Despite the ever-present Stanford bubble, we are lucky and privileged to have the opportunity to encounter an abundance of cultures, ethnicities and backgrounds. There is a diversity of beliefs and values that each student has to offer, but too often we have encountered the problem of voicing these passions. This is where “Stanford 2.0” comes in. We believe that we all have opinions and experiences to share and that the issues that face each community or student organization cannot be adequately solved without an empowered student body and a responsive student government. By creating an intersection of experience and engagement, we hope to build a more unified and aware Stanford community. We are Michael Cruz ‘12 and Stewart Macgregor-Dennis ‘13 and we are excited to be running for ASSU Executive.

Right now, as we write this piece from our secret headquarters, we are surrounded by other students who are as invested in community issues as we are. With our campaign theme of “Stanford 2.0”, we hope to not only empower and engage all Stanford students in voicing their needs, but also foster a more open and forthcoming ASSU, one that measures results and is consistently searching for better ways to fulfill student needs. We are currently endorsed by PASU, SOCC, Stanford Club Sports, Stanford Dems and the Queer Coalition, endorsements that speak volumes about our commitment to addressing and responding to a diverse set of student issues. Here is a taste of our platform, which will give you a better sense of the projects we intend to tackle. A more complete platform can be found at: stanford2.com:

Empowerment

Career: Provide consistent student and career development support from freshman year-onward, regardless of your major.

Health: Create a centralized website specifically for health and wellness, providing information and directing students to the appropriate health resources.

Queer issues: Empower the queer community through gender-and-queer-sensitive facilities and gender-neutral housing. We also firmly believe that it is unacceptable to ask the student body to vote on the civil rights of a minority, and we support the campaign to vote “abstain” on ROTC.

Diversity: Advocate restoration of all community center professional staff to full-time employment, and create a database system for student groups and community centers to enhance communication between alumni, current students, and the greater Stanford community.

Student Life

Housing: Create the position of a Diversity Peer Educator as part of dorm staff, who will be trained in diversity and queer issues, working to foster a feeling of safe and open space for all Stanford students.

Dining: Make dining options more student-friendly through healthier late-nite options and effective responses to student feedback.

Technology: Take advantage of technology in order to streamline Stanford event planning, rework Stanford websites such as Zimbra, and create an iASSU app to enable greater student-ASSU communication and participation.

Living: Create a Life Skills class that addresses financial literacy, laptop maintenance, cooking skills, and other essential areas.

Advocacy

Sexual Health: Lower the heightened Standard of Proof to allow for “clear and convincing” or “preponderance of evidence” instead of “beyond a reasonable doubt.

Disabilities: Work with campus organizations and the administration to create a map of gender-neutral and accessible bathrooms/dorms in order to improve the Disability Draw.

Grads: Increase flexibility of health insurance options for graduate students.

Women: Work with ResEd, WoCo and other administrators to create a “sexual violence monitor” training program for organizations that throw large party-type events.

Student Engagement

Green: Institutionalize Green Events Consulting for student events and incentivize attendance at certified “Green” events with an ASSU Event Point system.

Service: Work to unify efforts among public service sub-communities, and collaborate with campus entrepreneurship groups to emphasize social entrepreneurship and service.

Arts: Create a centralized forum for the performing arts community to list auditions, performances, and events as well as facilitate communication between different performance groups.

Greek: Increase ASSU engagement with the IFC, ISC, MGC, and AAFSA, and work to find storage space for non-housed fraternities and sororities.

This is merely a brief glimpse of what we hope to accomplish in the coming year with your help, and while these issues may seem separate and discrete, remember that they come together and define the Stanford community as a whole. We want to hear what you think, so feel free to contact us at [email protected]. We look forward to working together and building Stanford 2.0 with you.