ASSU executive slate inaugurated at UGS meeting

Ava Brown ’26 and Will Berriman ’26, the winning Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) executive slate, were inaugurated at the first meeting of the 27th Undergraduate Senate (UGS) this Wednesday, concluding a chaotic election year for the ASSU marked by alleged election fraud and the resignations of elections commissioner Christian Figueroa ’26 and Senator Ivy Chen ’26 M.A. ’27. 

The two were inaugurated despite the Graduate Student Council (GSC) initial refusal to certify the election results at their May 6 meeting and its call for a new election. Though the UGS acknowledged the GSC’s concerns, it voted the next day to partially certify the election results. 

Brown and Berriman petitioned the ASSU Constitutional Council to challenge the constitutionality of the GSC’s refusal, asserting that Figueroa’s impact on the election was minimal (de minimis) and that the GSC could not provide a reason to require a new election. 

The GSC reversed course and certified the election results on May 19. On May 26, the Constitutional Council delivered their deliberation that the GSC’s non-certification of the results was found to be constitutional but that their method of calling for a new election was not.

“The Constitutional Council unanimously held that the [GSC] did not have to supply a reason for their non-certification, and therefore their original vote to not certify was constitutional,” Xavier Millan ’26, chair of the Constitutional Council, said. “However, their subsequent call for a new election was standardless due to how the joint bylaws are currently written and the inconsistencies between section eight and section nine.”

In the bylaws, the process for a new election was not defined in section eight but was defined in section nine. The Constitutional Council called for the bylaws to be updated to avoid any confusion in future elections. 

New members of the UGS recognized the bad reputation of the student government following the 2025 election and hoped to restore the student body’s faith.

“I think student government has a pretty jank rep in terms of the student body, but I think we should change that through these wonderful committees,” Kyle Hon Chan ’28, a newly elected ASSU senator, said. “I’m very excited to implement the changes that we were elected to do.”

The UGS also unanimously passed a resolution to support ethnic themed dorms and oppose the recent pre-assignment policy change. Earlier this month, the housing assignment process for Okada, Ujamaa, Casa Zapata and Muwekma-Tah-Ruk replaced the existing system where student staff review resident applications with a randomized lottery.

“This change was a shock to the community,” UGS chair David Sengthay ’26 said. “This was made without any communication, input or due process, even after our ethnic theme associates had reviewed applications from students who were interested in living there.”

Sengthay mentioned the need to stand in solidarity with the ethnic themed dorms amidst “attacks on DEI and the status of the political climate of universities.” He also called the University’s statement, which cited a desire to eliminate any perception of bias in the pre-assignment process, “ironic.” 

The UGS intends to present the resolution to the GSC. Due to the soon-approaching end of the school year, Sengthay recognized that a resolution would be unlikely until fall quarter but said he plans to send a copy of the resolution to Vice Provost for Student Affairs Michele Rasmussen and Assistant Vice Provost for Residential Education Cheryl Brown. 

With summer and graduation on the horizon, the UGS also promoted a community announcement from Stanford Loop, a resource created by current seniors to help Stanford students find new connections in different cities.

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