Experience Navigating Bureaucracy at Stanford The two of us each have had two years of experience serving on the ASSU Senate and Executive Cabinet. Throughout our terms, we have realized that institutional knowledge, continuity, and transparency are paramount to creating effective change. Both of us have been staunch activists on campus in the past, and recognize the need for student voices in Stanford’s most pressing issue areas. However, we do not want to replace or overshadow Stanford’s most influential activists with our role. Our goal is to create an ASSU capable of enabling effective student movements. This starts with the institutional knowledge of past movements, and understanding what is needed in order to be successful in creating positive change.
Transparency and Knowledge of the ASSU Both of us can recall countless examples of student movements shockingly similar to work done 2-3 years prior, along with Stanford students being completely unaware of the ASSU and its work on campus. Our jobs as Exec will be to create an organized and proactive ASSU capable of attacking the most challenging student issues. We realize transparency is a two way street. Not only will we circulate our work through newsletters, social media, and communication with VSOs, we believe in opening anonymous feedback from Stanford students.
Our Vision for the ASSU We believe that ASSU should represent the perspectives of all students on campus, beginning with a diverse and inclusive Executive Cabinet if we are elected. We also realize the importance of an Exec that communicates clearly and supports the Undergraduate Senate and Graduate Student Council to combat the decentralized nature of Stanford. Fostering collaboration will be paramount as ASSU representatives will need to adapt to these novel circumstances and collaborate virtually not only in the spring, but potentially into the next school year.