In its final meeting of the academic school year, the 21st Undergraduate Senate passed three bills, discussed summer plans and brainstormed individual projects — all in under 45 minutes. All three bills had been discussed at the Senate’s previous meeting.
Last week, Senator Jonathan Lipman ’21 introduced a resolution requesting that the Hoover Institution’s demographic data be made more clear in the University’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access in a Learning Community (IDEAL) dashboard. The dashboard breaks down the demographic makeup of the Stanford community by academic and departmental affiliation.
Whereas Hoover is currently categorized under “other administrative unit,” Lipman’s resolution seeks to isolate Hoover’s data into its own category. He updated the Senate on Tuesday, telling them that he has been in communication with the IDEAL team. The bill was passed unanimously.
Senator Martin Altenburg’s ’21 bill allowing for and defining the roles of Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) joint committees also was voted on. The bill would require each committee to publish an official charter online and encourage collaboration between the Undergraduate Senate and Graduate Student Council (GSC).
Before the vote, Lipman sought clarification over the relevancy of the Students of Color Coalition’s (SOCC) endorsement of the bill. After several other senators — including some who were endorsed by SOCC during the campaign — expressed confusion themselves, Senator Mustafa Khan ’22, who was at the SOCC meeting, explained the rationale.
“One of the key ideas was that SOCC really appreciated why we were restructuring,” Khan said. “Especially this focus on specific issues that were relevant to specific communities on campus, including students of color — which is why I think that their endorsement, while it might not be necessary, it is definitely positive.”
The restructuring bill was then passed by a unanimous vote.
The third bill of the evening — presented by Governance and Special Projects Manager Luka Fatuesi ’17 — implemented the constitutional amendments that were passed by the student body during the ASSU elections. The amendments aim to remove the $150 floor on the Student Activities Fee and streamline the nominations of students to University committees.
The 30-page bill was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate, with all voting in favor and one senator abstaining because he did not read the bill.
The meeting concluded with a brainstorming session for the senators’ individual projects. Ideas brought up included streamlining appropriations and funding, diversifying Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and coordinating ResX implementation with the Diversity and First-Gen (DGen) Office.
In addition to the passage of the bills and brainstorming session, Lipman proposed selecting impactful faculty and administrators with “awards” from the ASSU. Several veteran senators, like Tim Vrakas ’21 and Altenburg, agreed with Lipman’s sentiment. The main update from the ASSU Executive came from Vice President Isaiah Drummond ’20, who called on the Senate to encourage students to take advantage of an ASSU-backed airport shuttle initiative.
Contact Patrick Monreal at pmonreal ‘at’ stanford.edu.