep linkages, both direct and non, with Israel’s systems of apartheid.”
Electrical and Chemical Engineering Chair James Sturm defended the research programs targeted in a published to a Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest-affiliated website named “Popular University Wire” in an email sent to the department Monday. The article names several University-sponsored research projects, accusing them of having “deep linkages, both direct and non, with Israel’s systems of apartheid.”
Labyrinth Books sees friction between employees and owners as union discussions stall
Isabella DailAt Labyrinth Books, contract negotiations between the employees and owners continue to stall, with the upcoming discussion being canceled just one day before it was slated to occur.
At Labyrinth Books, contract negotiations between the employees and owners continue to stall, with the upcoming discussion being canceled just one day before it was slated to occur.
