2 of 4 chair positions in upcoming USG elections uncontested

Two of the four chair positions for the upcoming Undergraduate Student Government elections are uncontested.

The candidates running for Campus and Community Affairs committee chair and University Student Life Committee chair are unopposed.Three candidates will be competing for the position of academics committee chair, and two candidates will be contending for the position of social committee chair.

Of the four positionslast year, only USLC chair and social committee chair were contested, while the candidate for the academics committee chair ran unopposed and there were no candidates for the Community Affairs Committee Chair.

Patrick Flanigan ’18, Shannon Osaka ’17 and David Landeta ’19 are contenders in the race for the academics committee chair.

Flanigan is a peer academic advisor, a McGraw tutor and serves as a member of the McGraw Advisory Council. He explained that his platform includes eliminating the vestiges of University grade deflation, expanding on-campus mental health programs and creating academic stipulations including the prevention of students from being forced to take three midterms in one day. Flanigan said that the pressures associated with grade deflation undermine student confidence and produce unsafe levels of anxiety.

Flanigan also said the University should readopt the pre-grade deflation policy of attributing an A+ in a class to a 4.3 on the GPA scale, rather than just a 4.0.

Osaka, the only candidate for academics committee chair with prior USG experience, served as a member of the academics committee this fall. Her platform, she said emphasizes the restitution of the three-week winter break and possibly rescheduling fall term final exams to before winter break. She explained that she plans to work on a survey to measure student opinions on those topics and better present it to the administrators.

Her other concerns include better University support for students pursuing independent majors and improving the undergraduate advising system.

Landeta, the only freshman contesting for a USG committee chair, said that his platform includes extending library hours, extending McGraw tutoring availability and initiating a system by which lectures can be recorded and uploaded to Blackboard.

Landeta said he hopes that his being a freshman will not preclude him from being considered as a viable candidate.

“I would not say that this position is a lot about experience — it has more to do with generating ideas, advocating those ideas, and implementing change,” he said.

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Lyon Aung ’18 and Rachel Park ’18 are the two candidates vying for the social committee chair.

Aung, who has served on the social committee for the past two years, said that as most of the social committee’s works are logistically based, his previous experience would help him actually implement his desired projects. He explained that while many candidates have specific platforms they want to achieve in mind, implementing ideas is more important than simply generating them.

Aung said he hopes to expand the speaker series, in collaboration with the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students — taking performers out of the concert-environment to sit down and talk with students about various subjects on their art, influence and experience.

He also hopes to expand the concert series by enlarging committee subsidiaries for student tickets and transportation, he said. Likewise, he would like to improve collaboration with the rest of USG in order to more effectively organize and coordinate various events on campus.

Rachel Park, a varsity field hockey player and a Class of 2018 senator, said that one of her principal concerns is the poor representation of student-athletes in USG, she said.

“I think that the social events that are organized do not necessarily cater to the athlete population — and their lack of representation only exacerbates this matter,” Park said.

Park said that her creativeness would help bring effective change to the social committee, and her experience as an athlete made her experienced in time management, efficiency and organization — traits that she believes are necessary for positions of leadership in USG.

Jenny Zhang ’18, who is running unopposed for the USLC chair, is a current member of the USLC and a former 2018 Class Councilofficer. She is also a manager for the Student Design Agency.

Zhang said that the USLC is currently focusing on the issues of social inclusion, diversity, LGBTQ community and racial and cultural inclusion, and that she hopes to continue addressing these concerns.

Michael Cox ’18 is also running uncontested for the position of CCA committee chair. He is also the incumbent candidate for this position, having held position throughout this fall.

Cox said he values “life outside the bubble” and recognizes that many students fall into routines that do not allow them to experience all of the opportunities that the town has to offer.

“Princeton can often be overwhelming at times, and it is important that students take the opportunity to break away from their everyday routines and explore something new,” Cox said.

Cox said he will also seek to reestablish a niche for CCA within the framework of USG, noting that the committee often struggles to understand the limits of its power and exercise its influence without stepping on the toes of other organizations such as the Pace Center.