Undergraduate Senate introduces bill to support Bridge peer counseling services

The Undergraduate Senate (UGS) introduced a bill that would urge Provost Jenny Martinez and the Office of Student Affairs to ensure the Bridge Peer Counseling Center receives long-term sufficient funding Wednesday night. 

The bill followed a conversation with Bridge representatives during the meeting, in which UGS Co-Chair Gordon Allen ’26 asked counselors to specify the reasons for limited funding that they have received from the Vice Provost of Student Affairs Rasmussen. 

“We’ve heard, ‘If there’s no space to provide, there’s nothing to fund,’” Bridge counselor Eric Martz ’25 M.S. ’25 said. He said the University told them they have “a lot of people asking [them] for money” and “[they’re] not one to make a value judgment on what deserves money or not.” 

The Daily has reached out to the University for comment.

According to Martz, Student Affairs told them to look for other sources of funding. However, the other places the Bridge has looked for funding, including the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU), the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education (VPUE), the Vice Provost of Graduate Education (VPGE), and the Office of Development (OOD), have all pointed the Bridge back to the Office of Student Affairs as the only solution, said Martz. 

The Bridge was also asked if they had tried to speak to R&DE about potentially waiving housing costs. Martz said the Bridge is not allowed to directly communicate with R&DE.

“We’ve always had liaisons that were meant to speak with [R&DE], and that answer has always come back from the liaison administration that [waiving housing costs] was not possible,” Martz said.

The Bridge was not informed of a reason for why they were not allowed to directly communicate with R&DE. 

“I do want to send an institutional message to the administration that this is what students want this administration to advocate for,” said UGS Appropriations Chair David Sengthay ’26, who introduced the bill.

UGS Deputy Chair Ethan Alfonso ’27 asked if it was possible to use ASSU funds to reimburse the Bridge live-in counselors, who collectively pay over $20,000 out-of-pocket per academic year to cover housing costs.

“ASSU funding guidelines can’t fund retroactive funding requests,” Sengthay replied, adding that exceptions can be made, however.

During the meeting, senators also discussed criticisms toward the Bridge that were said to be brought up by Martinez and Vice Provost Michelle Rasmussen, including that the Bridge doesn’t serve many students. 

“Something that I personally have heard a lot in this process from Provost Martinez, from Vice Provost Rasmussen, has been the number of students impacted,” said ASSU president Diego Kagurabadza ’25. “I think in their eyes, it seems rather small, a couple hundred students, which, in comparison to the larger student body, is a little disproportionate.” 

“I think this misses the unique value that the Bridge provides, which is not just how many people we service, but when exactly we are there for them,” Dante Danelian ’24 M.S. ’25 said, referring to their 24/7 hour service. “I think to do some simple economics and say that it’s a cost-per-council is mischaracterizing the value of our service.”

They also talked about the criticism that Stanford’s peer institutions don’t have a student-run service like the Bridge.

“We can look to our peer institutions for guidance, or they can look to us,” Danelian said. “I think we shouldn’t be looking to remove things that make the University unique, especially when they’re working for students.”

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