On Sunday, March 16, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Senate convened on Zoom to discuss budget allocations and pass election rule amendments that limit petitioning.
USG President Enzo Kho ’26 began the meeting by announcing updates to the USG website. Looking ahead, Kho reminded senators of the upcoming quarter report presentation on March 30, which will include updates on various projects and initiatives.
Following the President’s report, USG Treasurer Quentin Colon Roosevelt ’27 provided an update on the USG budget, noting that approximately $53,000 remains for the semester. He stressed the importance of maintaining a “20,000 at least, 30,000 just in case” rollover for summer expenses, while also encouraging committees and working groups to utilize the remaining funds to “provide better experiences for students.” He particularly emphasized funding smaller events and initiatives, such as coffee chats and lunches, which he said range from $1,000 to $2,000.
The Senate then discussed the continuation of Dean’s Date celebrations, despite the removal of Dean’s Date as the universal deadline for final papers and projects. According to Aum Dhruv ’27, Dean’s Date celebrations provide activities that “give students a chance to decompress.”
Chief Elections Manager Alex Sorgini ’26 presented proposed amendments to USG election rules, aiming to streamline processes and address concerns about fairness. One key change was to prohibit “excessive petitioning,” limiting candidates to “not collect more than 10 signatures beyond the required number” of 50 students.
Sorgini said that “excessive petitioning” wasn’t a large concern because “that’s not really the behavior I’ve seen throughout many of these election cycles.” Ultimately, the amendment was adjusted to cap additional signatures at 50 percent above the required number.
Sorgini then presented a proposal to lower the signature requirement for U-Councilors and executive officers from 50 to 25. However, senators ultimately voted to keep the threshold at 50 to encourage outreach and engagement in elections.
“It makes sense to gather 50 signatures, because that makes you go beyond our class ... and people that you know personally,” Senator Daniel Shaw ’25 said.
Another amendment eliminated the requirement for candidates to submit a second, amended expenditure report. Additionally, penalties for late submissions of expenditure reports were reduced from 10 penalty points per hour to one, intended to preserve accountability while eliminating the chance of a candidate being eliminated for a few hours delay in their reports. Points are incurred for various violations and different levels of points have different penalties, with 50 penalty points resulting in disqualification.
A proposed clarification on joint campaign rules was tabled for further discussion, with senators requesting more precise language to differentiate between endorsements and full-fledged joint campaigns.
All the amended election rules passed overwhelmingly, with 18 votes in favor, zero in opposition, and one abstention.
Before concluding, the Senate voted to extend the meeting for an extra five minutes, until 5:55 p.m., to conduct an attendance review. An executive session followed to discuss attendance matters.
For Spring 2025, 10 U-Councilor positions are up for election, as are the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Social Chair for the Classes of 2026, 2027, and 2028. Students will also be able to propose referenda until Friday, March 21 at 5 p.m.
USG meetings are open to all students and are held Sundays from 5–6 p.m. in Robertson Hall 016.
Andrew Arthur is a staff News writer from London, England and typically covers USG, CPUC, Princeton’s institutional legacy, and administrative matters.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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