UGS confirms new nominees to the Constitutional Council

The Undergraduate Senate (UGS) unanimously confirmed nominees to the Constitutional Council Wednesday. 

In response to the Constitutional Council’s web site, the scholar fee performs an important function in making certain the ASSU operates within the college students’ greatest pursuits and adheres to pointers outlined within the ASSU Structure.

UGS confirmed Shannon Chung J.D. ’26, Xavier Millan ’26 and Sebastian Strawser ’24 to the council. Strawser, who’s a Day by day staffer, subsequently withdrew his nomination attributable to private circumstances.

Senators evaluated the nominees on causes for in search of the place, insurance policies to evaluate the constitutionality of instances and views on the interplay between free speech rules and marketing campaign spending restrictions.

Chung stated the council is “an underutilized useful resource of the ASSU.” She stated she hopes to listen to extra instances than have been taken on up to now.

“I’d present a dedication to the governing paperwork and a dedication to only outcomes,” Chung stated throughout the assembly earlier than the invoice was handed. “So not being utterly textualist or relying solely on the paperwork which can be written however typically having that flexibility and having the ability to talk and collaborate with the opposite members of the constitutional council might be my priorities.” 

The ASSU Govt Department, led by Sophia Danielpour ’24, offered on conferences with numerous campus workplaces. Danielpour met with the Workplace of Neighborhood Requirements (OCS) to deal with elevated campus surveillance and offered updates on pupil life to the School Senate (FacSen), emphasizing the necessity for higher communication channels between college students and college. 

Diego Kagurabadza ’25, co-chair of UGS, raised questions in regards to the presentation. He expressed issues that it included points that didn’t fall below the Senate’s jurisdiction. He particularly requested for extra collaboration between the Govt Department and different legislative our bodies, together with UGS, when presenting to the Senate.

Danielpour countered by explaining that the aim of the presentation was to convey the present state of pupil life on campus. 

“The presentation is meant to be on the present state of pupil life at Stanford, so we thought that it was essential to offer school a full image of what’s happening,” she stated. “Traditionally, most pupil displays from the ASSU haven’t fully been throughout the FacSen jurisdiction.” 

Senators additionally mentioned alcohol coverage reform and the roles of resident assistants (RAs). Danielpour referred to as for a balanced strategy to enforcement and expressed concern that RAs are handled as mandated reporters even when not required by legislation. She advocated for the reinstatement of an “open-door coverage” alongside a secure, experimental surroundings for alcohol use. 

Kagurabadza clarified that RAs are mandated to report harmful situations of underage consuming attributable to state legislation. As an RA himself, he emphasised that they give attention to resident security over strict policing. 

“In my expertise, our employees’s primary precedence is the protection of scholars,” Kagurabadza stated. “We’re not right here to police. We’re not right here to look in individuals’s rooms and issues like that, and I feel that messaging is misplaced oftentimes. Our primary concern is security.”

Senator Ishaan Singh ’24 M.S. ’25, drawing from his expertise as a present freshman RA, stated incidents are sometimes underreported and added that penalties for alcohol-policy violations are primarily academic fairly than disciplinary for the primary three offenses. 

Singh additionally offered funding suggestions for pupil organizations. The proposal, which was handed throughout the assembly, included 22 fast grants, three commonplace grants and 4 reserve grants. 

Senators additionally unanimously authorised a invoice confirming Kimi Monforton ’26 because the proxy for Isaac Nehring ’26, who serves as an Undergraduate Senator. Nehring might be absent throughout the winter quarter attributable to participation in Stanford in Washington. Monforton stated she was chosen as a result of her advocacy pursuits intently align with these of Nehring.