The Undergraduate Student Government election season means it’s time for student candidates to decide what they will prioritize if elected and demonstrate these priorities in their platforms. However, as in any election, the promises made by candidates are not always possible.

This semester, the Daily Trojan reviewed senatorial platforms and researched the feasibility of various promises made by the candidates to better inform student voters in the upcoming election.

Dining Hall Improvements

One popular campaign promise is dining hall improvements, specifically following maggots, mold and other bugs being spotted in the dining halls, according to an Annenberg Media article published in December. Among others, senate incumbents Kevin Hoang and Justin Shih, who are running together, as well as Manas Sood, a freshman majoring in business administration, cited this issue in their platforms.

Though a timely campaign topic, the condition of USC’s dining halls isn’t necessarily an area where USG will have much power. University dining halls are managed by USC Hospitality, which operates independently from USG. USG has the ability to connect with Hospitality and discuss implementing new policies on behalf of students, but cannot directly make changes.

In an interview with the Daily Trojan, Sood said he wanted to focus on improving food quality in dining halls after personal experiences with hair in his food as well as poor quality meat and rice. He said a good meal in the dining hall can go a long way in improving students’ moods and academic performance.

However, when asked Sood was unsure how exactly he would implement these changes, saying that it “might be a bit tough.”

“I actually don’t know the process of that and how we work with the administration on that because I’m still a freshman,” Sood said after proposing to increase safety checks on dining hall food. “But I would love to know how we can work with the administration with this because this is a big issue.”

On the other hand, Hoang, a junior majoring in behavioral economics and psychology, and Shih, a junior majoring in artificial intelligence for business, said they are already in contact with representatives at Tutor Campus Center and Hospitality.

Hoang and Shih said their next steps include introductory meetings with USC Hospitality to ensure “they are on the same page” in relation to improving cleanliness, food safety and food quality of dining options around campus.

In his past year as senator, Hoang said he also advocated for the “estimated wait time” pop-up on the USC Campus Dining app, which includes TCC restaurants, completing the project after receiving contacts from previous USG senators.

“Over time, with more data, it will get better,” Hoang said about TCC’s wait times. “We can just continue gathering student input through surveys, like we’ve been doing already, to make sure that it’s actually being incorporated properly. If it’s not, then we will definitely bring it to the attention of the representatives at TCC that we’ve been in contact with.”

Sleep Pods

Senatorial candidate Daniel Tran, a sophomore majoring in business administration, described a proposal to install “designated sleep or rest pods in high-traffic academic areas” in his platform. He wrote that he would like these to be places where students can “safely take a nap.”

USG has already implemented rest spaces at the University Religious Center, the Library for International and Public Affairs and has allocated money for space at Leavey Library.

In response to questions about the cost of the project, Tran acknowledged the potential expenses of this project and said he is exploring another alternative.

“I feel like building new places is very costly and it’s a very long term idea,” Tran said. “So as of right now, for my senator campaign and when I’m a senator, I feel like the best policy I could push for is using preexisting spaces.”

Expanding Sorority Recruitment

As current senate aides for Hoang, senatorial candidates Piper Kujawa, a freshman majoring in political science, and Jessica Xue, a freshman majoring in public policy, wrote in their platform that they plan to expand sorority rush. Kujawa and Xue intended to make the process more accessible by allowing students to rush in both the spring and fall semesters.

USG does not have the power to implement policies like extending an organization’s recruitment time frame.

According to the USG bylaws, the bills that the senate can pass are limited to “policies that can be implemented by USG, such as legislative funding allocations,” and resolutions are mainly limited to outlining and focusing on “actions the Senate will take to advocate for the interests of the USC undergraduate student body.”

Kujawa and Xue said in an interview with the Daily Trojan that they are stepping back from this initiative. After speaking with students and sorority presidents, they said they realized that this wasn’t something that “suits the student body.”

The pair said that after researching the logistics of the initiative, and through potential conversations with administration and USC Panhellenic, they thought passing a bill would be possible. However, they said putting sororities through the process of recruitment twice a year was not something they wanted to move forward with.

“We don’t want to put any pressure on houses because obviously they’re a part of our student body, and that’s what we want to cater to, the well-being of everybody,” Kujawa said.

Just like any organization at USC, the power of USG is limited. It is important that it is recognized by both candidates and voting students alike so that they can set realistic goals, expectations and standards of what can be achieved.