Author: Kirill Sirik ’27
Sustainability in USG
Princeton’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) is the largest student organization on-campus. One of the many ways the students may get involved with USG is to join one, or more, of its seven committees. For this article, we interviewed USG’s SusComm chair, Quentin Colón Roosevelt ’27, a prospective SPIA or Politics major, about the committee.
When asked about his interest in joining the organization, Colón Roosevelt shared that he is broadly interested in getting involved with USG and working with the administration to advance and complete various sustainability initiatives. As a student and somebody who has grown up in a sustainability-oriented household, Colon Roosevelt wanted to have his voice heard about issues like on-campus waste. After running for local government in his town’s infrastructure board, Colón Roosevelt gained relevant experience that ignited his passion to make change on Princeton’s campus.
Vision and Goals of SusComm
USG’s SusComm vision is to increase student engagement with the committee, the Office of Sustainability (OoS), as well as other on-campus organizations. SusComm aims to help Princeton students learn about different events and have the students input in some campus sustainability projects. They also create events to gauge student interest, whether that be with the USG or other sustainability groups on campus. The committee operates by using meetings to do workshop sessions to encourage people to come from their ideas and the students to share and pursue their ideas. SusComm is comprised of 16 students, all of whom are assigned to different ‘divisions’ in the committee: Action Events Team; Athletics Team; Food in the Dining Hall Team, and Community Outreach Team.
SusComm has been responsible for many sustainability events on campus. The student group has been providing substantial planning support for and co-sponsoring the Earth Month event this past April and are responsible for assisting with the ReSale event every September, providing the opportunity for students to purchase items that would have simply thrown out for better prices. In fall of 2023, SusComm orchestrated the Eco Festival, which included bringing in several sustainability guest speakers, a mini sustainability club fair, and a fashion show where models showcased thrifted items. They also got heavily involved in sustainability efforts for Lawnparties, where they implemented clean-ups, trash can set-ups, placed signage for attendees to clean up after themselves, and partnered with an organization to recycle the wristbands used. Within USG, SusComm has put a great deal of effort into making other USG committees, like the Social Committee, more sustainable. By collaborating with the mental health committee for mindful nature walks, the SusComm encouraged more Princeton students to get more involved in nature.
Getting Involved
SusComm puts a great deal of effort into enhancing student involvement with sustainable values on-campus. The committee collaborates with the Dining and Nutrition Task Force to expand the reusables initiative, reduce single-use, plastic utensil/container waste in the short- and long-term, and to expand vegan and vegetarian options. One of the committee’s core values is to celebrate Princeton’s diverse communities, perspectives, and approaches to sustainability.
For those interested in joining the organization, Colón Roosevelt encourages the students to reach out to him for ideas, as he is very open to student input. Furthermore, the committee holds new applications every semester, so those interested in becoming a part of the committee should not hesitate to apply. Check out this page from USG’s website that expands on the Sustainability Committee’s mission.