According to the new University Student Government (USG) Treasurer Walker Penfield ’25, this USG administration plans to tap into its reserves and invest more in student programs and events.
Penfield explained that he plans to use this reserve and apply a different budgeting approach from previous treasurers. The USG currently has $66,000 maintained in reserves, he stated.
“Any money spent by students through their student fees should be spent on them during the semester,” Penfield said. He added that his goal was to “really push for more large-scale projects that utilize that whole reserve so that the impact of USG can be seen.”
Penfield is a contributing Humor writer for The Daily Princetonian.
His term began on Jan. 30, alongside the rest of the new USG administration.
The USG approved a budget of $290,000 for the semester at their weekly meeting on Sunday, Feb. 13. USG budgeted about $230,000 in Spring 2022 and $250,000 in Fall 2022, marking a more than 25 percent budget increase in the past year. In Fall 2021, the budget was more than double the current amount at $600,000, given money not spent during the pandemic.
$236,000 of the budget has already been allocated, and $2,445 has already been spent this semester.
The Lawnparties budget was also increased from $116,000 in the previous term to $118,000 this term. Treasurer Walker Penfield ’25 clarified at the meeting that the $2,000 change “represents an increase in inflation, and a few other expenses.” Penfield explained that he is not at “liberty to share the Lawnparties’ budget that was shared with [USG] from ODUS,” but that his goal is to ensure the “Lawnparties budget process is examined further this semester.”
Penfield clarified that he will ensure that USG “will always have at least $10,000” in reserves and that University guardrails will ensure that USG does not overspend. “There’s never a situation in which we will face drastic consequences, as we work very closely with the University, and they're always very aware of what we’re doing and would never lead us astray.”
The budget was approved in a unanimous vote by those present.
The other item of business at the Feb. 13 meeting was the approval of Ad Hoc committees. Ad Hoc committees are not permanent parts of USG and have to be reapproved every year.
USG President Stephen Daniels ’23 proposed the renewal of the Ad Hoc Committee on Student Disciplinary Processes. Daniels co-chaired the Ad Hoc Committee in 2022 alongside Avi Attar ’25, who now serves as USG Social Committee Chair. Daniels said the group was “working to investigate reforms to student disciplinary processes on campus” with members including students from the USG Senate, the USG Academics Committee, Peer Representatives, and members of the Honor Committee and Committee on Discipline.
Attar said the USG committee creates a space for the various groups to interact and “make sure that they’re all moving in unison as they each themselves interact with administrators.”
The Ad Hoc Committee on Student Disciplinary Processes was approved by all those present, with one member abstaining.
The senate then heard a proposal for an Ad Hoc Committee on Data Analysis from Oyu Enkhbold ’26 and Yubi Mamiya ’26. They explained that the mission of their committee would be “to use experience in data analysis, qualtrics, and ability to connect with the student body to provide information and collaborate with [USG] on things that [USG] really cares about.”
Enkhbold and Mamiya detailed some results from their analysis of the Pay with Points program, with one of their central recommendations being an “increase the budget because students found that 150 points wasn’t enough, and halfway through the semester many students ran out of money.” They explained that they hoped to expand their work to other initiatives like mental health.
The committee was approved in a unanimous vote.
Nandini Krishnan is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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