In their last meeting of the year, the 18th Undergraduate Senate for scrutinized funding bills, reported on personal projects and heard a pitch for a new Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) event for the whole student body.

Black Graduation funding

The Senate approved a bill to appropriate some $42,000 in funds for the Black Graduation Celebration this year. The funding bill went through a lengthy debate as Senators raised concerns about the amount of money and the precedent the bill might set.

Black Community Services Center (BCSC) Program Coordinator Benjamin Williams ’18 explained that a complicated leadership transition process had made the last-minute funding request necessary.

Williams explained, “The result [of the transition] was that the usual process to get funds for the Black Graduation Celebration didn’t happen, so basically we’re asking for money to make the ceremony happen this year.”

Appropriations committee chair Cenobio Hernandez ’18 recommended that the Senate fund the bill due to the urgency and importance of the event.

However, Senate chair Shanta Katipamula ’19 pointed out that the burden for funding seemed to fall unduly on the Undergraduate Senate.

“I’m a little irked that we’re being asked to fund the whole thing when we haven’t been asked to in the past,” Katipamula remarked. “Have you talked to the University or The Stanford Fund (TSF)? It just doesn’t add up to me, why the whole burden is falling on us.”

Williams explained that the leadership transition period had drastically shortened the timeline to fulfill the requirements for TSF or special funding.

ASSU assistant financial manager Luka Fatuesi ’17 recalled that the BCSC had raised the same request at the Senate during his stint as a senator in the 2014-2015 school year. On his recommendation, Hernandez told Williams that the funding request would not be approved if it was taken to the Senate in the coming year.

Fatuesi also suggested that the Senate negotiate for University funding for similar community events in future.

“For those of you interested in getting more University funding for community centers, getting funding for events like [Black Graduation] is a concrete way to do it,” said Fatuesi. “The graduation ceremony benefits more than the ASSU and Stanford students. It also benefits parents and alumni, so the administration could have a part in it.”

The Senate eventually approved the funding bill with the stipulation that Senator Khaled Aounallah ’19 would approach the University administration to explore the possibility of University funding for similar events. Fatuesi was also appointed to work with the BCSC to ensure that they would seek funding from other sources in future.

Senator reports

Individual senators also made their mandatory bi-weekly reports on their personal projects as well as their action plans over the summer.

Student Life committee chair Carson Smith ’19 told the Senate that she had conducted focus groups with fellow frosh council members on Full Moon on the Quad (FMOTQ). Smith is serving on an advisory group consisting of both staff and students that will make recommendations to the Office of Student Affairs on the future of FMOTQ.  

Carson added, “We had a student-staff meeting to talk about how we want to handle information-sharing with [Vice Provost for Student Life] Greg Boardman, and I will be writing up the notes from the focus group and meeting with [Boardman] as well.”

Administration and Rules committee chair Kathryn Treder ’18 also reported that she is working on achieving University recognition for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which Brown University has already recognized in the past year.

Treder said, “I know of a few people who know students who worked [on Brown’s decision to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day], so I plan on getting in contact with them as well as faculty here to see what recognition would look like, what’s feasible.”

Senator Jayaram Ravi ’19 updated the Senate on the administrative changes in Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), with the possibility of pay increases for residential Peer Health Educators (PHEs).

Finally, the Senate approved the Nominations Commission’s (NomCom) 17-page list of student representatives in various university councils. Fatuesi pitched an idea that the ASSU jointly fund a weekly event at Meyer Green for students to enjoy themselves. Many senators responded enthusiastically and looked forward to fleshing out the scheme.

Contact Fangzhou Liu at fzliu96 ‘at’ stanford.edu.