UGS debates language on legacy admissions

The Undergraduate Senate (UGS) reviewed proposed modifications to a decision on the way forward for affirmative motion at its Wednesday assembly.

The Senate launched the decision as a joint decision with the Graduate Scholar Council (GSC) at its Sept. 27 assembly. The decision affirmed the significance of sustaining a various pupil physique and beneficial new insurance policies to the College to enhance the admission and retention of scholars from underrepresented backgrounds.

Among the many proposed modifications to the decision was the elimination of a clause about parental occupation — a proxy for family revenue in admissions. Senators debated the inclusion of language that assumes that college students with legacy and philanthropy standing obtain express favoritism within the admissions course of (like a advice that might eradicate preferences for candidates with a legacy and philanthropy background).

A number of senators, together with Dilan Desir ’26, opposed the parental occupation clause, since parental occupation shouldn’t be at all times a transparent indicator of family revenue.

“I feel the actual hurt, to me, is that if the College makes official language that claims, ‘Hey, we will probably be your mother and father’ occupation as a option to guess your revenue,’” Desir mentioned. This consideration might discourage college students from making use of to Stanford, Desir mentioned.

Senate co-chair Diego Kagurabadza ’25, who co-authored the decision, defended the significance of parental occupation as an strategy to issue socioeconomic standing into the admissions course of. He mentioned that the College can’t instantly ask a few pupil’s family revenue because it practices need-blind admissions.

“I get that it’s not an ideal proxy,” Kagurabadza acknowledged. “However I feel the problem then turns into, ‘What’s the different?’”

Co-Chair Ritwik Tati ’25 agreed. Tati advised that the decision’s suggestions are designed for an imperfect system.

“We’re attempting to only make sure that this resolution about affirmative motion doesn’t go unnoticed, so we need to present as a lot steerage to the College as attainable,” Tati mentioned.

Senators thought of a change to at least one part of the decision that, as it’s at present written, assumes some undergraduate college students admitted final fall benefited from legacy or philanthropy standing. 

Senator Isaac Nehring ’26 advised the language change to acknowledge the function of legacy and philanthropy standing within the admissions course of, reasonably than presuming a profit attributable to this standing.

Kagurabadza pushed again and characterised the proposal as “pointless softening of the language.”

Nehring additional supported an modification to a clause initially urging the College to eradicate legacy and philanthropy preferences solely in favor of language that might push the College to rethink the burden of those preferences.

The decision and potential modifications will probably be additional mentioned with the GSC earlier than a vote deliberate for week 4 of the quarter.

ASSU Govt President Sophia Danielpour ’24 introduced that functions for the ASSU Constitutional Council have been open.

Senator Pleasure Molloy ’25 shared the launch of the appliance course of for the Senate Affiliate Program, a mentorship program matching undergraduates excited about pupil governance with present senators.