From the Community | ASSU executives share fall update and future projects

Winter break is the perfect time to catch up on many things — personal projects, television, sleep — and reflect on what you’ve done throughout the year. The ASSU executive team and cabinet has taken these 3 weeks to catalog the initiatives we’ve worked on and what we plan to continue in the New Year!

ASSU executive team, Ava Brown & Will Berriman (president@assu.stanford.edu) 

Our platform has always been centered on community engagement and a major part of that goal in Fall Quarter was increasing athletics engagement and school spirit. We worked closely with Andrew Luck and the Athletics department to host all-campus tailgates that brought students from across class years, schools and majors together to cheer for the Cardinal. This initiative culminated in the Big Game tailgate and the largest Stanford student section ever!

We also worked alongside the Undergraduate Senate and Graduate Student Council to liaise with Interim Director and Stanford Law School faculty, professor Lawrence Marshall, and propose changes to the OCS bylaws and charter. We encouraged an amendment to the OCS procedure that allows the Director to throw out cases if they do not meet the standard for an investigation, as well as downgrade the level of investigation if appropriate. Looking forward, we are focused on streamlining the Student Group Accountability Process (SGAP) process, increasing the role of third party advocates in cases and launching open OCS office hours with professor Marshall (starting winter quarter).

In the latter half of the quarter, we collaborated with VPSA, VPUE and the Design School to hold housing focus groups with undergraduate students from across the Stanford community that will directly inform CoRL, the housing draw process and future decisions about the undergraduate residential experience. 

We worked closely with the Undergraduate Senate, Graduate Student Council and the Club Sports Executive Council to reform the Club Sports funding procedure. Club teams will now apply for annual grants directly like other VSOs, which will improve transparency, equality and consistency of funding allocations. 

We are looking forward to building on these successes to continue advocating for increased student engagement and representation on campus — continue reading for an overview of the great work our cabinet did in the fall!

ASSU chief of staff, Sam Samani (samani@stanford.edu)

This fall, I worked closely with the administration to gain clarity on security camera policies and their implementation across campus. Additionally, I met with senior associate vice provost and dean of students Mona Hicks and law professor Lawrence Marshall to discuss meaningful reforms to OCS. We discussed changes to the SGAP that we feel will improve and speed up group conduct procedures. I also began consulting with education lawyers and education law advocates to develop an advocate system for students navigating OCS proceedings. 

Director of international advocacy, Camila Van Oost (cvanoost@stanford.edu)

This quarter, I helped select the new leadership team at the Bechtel Center – which will be crucial for continuing advocacy and support for international students on campus. I assisted the Bechtel Center with their finalist interview sessions for the assistant vice provost and executive director positions and participated in student-led interviews with the candidates. Once the new director has been selected, I will continue to develop a relationship with them and resume the professional and community development efforts we were leading last academic year.

VSHAC and the director of health and welfare, Johnny Powell (johnnyp@stanford.edu)

Our team worked to amplify student voices and improve access to on-campus healthcare systems. Following direct over 45 student email inquiries regarding Wellfleet’s new referral policy, we launched a VSHAC Cardinal Care FAQs resource to streamline guidance on care navigation. Looking forward, we hope to continue advocating for expanded Vaden appointment availability to avoid referral delays and minimize disruptions in care for students with complex health needs. We are also planning a VSHAC Fireside Chat during winter quarter!

Director of disability advocacy, Emily Ocasio (emocasio@stanford.edu) 

I have focused on improving transportation services for students with disabilities. I established the DisGo (Disability Golf Cart) task force, which meets every other month with the directors of the OAE, DAO and Stanford Transportation to improve service offerings. This task force has helped expand service to cover the weekend, add an additional weekday driver and secure an independent consultant to review the service. Moving forward, another key goal of improving transportation accessibility is to expand the digital accessibility of online booking services.

Director of sexual violence prevention, Zoya Fasihuddin (zoyanf@stanford.edu) 

Last quarter, I worked with the SHARE (Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Education) Title IX and Title VI Office on incorporating the new 2024-25 legislation by the ASSU, the Resolution to Enhance Title IX Education and Engagement at Stanford University into practice, with an update meeting held with involved student senators. The office relaunched the Flip the Script program and planning is underway for the Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) Ambassador Program (application launches in mid-winter quarter). Preparation has also begun for Stanford’s annual sexual violence prevention and survivor support rally and march, Take Back the Night, on April 21.

Director of In the Cards, Joshua Bahk (joshbahk@stanford.edu) 

Hopefully you’ve seen our work in your inbox every week! Whether events are submitted to our form, posted on Stanford calendars, shared on Instagram, featured in newsletters or spread by word of mouth, we want to make sure you know what’s In The Cards! Stay tuned for a live Cards Calendar to get a better picture of what’s going on every week. 

Director of athletic engagement, Ava Sorrento (sorrento@stanford.edu) 

This fall, ASSU set out to encourage stronger student engagement with football season. Over the past three years, game attendance had noticeably declined, and we wanted to rebuild the connection between students and Stanford Athletics to change that trend. Our pilot tailgate had the highest opening home game attendance in three years and the Big Game tailgate welcomed over 2,500 students and achieved the largest student section ever: around 80% of the undergraduate student body. Keep an eye out for a little bit of “Maples Madness” this Winter!

Director of social life and inclusivity, Madhav Prakash (madhavp@stanford.edu) 

This quarter, we expanded our team to include Audrey Knowles ’28, Eva Lacy ’27 and Rigoberto Rivera ’29.

We revitalized traditions: Autumn FLiCKS welcomed 500+ whereas over 70% of FLiCKS last year had fewer than 50 attendees. More Row houses participated in Row Trick or Treat this year than any other year on record, and 500+ pounds of candy were given out. Big Game Merch included a greater variety of designs than in previous years, with one FashionX collaborative design and three limited run student submitted designs. In its third year, the Row Programming fund handed out more money to more houses than in any other single quarter since its instatement. 

We brought new programming: Date Drop took campus by storm with 3,200 undergraduates signed up in the first two months. We hosted events with On Call Cafe, Stanford Rural Club and FashionX, handing out free drinks, dancing lessons and merch. We introduced Stanford Film, the archive of every picture from every event we help throw, ever!

Following the Jan. 21 State of the Association Address, the ASSU Executive Team is excited to share an update on the projects, initiatives and policies we’ve worked on over the past two quarters, as well as our goals for the remainder of the year.

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