GSC approves annual grants, votes to support EBF and Kairos co-op reinstatement

The Graduate Student Council (GSC) voted unanimously to approve approximately $1.15 million in annual grants to student organizations, setting the graduate student activity fee at $69 per quarter, or $207 per year, which is up from the previous $63 per quarter.

Allocations were calculated proportionally based on Cardinal Engage membership data, which serves as a hub for membership, event planning and communication for official organizations at Stanford. Three organizations — the Black Family Gathering Committee (BFGC), Stanford Speakers Bureau and The Stanford Daily — were allocated more funding to reflect broader campus-wide attendance by graduate students. 

A significant point of discussion was the recommended allocation for Black Family Gathering Committee (BFGC), which was cut from a previous allocation of $250,000 to approximately $40,000. The funding committee cited that only around 17% of total attendance at BFGC’s signature event, Black Fest, consisted of Stanford students, with the remainder being members of the general public.

Ultimately, the council passed the annual grants unanimously, and student organizations have until March 11 to collect petition signatures should they wish to contest their allocations and place the decision on the spring ballot.

Residents of 1115 Campus Drive and 586 Mayfield, formerly known as Enchanted Broccoli Forest (EBF) and Kairos, respectively, presented to the GSC in support of a joint resolution urging ResEd to reinstate their cooperative housing status for the 2026-27 academic year.

1115 Campus Drive’s co-op status was suspended in summer 2025 following a Title VI investigation into the house. Xitlali Ferrel-Alvarez ’27, a house manager at 1115 Campus Drive, explained that despite more than 85% of current residents electing to participate in co-op governance, and over 240 students and community members signing a support petition, the Undergraduate Residences Governance Council (URGC) rejected the house’s Committee on Residential Learning (CoRL) application, citing insufficient time to assess self-governance capacity.

“Administrators have made baseless accusations [that] our entire community is unable to self-govern,” Ferrel-Alvarez said, noting that EBF has over 40 years of evidence of self-governance. “They haven’t offered any resources or clear paths to move forward from this.” 

Emily Rodriguez ’26, a representative from 586 Mayfield, described Kairos as a space historically centered on queer, Black, brown and Indigenous students, with communal cooking at the core of its culture and community. 

“All of that would be completely lost if Stanford takes over the house next year,” Rodriguez said. 

According to the proposed resolution, “converting 1115 Campus Drive and 586 Mayfield to self-operated status for 2026–2027 would require the University to retrofit existing communal kitchens and hire additional dining or custodial staff.” 

Both presenters asked the GSC to support their reinstatement as co-ops for 2026-27 and called for greater transparency from administration about the path forward.

The GSC voted unanimously to pass the joint resolution, which now proceeds through the ASSU process.

The GSC also heard first notice of a bill that would update the ASSU Constitution’s language around the Constitutional Council, which has not been substantially revised in at least two decades. 

Xavier Millan ’26, the bill’s author, described the changes as largely modernizing and clarifying existing practice, with two substantive additions: giving the council the authority to order remedial actions, such as requiring a body to re-vote on an unconstitutional decision, and explicitly allowing the council to hear cases involving unconstitutional actions by employees of the association.

The GSC is expected to vote on the bill at the first meeting of spring quarter.

The post GSC approves annual grants, votes to support EBF and Kairos co-op reinstatement appeared first on The Stanford Daily.