The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) is an organization dedicated to improving the student experience at Princeton by providing services to make our lives easier, advocating for student interests, and serving as a liaison between the student body and the administration. To join this effort, we hope you will consider applying to join a committee on USG! You may apply to however many committees and positions you'd like, but you will later have to rank your preference.
Application Deadline: Monday, September 21st at 5:00 PM EST
Please email Ella Cheng (ellac@princeton.edu) and Aleksandra Czulak (aczulak@princeton.edu) if you have any questions about what each committee does, or about the application process.
Ex: ellac@princeton.edu This question requires a valid email address.
COMMITTEES
Academics Committee
If you want to change anything about academic life at Princeton, this is the place to do it. From writing and reviewing policy proposals to meeting with key administrators, members of the academics have an array of projects that they work on to improve academics at Princeton. Past initiatives include:
- Reviewing the grading policy
- Improving academic advising
- Evaluating the Princeton academic calendar
- Revamping SCORE
- And much more!
Members of this committee also have a chance to sit on University committee with faculty members to discuss topic such as: financial aid, course requirements, and more. This is an exciting committee to be a part of, and we're looking for passionate and motivated students to join the team.
Campus and Community Affairs
The Campus and Community Affairs Committee’s function is to improve student life by focusing on “town and gown” relations. There are three pillars to this: local businesses, town relations and campus affairs. On the business side, the CCA committee negotiates with local entrepreneurs to provide special deals for students. A subcommittee also helps plan Communiversity. This event brigns together 40,000 people annually with fun and games, free food, and more.
For town relations, the CCA committee develops and implements projects that encourage Princetonians to venture beyond the Orange Bubble. To improve campus affairs, CCA committee works with administration such as the Office of Community and State Affairs to address campus and external concerns.
Communications Committee
The positions below will work in tandem as part of the Communications Committee, co-chaired by Nick Horvath (nhorvath@princeton.edu).
1. Designers (2): The Designers will serve as the lead designers for all USG publications and advertisements (electronic or print). They will:
- Design posters and promotional materials for USG
- Maintain and enforce a consistent image across all USG communication
- Serve on the USG Senate's Communication Committee and assist with general communications-related projects
- Assist the Executive Secretary produce USG's midyear and year-end report (2013 midyear report may be found here)
We are looking for someone who is very creative and thoughtful about branding. The ideal candidate will care about publicity and advertisement. This person should be able to take a vision for a poster/logo and execute it well.
Time commitment: ~2-4 hours per week (varies depending on the project)
2. Videographer/Photographer: The Videographer/Photographer will:
- Help to publicize and explain USG initiatives through recording, editing and publishing videos
- Document USG initiatives and work through taking and publishing photographs, acting as a USG historian
We are looking for someone who is very creative and thoughtful about branding, as well as who cares about publicity and advertisement. The person should be able to take a vision for a video or photoshoot and execute it well. Those with prior skills in video editing, recording and photography are especially encouraged to apply!
Time commitment: ~1-4 hours per week (varies depending on the project)
Information Technology Committee
The IT Committee works to create and maintain technological projects that improve the experience of the student body and the USG. In the past, our most visible projects have included many of the web apps available at http://www.tigerapps.org, such as ICE and Pounce. In the coming year, we expect to both add to this list and better integrate our existing apps.
Needless to say, this has always been a dynamic, challenging, and exciting committee to participate in – committee members have the opportunity to work on apps in all stages of development that affect the entire Princeton student body. From the server backend to websites for USG projects, we do it all. Here's your chance to get real world experience developing tools that will be used by the whole campus.
Mental Health Initiative Board
The goals of the Princeton Mental Health Initiative are to improve access to campus resources relating to student mental health, reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues, and spark constructive dialogue that is necessary to building a supportive campus community. The Mental Health Initiative Board works with the USG Senate and other campus partners on these goals. In particular, this team will:
- Plan and execute Mental Health Week (awareness campaign week) and other projects and events related to mental health
- Gather feedback from students about mental wellness on campus
- Provide opportunities for collaboration between student health groups and other interested parties
- Serve in an advisory role to the Office of Counseling and Psychological Services
- Make Mindful Princeton a central resource for mental wellness on campus
All undergraduate students may apply. If you have any questions about the Princeton Mental Health Initiative, please contact Board Chairs Naimah Hakim at nhakim@princeton.edu and Amalya Megerman at amalyam@princeton.edu
University Student Life Committee
Want to be a voice for the students on all major university-wide issues that impact student life, advocate for ground-breaking policy changes, represent the interests of certain student groups (i.e. international students, LGBT) and execute projects that help all Princeton students?
USLC has succeeded in making major changes in the past, such as gender-neutral housing! If you're interested in pushing for big policy changes and speaking out on behalf of the student body regarding topics such as building a campus pub, improving residential communal spaces, mental health policies, dining policies (including late meal swipes and times), USLC is for you. The USLC:
- Identifies university-wide issues that impact the general well-being of students and the social and learning environments within which students reside.
- Considers and proposes policies that address issues that affect student life. The USLC may propose resolutions and execute projects to address campus life issues.
- Reaches out to residential colleges, eating clubs and administrators as needed to evaluate policies and practices so as to improve undergraduate quality of life
- Serves as the student voice in monthly meetings with the Faculty University Student Life Committee and assure that recommendations made at meetings are carried through
USLC consists of liaisons for: Athletics and Campus Recreation, Dining, International Students, LGBT, Minority Students, Public Safety, Residence, Student Health, Transportation, Women's Issues.
APPOINTED POSITION
Chief Elections Manager
The chief elections manager is responsible for overseeing all USG elections. The appointed individual will shadow the current Chief Elections Manager, Grant Golub, for the
freshmen class council elections in September-October and officially take over the position after the elections. This individual will oversee the
November election. This person will also:
- Promote USG to students and encourage students to run for positions
- Organize open houses and informational sessions for students to learn about elected positions within USG
- Maintain accurate information about candidates during election season
- Work with the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students (ODUS) to create the ballot for each election; assess penalty points when election violations occur; and report on the progress of elections to the Senate
- Update news sources about USG elections
We are looking for someone who is passionate about encouraging students from all backgrounds to run for USG. Additionally, it is very important for this person to be fair, objective, and decisive. The Chief Elections Manager must be prompt with email, too, especially during election cycles.
Time Commitment: ~6-10 hours per week during election cycles (three 4-week long election cycles); ~1-3 hours per week during non-election seasons
8. Rank the positions you applied for (top = most interested in). *This question is required. Order the items from the following list. First select an item with the spacebar to show a menu of possible ranking positions. Next, click a ranking position to order it in the ranked list. Note the menu will display more ordering options as you add items to the ranked list.
Drag items from the left-hand list into the right-hand list to order them.